Luke Babbitt

Luke Robert Babbitt (born June 20, 1989) is an American former professional basketball player who last played for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Nevada Wolf Pack before declaring for the 2010 NBA draft following his sophomore year.[1] He was selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the 16th overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft, then traded to the Portland Trail Blazers.

Luke Babbitt
Babbitt with the Heat in 2016
Personal information
Born (1989-06-20) June 20, 1989
Cincinnati, Ohio
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High schoolGalena (Reno, Nevada)
CollegeNevada (2008–2010)
NBA draft2010 / Round: 1 / Pick: 16th overall
Selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves
Playing career2010–2018
PositionSmall forward / Power forward
Career history
2010–2013Portland Trail Blazers
2010–2012→Idaho Stampede
2013–2014Nizhny Novgorod
2014–2016New Orleans Pelicans
2016–2017Miami Heat
2017–2018Atlanta Hawks
2018Miami Heat
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Early life

Babbitt was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. At the age of nine his family moved to Reno, Nevada. Babbitt attended Galena High School, where he was a 3-time All-State performer and a two-time Gatorade State Player of the Year in basketball. As a junior, Babbitt averaged 27.8 points and 9.5 rebounds per game while leading Galena to a state championship. Babbitt finished his high school career by scoring 2,941 points, which broke future college teammate Armon Johnson's Nevada state scoring record of 2,616 points.

Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Babbitt was listed as the No. 12 power forward and the No. 31 player in the nation in 2008.[2]

College career

After originally verbally committing to Ohio State, Babbitt backed out and decided to attend the University of Nevada.[3] In his first game, Babbitt recorded a 20-point, 12-rebound double-double versus Montana State. He went on to average 16.9 points per game during his freshman year including a season-high 30 points on March 12, 2009 versus San Jose State.[4]

In his sophomore season, Babbitt led the team in scoring with 21.9 points per game. He scored a career-high 33 points in the Western Athletic Conference tournament semifinals on March 13, 2010 versus New Mexico State.[5] Despite losing that game and ending their hopes of going to the NCAA Tournament, Nevada was invited to the NIT, where they lost in the second round to the University of Rhode Island.[6]

On April 20, 2010, Babbitt hired an agent and declared for the NBA draft.[7]

Professional career

Portland Trail Blazers (2010–2013)

Babbitt was selected with the 16th overall pick by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2010 NBA draft. His rights were later traded, along with Wolves forward Ryan Gomes, to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Martell Webster.[8] On July 9, 2010, Babbitt signed his rookie contract with the Blazers.[9] He then joined the Blazers for the 2010 NBA Summer League.

Babbitt in 2011 with the Portland Trail Blazers

On December 8, 2010, Babbitt was assigned to the Idaho Stampede of the NBA D-League.[10] On December 18, 2010, he was recalled by the Trail Blazers.[11] On March 3, 2011, he was reassigned to the Idaho Stampede.[12] On March 28, 2011, he was recalled by the Trail Blazers. On January 4, 2012, he was reassigned to the Idaho Stampede. On January 10, 2012, he was recalled again.[13]

Babbitt joined the Trail Blazers for the 2012 NBA Summer League.

Nizhny Novgorod (2013–2014)

In August 2013, Babbitt signed with Nizhny Novgorod of Russia for the 2013–14 season.[14] In January 2014, he left Russia under controversial circumstances.[15]

New Orleans Pelicans (2014–2016)

On February 4, 2014, Babbitt signed with the New Orleans Pelicans.[16] On July 20, 2015, he re-signed with the Pelicans.[17]

Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks (2016–2018)

On July 10, 2016, Babbitt was traded to the Miami Heat in exchange for a 2018 second-round draft pick and cash considerations.[18] He signed with the Atlanta Hawks on August 9, 2017,[19] before being traded back to the Heat on February 8, 2018 in exchange for Okaro White.[20]

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2010–11 Portland 2405.7.273.188.3331.3.3.1.11.5
2011–12 Portland 40413.4.410.430.8502.4.4.3.15.1
2012–13 Portland 62011.8.368.348.7692.2.5.2.13.9
2013–14 New Orleans 27217.5.390.379.7783.31.1.3.46.3
2014–15 New Orleans 631913.2.479.513.6841.8.4.3.24.1
2015–16 New Orleans 471318.0.422.404.7803.11.1.2.17.0
2016–17 Miami 68 5515.7.402.414.7332.1.5.3.24.8
2017–18 Atlanta 37915.4.476.441.7732.2.7.2.16.1
2017–18 Miami 13511.2.234.244.0001.2.4.1.22.5
Career 38110714.0.408.402.7472.2.6.2.24.8

Playoffs
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2018 Miami 201.5.000––.0.0.0.0.0
Career 201.5.000––.0.0.0.0.0

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2008–09 Nevada 343432.6.456.429.8647.41.4.7.716.9
2009–10 Nevada 343437.1.500.416.9178.92.11.0.821.9
Career 686834.9.480.421.8938.11.8.9.819.4

Awards and recognition

References
  1. Luke Babbitt Bio
  2. "Luke Babbitt Recruiting Profile". Archived from the original on 2015-12-24. Retrieved 2015-12-20.
  3. Report: Galena basketball star to play for Wolf Pack in '08
  4. Nevada 78, San Jose St. 69 – ESPN.com
  5. New Mexico St. 80, Nevada 79 – ESPN.com
  6. James leads way as Rams hold off Wolf Pack
  7. Babbitt hires agent, declares for draft
  8. "Minnesota Acquires Martell Webster from Portland". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. June 25, 2010. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
  9. "TRAIL BLAZERS SIGN LUKE BABBITT". Archived from the original on 2012-03-02. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
  10. Trail Blazers Assign Luke Babbitt To Idaho Stampede Archived 2014-02-22 at the Wayback Machine
  11. Blazers Recall Babbitt From D-League
  12. Trail Blazers' Luke Babbitt heads to NBA Development League
  13. Blazers recall Luke Babbitt from D-League
  14. "Nizhny Novgorod announced Luke Babbitt". Sportando.net. August 30, 2013. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  15. "Luke Babbitt breaks contract with Nizhny. Russian team won't sign his letter of clearance". Archived from the original on 2014-05-18. Retrieved 2014-05-18.
  16. "PELICANS SIGN BABBITT". NBA.com. July 20, 2015. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  17. "Pelicans Re-Sign Luke Babbitt". NBA.com. July 20, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  18. "HEAT Acquire Luke Babbitt". NBA.com. July 10, 2016. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
  19. "Atlanta Hawks Sign Luke Babbitt". NBA.com. August 9, 2017. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  20. "HEAT Acquire Luke Babbitt". NBA.com. February 8, 2018. Retrieved February 8, 2018.
  21. Luke Babbitt named ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American
  22. Luke Babbitt Named National Finalist
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.