Brandon Clarke
Brandon Clarke (born September 19, 1996) is a Canadian-American professional basketball player for the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs. He was drafted 21st overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2019 NBA draft and then immediately traded to the Grizzlies.
No. 15 – Memphis Grizzlies | |
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Position | Power forward |
League | NBA |
Personal information | |
Born | Vancouver, British Columbia | September 19, 1996
Nationality | Canadian / American |
Listed height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) |
Listed weight | 215 lb (98 kg) |
Career information | |
High school | Desert Vista (Phoenix, Arizona) |
College |
|
NBA draft | 2019 / Round: 1 / Pick: 21st overall |
Selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder | |
Playing career | 2019–present |
Career history | |
2019–present | Memphis Grizzlies |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Stats at NBA.com | |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com |
Early life and high school career
Clarke was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, to a Canadian mother Whitney Triplett and a Jamaican father Steve Clarke. Brandon moved to the United States at the age of three, settling in Phoenix, Arizona.[1] He attended Desert Vista High School in Phoenix.[2] He was named All-Arizona Division 1 honoree by the Arizona Republic after leading Desert Vista to the championship game in 2015.[3]
College career
He played two seasons for the San Jose State Spartans. As a freshman he was named Mountain West Six Man of the Year by the league's head coaches after putting up 10.1 points and 7.3 rebounds in conference play.
As a sophomore, he averaged 17.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, and 2.3 assists on route to being named All-Mountain West First Team and Mountain West All-Defensive Team. After the season he decided to transfer to Gonzaga, where he redshirted the 2017-18 season.[4]
In his junior season at Gonzaga, Clarke continued onward with his improvements to be named the West Coast Conference's Newcomer of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and be named a member of the All-WCC First Team. Clarke was the first player in WCC history to win both their Newcomer of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors in the same season.[5] He was also named to the All-American Third Team by the Sporting News. On March 23, 2019, Clarke recorded a career-high 36 points alongside 8 rebounds, 5 blocks, and 3 assists in a 83–71 win over #9 seeded Baylor. He became the third player in NCAA Tournament history to record a game of 35+ points alongside 5 blocks, joining Shaquille O'Neal and David Robinson as the only players to do so.[6] Clarke also broke a team record in points scored in an NCAA Tournament game, breaking a record previously set by Adam Morrison.[7]
Professional career
Memphis Grizzlies (2019–present)
Clarke was selected in the first round of the 2019 NBA draft with the 21st overall pick. On July 7, 2019, the Memphis Grizzlies announced that they had officially acquired the right to Clarke from the Oklahoma City Thunder for draft right to Darius Bazley and a future second round draft pick and signed Clarke to a two-year contract worth $5,081,760.[8] With four double-doubles, he was named the most valuable player (MVP) of the 2019 NBA Summer League. He had 15 points, 16 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks in the championship game to lead Memphis to the league championship, and earned game MVP honors as well, becoming the first player in Summer League history to win both honors.[9] On October 23, 2019, Clarke made his debut in NBA, coming off from bench in a 101–120 loss to the Miami Heat with eight points, seven rebounds, an assist and a block.[10] He had 27 points on 13-of-19 shooting and seven rebounds in a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on December 19.[11] On February 25, 2020, it was announced that Clarke will be sidelined because of a right quadricep injury.[12]
Career statistics
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 |
* | Led NCAA Division I |
College
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2015–16 | San Jose State | 31 | 3 | 23.5 | .634 | .167 | .561 | 5.6 | 1.5 | .7 | 1.2 | 8.8 |
2016–17 | San Jose State | 30 | 30 | 31.9 | .592 | .333 | .572 | 8.7 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 2.6 | 17.3 |
2017–18 | Gonzaga | |||||||||||
2018–19 | Gonzaga | 37 | 36 | 28.1 | .687* | .267 | .694 | 8.6 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 3.1 | 16.9 |
Career | 98 | 69 | 27.8 | .639 | .250 | .618 | 7.7 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 2.3 | 14.5 |
References
- Crumpacker, John (14 December 2018). "Brandon Clarke Bolstering Bulldogs". West Coast Conference. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
- Prehm, Matt (August 24, 2017). "Oregon makes final three for big-time basketball transfer". 247Sports. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
- "SJSUSpartans.com - Brandon Clarke Bio - San Jose State University Official Athletic Site Men's Basketball". SJSUSpartans.com. Archived from the original on 28 September 2018. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
- "Brandon Clarke -2017-18 Men's Basketball Roster - Gonzaga University". GoZags. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
- "WCC Announces 2018-19 Men's Basketball All-Conference Team" (Press release). West Coast Conference. March 5, 2019. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
- https://twitter.com/JeffFaraudo/status/1109628490096078849
- https://twitter.com/marchmadness/status/1109628219098099712
- "Grizzlies acquire draft rights to Brandon Clarke from Thunder Memphis trades draft rights to Darius Bazley and future second round draft pick to Oklahoma City; Grizzlies sign Clarke to multi-year contract". NBA.com. July 7, 2019. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
- "Clarke stakes Grizzlies to summer league crown". ESPN.com. Associated Press. July 15, 2019. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
- "Butler misses Miami debut, Heat beat Grizzlies 120-101". ESPN.com. October 23, 2019. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
- Taylor, Cody (December 19, 2019). "Brandon Clarke dropped a career-high 27 points in Grizzlies' collapse". Rookie Wire. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
- "Brandon Clarke out with leg injury". grizzlybearblues.com. February 25, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2020.