Meyers Leonard

Meyers Leonard
Leonard with the Trail Blazers in February 2018
No. 11 – Portland Trail Blazers
Position Center
League NBA
Personal information
Born (1992-02-27) February 27, 1992
Woodbridge, Virginia
Nationality American
Listed height 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)
Listed weight 255 lb (116 kg)
Career information
High school Robinson (Robinson, Illinois)
College Illinois (2010–2012)
NBA draft 2012 / Round: 1 / Pick: 11th overall
Selected by the Portland Trail Blazers
Playing career 2012–present
Career history
2012–present Portland Trail Blazers
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Meyers Patrick Leonard (born February 27, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the University of Illinois before being selected by the Trail Blazers with the 11th overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft.

Early life

Leonard, born in Woodbridge, Virginia,[1] grew up in Robinson, Illinois, a small town in southeastern Illinois. When he was six years old, his father James, a golf pro, was killed in a freak bicycle accident. His mother Tracie, once an athlete who would run upwards of 10 miles a day, had been largely housebound since her husband's death, victimized by an old horseback injury and subsequent disc surgery that left her with crippling pain.[2]

When he was in second grade, the young Leonard gained a surrogate family. Brian Siler, an insurance agent in Robinson who had a son of the same age, was aware of Leonard's family situation, and eventually became a father figure. Leonard regularly attended the Silers' church and went on family vacations. According to ESPN.com writer Dana O'Neil,

"Looking to shoehorn the relationship into a convenient box, outsiders have called this Meyers' version of The Blind Side, but the comparison is inaccurate. The book and subsequent movie tell the story of Michael Oher, a boy who was homeless and didn't have much of a family life. Meyers Leonard has a family. It has not abandoned him. On the contrary, Tracie loves her son, loves him so much that she was willing to accept help."[2]

High school career

Leonard entered high school as a guard, but was converted to center after a six-inch (15 cm) growth spurt between his freshman and sophomore years. O'Neil called him "something of a basketball anomaly", adding that Leonard "gained all that height without losing his coordination or his fast-twitch muscles."[2]

In high school, Leonard was named a member of the 2010 Illinois All-State Team as selected by the Associated Press, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, News-Gazette, and the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association. Leonard led Robinson High School to the IHSA class 2A state championship[3] before choosing to play collegiate basketball at the University of Illinois.

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Meyers Leonard
C		 Robinson, IL Robinson High School 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 240 lb (110 kg) Jul 29, 2008 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:5/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 95
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 6 (C)   Rivals: 6 (C)  ESPN: 4 (C)
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Illinois Commit List for 2010". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2010-11-18.
  • "Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com. Retrieved 2010-11-18.
  • "ESPN – Illinois Fighting Illini Basketball Recruiting 2010". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2010-11-18.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved 2010-11-18.
  • "2010 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2010-11-18.

    College career

    Illinois (2010–2012)

    Leonard playing for Illinois

    Freshman

    As a freshman at Illinois in 2010–11, Leonard averaged 2.1 points and 1.2 rebounds per game in 8.2 minutes per game.[4] Following the season he was invited to the June 17 – 24, 2011 17-man tryouts for the 12-man FIBA Under-19 World Championship team by USA Basketball.[5] Leonard was one of 12 selected players that competed as Team USA in the 2011 FIBA U19 World Championships in Latvia from June 30 – July 10, 2011 and placed fifth in the competition.[6]

    Sophomore

    As a sophomore in 2011–12, Leonard averaged 13.6 points and 8.2 rebounds per game.[4] Leonard was named Big 10 Co-Player of the Week on December 5, 2011 after averaging 16.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game in two Illinois victories.[7] Leonard was also named Big 10 Player of the Week on December 26, 2011 after averaging 16.5 points and 14.5 rebounds per game in two games.[8] Following the season, Leonard was named Honorable Mention All Big-10.[9]

    Professional career

    Portland Trail Blazers (2012–present)

    Leonard was drafted with the 11th overall pick by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2012 NBA draft. On July 13, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Trail Blazers.[10][11] On October 31, 2012, Leonard made his NBA debut, logging 23 minutes and scoring four points against the Los Angeles Lakers.[12] He made his first career start on November 21, 2012 against the Phoenix Suns, where he finished with 12 points and 5 rebounds.[13] On March 30, 2013, he had a season-best game with 22 points and 10 rebounds in a loss to the Golden State Warriors.[14]

    Leonard's numbers dipped from his rookie to sophomore season, falling behind fellow second-year big man Joel Freeland as the primary backup to starter Robin Lopez. He saw action in 29 fewer games in 2013–14, with his minutes and points per game cut in half, as the Blazers transformed from a lottery team to a playoff contender.[15] On January 2, 2014, he had a season-best game with 8 points and 10 rebounds in a 134–104 win over the Charlotte Bobcats.[16]

    In 2014–15, Leonard played only 13 total minutes in Portland's first 9 games as he was stuck in the big man rotation behind Robin Lopez, Joel Freeland and Chris Kaman. On November 15, 2014, with LaMarcus Aldridge scratched with an upper respiratory illness against the Brooklyn Nets, Leonard picked up the start at power forward, playing 29 minutes. With his first major minutes at the power forward spot, he performed admirably, tallying 12 rebounds and hitting a three-pointer. He went on to pick up DNPs in 11 of the next 12 games. But when Lopez broke his hand going up for a rebound against the San Antonio Spurs on December 15, Leonard got another chance to show that he deserved time on the court. His improvement was incremental, but noticeable, over the following seven weeks. His play while Lopez was out earned him time to prove himself. He only saw six DNPs after the turn of the New Year, and grew in confidence despite limited minutes. At the season's end, Leonard had produced a remarkable Steve Nash-like 50/40/90 season, shooting 51% from the field, 42% from three-point range, and 93% from the free throw line.[17] In the second last game of the regular season on April 13, he scored a career-high 24 points in a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.[18] He went on to record a playoff-best game with 13 points and 13 rebounds in a win over the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 4 of Portland's first-round series. The Trail Blazers went on to lose the series 4–1.[19]

    On December 1, 2015, Leonard scored a season-high 23 points in a loss to the Dallas Mavericks.[20] On March 24, 2016, he was ruled out for the rest of the season after injuring his left shoulder and requiring surgery.[21]

    On July 10, 2016, Leonard re-signed with the Trail Blazers on a four-year, $41 million contract.[22][23] On October 8, 2016, he was cleared for all practice activities, six months after undergoing surgery on his left shoulder.[24] On December 23, 2016, he scored a season-high 16 points off the bench in a 110–90 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.[25]

    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

    NBA

    Regular season

    Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
    2012–13 Portland 69917.5.545.429.8093.7.5.2.65.5
    2013–14 Portland 4008.9.451.000.7622.8.5.2.12.5
    2014–15 Portland 55715.4.510.420.9384.5.6.2.35.9
    2015–16 Portland 611021.9.448.377.7615.11.5.1.38.4
    2016–17 Portland 741216.5.386.347.8753.21.0.2.45.4
    2017–18 Portland 3327.7.590.423.8182.1.5.2.03.4
    Career 3324015.7.468.373.8243.7.8.2.35.5

    Playoffs

    Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
    2014 Portland 402.3.000––.5.0.0.0.0
    2015 Portland 5021.2.667.769.5006.61.0.4.47.8
    2017 Portland 3110.3.200.000–2.7.3.0.0.7
    2018 Portland 204.01.000––2.0.0.0.04.0
    Career 14111.0.594.588.5003.4.4.1.13.5

    College

    Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
    2010–11 Illinois 3318.2.483.000.7061.2.2.2.42.1
    2011–12 Illinois 322931.8.584.091.7328.21.3.51.913.6
    Career 653019.8.567.083.7294.7.7.31.17.7

    Personal life

    Leonard's older brother, Bailey, is a U.S. Marine who has served in Afghanistan.[26]

    References

    1. ↑ Klee, Paul (June 1, 2010). "Meyers Leonard: A road less traveled". The News-Gazette. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
    2. 1 2 3 O'Neil, Dana (January 25, 2012). "Meyers Leonard shoulders plenty". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
    3. ↑ Helfgot, Mike (March 14, 2010). "Class 2A championship: Derek Hannahs cashes in on overtime opportunities to lead Robinson to victory". ChicagoTribune.com. Retrieved March 14, 2010.
    4. 1 2 "Illinois Athletics – Meyers Leonard". FightingIllini.com. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
    5. ↑ Snyder, Mark (May 12, 2011). "Keith Appling, Tim Hardaway Jr. invited to USA Basketball U-19 tryouts". Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on June 12, 2011. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
    6. ↑ "TENTH FIBA MEN'S U19 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP – 2011". USA Basketball. August 6, 2011. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
    7. ↑ "Illinois, Indiana and Michigan State Claim Weekly Accolades". BigTen.org. December 5, 2011. Retrieved June 26, 2012.
    8. ↑ "Leonard Named Big Ten Player of the Week Again". FightingIllini.com. December 26, 2011. Retrieved June 26, 2012.
    9. ↑ "2011–12 All-Big Ten Men's Basketball Team" (PDF). cstv.com. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
    10. ↑ Damian Lillard, Meyers Leonard sign Trail Blazers rookie contracts
    11. ↑ Blazers Officially Announce Signings Of Damian Lillard & Meyers Leonard
    12. ↑ Lakers fall to Trail Blazers as Steve Nash exits with injury
    13. ↑ Marcin Gortat scores 22 as Suns blow out Blazers
    14. ↑ Meyers Leonard 2012-13 Game Log
    15. ↑ You be the GM: Trail Blazers center Meyers Leonard
    16. ↑ Meyers Leonard 2013-14 Game Log
    17. ↑ Meyers Leonard: From Afterthought to Folk Hero
    18. ↑ Westbrook scores 36; Thunder beat Trail Blazers 101-90
    19. ↑ Meyers Leonard 2014-15 Game Log
    20. ↑ Matthews returns and Mavs defeat Trail Blazers 115-112 in OT
    21. ↑ MEYERS LEONARD TO UNDERGO SHOULDER SURGERY
    22. ↑ "TRAIL BLAZERS SIGN MEYERS LEONARD". NBA.com. July 10, 2016. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
    23. ↑ Freeman, Joe (July 10, 2016). "Trail Blazers, Meyers Leonard agree to 4-year, $41 million free agent deal". OregonLive.com. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
    24. ↑ Holdahl, Casey (October 8, 2016). "LEONARD CLEARED FOR FULL PRACTICE, EXPECTED TO PLAY VERSUS LAKERS". NBA.com. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
    25. ↑ "Leonard has 33 and Spurs beat Blazers 110-90". ESPN.com. December 23, 2016. Retrieved December 24, 2016.
    26. ↑ Marine surprises brother after not seeing him for 2 years
    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.