Matt Bonner

Matt Bonner
Bonner with the Spurs in 2010
Personal information
Born (1980-04-05) April 5, 1980
Concord, New Hampshire
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight 235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
High school Concord (Concord, New Hampshire)
College Florida (1999–2003)
NBA draft 2003 / Round: 2 / Pick: 45th overall
Selected by the Chicago Bulls
Playing career 2003–2016
Position Power forward / Center
Number 15, 16
Career history
2003–2004 Pallacanestro Messina
2004–2006 Toronto Raptors
2006–2016 San Antonio Spurs
Career highlights and awards
Career statistics
Points 4,632 (5.8 ppg)
Rebounds 1,749 (3.0 rpg)
Assists 552 (0.7 apg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Matthew Robert Bonner (born April 5, 1980), also known as the Red Mamba, is an American retired professional basketball player. Bonner played college basketball for the University of Florida before being selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 45th overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft. During his career Bonner played for the Toronto Raptors and the San Antonio Spurs with whom he won two NBA championships.

Early life

Born in Concord, New Hampshire, Bonner attended Concord High School, where he helped lead them to three state championships.[1] Bonner was also the Valedictorian of his graduating class.[2]

College career

Bonner accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida, where he played for coach Billy Donovan's Florida Gators men's basketball team from 1999 to 2003. In his four seasons, he amassed 1,570 points, 778 rebounds and 165 three-point field goals. As a senior in 2003, he was a first-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection and an Associated Press honorable mention All-American.

Bonner graduated with a bachelor's degree, with high honors, in business administration and a 3.96 grade point average (GPA). He won Academic All-American of the Year for the sport of basketball in both 2002 and 2003.[3]

Professional career

Italy (2003–2004)

Bonner was selected with the 45th overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls but was then traded to the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors did not have a roster spot available at the time and asked Bonner to play overseas and hone his skills with a verbal promise to make the team the following season.

Bonner signed with Sicilia Messina of the Italian league in Messina, Sicily. Sicilia filed for bankruptcy in the middle of the season and stopped paying its players. Many players left the team but Bonner continued to play and finished the year averaging 19.2 points and 9.3 rebounds.

Toronto Raptors (2004–2006)

In September 2004, Bonner signed a one-year deal with the Toronto Raptors. In 2004–05, he played in all 82 regular season games and averaged 7.2 points. He remains the only Raptors rookie to play all 82 games in a season.

In August 2005, Bonner re-signed with the Raptors on a two-year deal.

San Antonio Spurs (2006–2016)

On June 21, 2006, Bonner was traded with Eric Williams and a second round draft pick to the San Antonio Spurs for Rasho Nesterović and cash considerations. In his first season with the Spurs, he averaged 4.9 points in just 11.7 minutes per game. The team went on to win the NBA championship that season.

In July 2007, Bonner re-signed with the Spurs on a three-year deal. On December 11, 2007, in a loss to the Golden State Warriors, Bonner recorded career-highs of 25 points and 17 rebounds.[4]

In July 2010, Bonner again re-signed with the Spurs on a multi-year deal. He went on to lead the NBA in three-point field goal percentage for 2010–11 after he shot 45.7%.[5]

After a social media campaign from his brother Luke, Bonner participated in the 2013 NBA Three-Point Shootout during All-Star Weekend. He recorded a score of 19 in the first round to knock out Ryan Anderson (18) and Stephen Curry (17) and advanced to the final where he lost 20-23 to Kyrie Irving. Later that year, Bonner and the Spurs reached the NBA Finals where they lost to the Miami Heat in seven games.

On June 15, 2014, Bonner won his second NBA championship after the Spurs defeated the Miami Heat 4–1 in the 2014 NBA Finals. On July 21, 2014, Bonner re-signed with the Spurs,[6]

On July 15, 2015, Bonner again re-signed with the Spurs.[7] He announced his retirement on January 6, 2017.[8][9]

NBA 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
† Denotes seasons in which Bonner won an NBA championship
* Led the league

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2004–05 Toronto 82018.9.533.424.7893.5.6.5.27.2
2005–06 Toronto 78621.9.448.420.8293.6.7.6.47.5
2006–07† San Antonio 56011.7.447.383.7112.8.4.3.24.9
2007–08 San Antonio 68312.5.416.336.8642.8.5.2.34.8
2008–09 San Antonio 816723.8.496.440.7394.81.0.6.38.2
2009–10 San Antonio 65817.9.446.390.7293.31.0.5.47.0
2010–11 San Antonio 66121.7.464.457*.7443.6.9.4.37.3
2011–12 San Antonio 65220.4.440.420.7623.3.9.2.36.6
2012–13 San Antonio 68413.4.487.442.7331.9.5.3.34.2
2013–14† San Antonio 61011.3.445.429.7502.1.5.2.23.2
2014–15 San Antonio 721913.0.409.365.8111.6.7.1.23.7
2015–16 San Antonio 3026.9.509.441.750.9.3.2.02.5
Career 79211216.9.464.414.7803.0.7.4.35.8

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2007† San Antonio 902.8.286.2501.000.3.0.2.0.8
2008 San Antonio 204.5.667.000.0001.01.0.0.02.0
2009 San Antonio 5520.0.217.2311.0003.2.0.6.43.0
2010 San Antonio 10017.3.432.3701.0003.2.4.1.35.0
2011 San Antonio 6020.5.480.333.8003.2.3.2.26.3
2012 San Antonio 13012.7.313.348.6001.9.7.2.32.4
2013 San Antonio 20113.4.475.469.8332.0.3.3.34.1
2014† San Antonio 2226.1.476.333.750.7.5.1.01.3
2015 San Antonio 705.1.200.222.000.9.1.1.1.9
Career 94811.0.402.355.8111.7.4.2.22.8

Awards and achievements

  • 2013–14 NBA champion
  • 2006–07 NBA champion
  • 2010–11 NBA three-point field-goal percentage leader
  • 2002–03 Honorable Mention All-American
  • 2001–02 Honorable Mention All-American
  • 2002–03 Academic All-American of the Year
  • 2001–02 Academic All-American of the Year
  • 2002–03 All-SEC First Team
  • 2001–02 All-SEC Second Team
  • 2000–01 All-SEC Third Team
  • 2002–03 SEC three-point field-goal percentage leader
  • 2002–03 All-SEC Academic
  • 2001–02 All-SEC Academic
  • 2000–01 All-SEC Academic
  • 1998–99 NHIAA Champions – Concord HS
  • 1997–98 NHIAA Champions – Concord HS
  • 1996–97 NHIAA Champions – Concord HS

Post-NBA career

After retiring from professional basketball, Bonner joined San Antonio Spurs TV Broadcast as a studio analyst.[10]

Personal life

Bonner speaking into a microphone

Bonner and his wife Nadia have one daughter, Evangeline-Vesper Lynne Bonner (born June 21, 2009) and one son, August Bonner (born August 27, 2012).

He has a younger brother, Luke, who was also a professional basketball player. Luke served as Matt's best man at his wedding.[11]

Bonner applied for Canadian citizenship in February 2009.[12]

Bonner is a sandwich enthusiast. He has a blog titled "The Sandwich Hunter: The Quest for the Hoagie Grail" in which he documents his search for the "world's best sandwich."[13]

During his tenure with the Toronto Raptors, he received the nickname the "Red Rocket" for his red hair and constant use of the public transit in Toronto, the Toronto Transit Commission, whose slogan is "Ride the Rocket."[2]

Kobe Bryant coined Bonner's other nickname, the "Red Mamba", on Twitter while live-tweeting during a televised replay of his 81-point game against the Toronto Raptors.[14]

After his contract with New Balance expired, Bonner signed a basketball shoe deal with Adidas in January 2014.[15]

Bonner and his brother Luke run a nonprofit organization called the Rock On Foundation, in which they look to support community involvement in arts and athletics.[16]

In March 2016, Bonner was featured on the season-premiere episode of FYI's Tiny House Nation, where he and his wife Nadia had a 276-sq.-foot house custom-built.[17]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Matt Bonner". NewHampshire.com. February 14, 2014. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Mini bio". NBA.com. January 22, 2013. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Bio – Matt Bonner". GatorZone.com. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Duncan-less Spurs see win streak snapped at five". ESPN.com. December 11, 2007. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  5. ↑ "NBA Player 3-Point Shooting Statistics - 2010-11 leaders". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Spurs Re-Sign Matt Bonner". NBA.com. July 21, 2014. Retrieved July 21, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Spurs Re-sign Matt Bonner". NBA.com. July 15, 2015. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Matt Bonner Announces Retirement From NBA". NBA.com. January 6, 2017. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Ex-Spurs player Matt Bonner announces retirement with hilarious retirement video". FOXSports.com. January 6, 2017. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
  10. ↑ "MATT BONNER JOINS SAN ANTONIO SPURS TV BROADCAST". NBA.com. January 6, 2017. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Bonner Brothers Reunite Deep In The Heart Of Texas". NBA.com. April 10, 2014. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Spurs' Bonner applies for Canadian citizenship". TSN.ca. February 11, 2009. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Matt Bonner's Sandwich Hunter Archive". NBA.com. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  14. ↑ "Kobe Bryant". Twitter.com. January 22, 2013. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  15. ↑ "Kicks On Court: Matt Bonner Signs with adidas, Wears Crazy 8". NiceKicks.com. January 23, 2014. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  16. ↑ Rock On Foundation
  17. ↑ Andrew Joseph (March 30, 2016). "Tall NBA player Matt Bonner bought a tiny house". USA Today. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
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