Trajan Langdon

Trajan Shaka Langdon (born May 13, 1976) is an American basketball executive and former professional player. He is the current general manager of the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)[1][2] and 211 lb (96 kg)[3] shooting guard, he first gained fame in the U.S. while playing college basketball at Duke University.

Trajan Langdon
Langdon with CSKA Moscow, in March 2011.
New Orleans Pelicans
PositionGeneral manager
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1976-05-13) May 13, 1976
Palo Alto, California
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight211 lb (96 kg)
Career information
High schoolEast Anchorage
(Anchorage, Alaska)
CollegeDuke (1994–1999)
NBA draft1999 / Round: 1 / Pick: 11th overall
Selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers
Playing career1999–2011
PositionShooting guard
Number21
Career history
1999–2002Cleveland Cavaliers
2002–2003Benetton Treviso
2003Long Beach Jam
2003–2004Efes Pilsen
2004–2005Dynamo Moscow
2005–2011CSKA Moscow
Career highlights and awards
As player
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men’s basketball
Representing  United States
FIBA World Cup
1998 Greece
FIBA Americas U18 Championship
1994 Santa Rosa Under-18

Following a three-year NBA stint, Langdon had a very successful career in Europe. A three-time All-EuroLeague Team member and the EuroLeague Final Four MVP in 2008, he won two EuroLeague titles with CSKA Moscow in 2006 and 2008.

In March 2016, he was named the assistant general manager of the Brooklyn Nets, serving in the role until May 2019, when he was named the general manager of the Pelicans.

Early career

Born in Palo Alto, California, Langdon moved to Anchorage, Alaska soon after. During his high school career, Langdon attended Steller Secondary School, and played with East Anchorage High School. He set the Alaska 4A state record of 2,200 career points scored, and was a 3-time Alaskan State Player of the Year.

He led East Anchorage to the 1994 Alaskan State Championship, and he played in the prestigious McDonald's All-American Game, where he won the 3-point shooting contest.

College career

After high school, Langdon moved on to play NCAA Division I college basketball with the highly regarded Duke University basketball team, where he set the school record for the most career 3-point field goals made (which was later broken by J. J. Redick in 2006), earning him the nickname, "The Alaskan Assassin".[4] A major knee injury kept him sidelined for his entire sophomore year, so he finished his college career as a fifth year guard.[5][6]

In the 1999 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament championship game, with Duke down 1 point to the UConn Huskies, with 5.4 seconds to go in the game, Langdon attempted to drive the ball into the lane, and committed a traveling violation that turned the ball over to UConn. Analysts, as well as Langdon himself, credited the defense of Ricky Moore, who was considered the top defensive player in the tournament, for forcing the travel.[7][8][9][10][11]

Professional career

Langdon was selected by the San Diego Padres in the 6th round of the 1994 Major League Baseball draft,[12] and was also drafted by the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1999 NBA Draft. Langdon made his professional debut with the Cavaliers on November 2, 1999, when he became the first Alaskan to play in the NBA. Following a three-year career with the Cavaliers, Langdon moved to Europe to play for the Italian League club Benetton Treviso for the 2002–03 season.

The following season, after being waived by the Los Angeles Clippers in the preseason, he originally signed with and briefly played for the Long Beach Jam before he moved to the Turkish League powerhouse Efes Pilsen. For the 2004–05 season, he moved on to the Russian League club Dynamo Moscow, before moving across town to CSKA Moscow for the 2005–06 season. Langdon was named to the All-EuroLeague Second Team for the 2005–06 season. CSKA won the EuroLeague championship that same season.

The following season, he helped CSKA return to the EuroLeague championship game, where they lost to Greek power Panathinaikos, on the Greek team's home court.[13] In the process, he was named to the All-EuroLeague First Team for the 2006–07 season, a feat that he repeated in the 2007–08 season. On May 4, 2008, he was named the EuroLeague Final Four MVP, after again winning the EuroLeague title with CSKA.[14]

On October 7, 2006, Langdon led his CSKA Moscow team to a 94–75 win over the Clippers, in an NBA Europe Live Tour exhibition game. Coincidentally, he played against his former Duke University teammate Elton Brand, who was playing for the Clippers at that time. He led all scorers in the game with 17 points.[15]

In June 2011, he announced his retirement from playing professional basketball. He made his announcement two days after helping CSKA to its ninth consecutive Russian championship.[16][17]

National team career

After graduating from Duke, with degrees in mathematics and history, Langdon played for the USA national basketball team at the 1998 FIBA World Championship, winning the bronze medal.[18]

Post-playing career

After his playing days ended, Langdon was a scout for the San Antonio Spurs, from 2012 to 2015.[19] On March 8, 2016, he was named the assistant general manager of the Brooklyn Nets.[19] On May 19, 2019, Langdon was named the general manager of the New Orleans Pelicans.[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  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high

Note: The EuroLeague is not the only competition in which the player participated for the team during the season. He also played in domestic competition, and regional competition if applicable.

† Denotes seasons in which Langdon's team won the EuroLeague
Led the league

NBA

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1999–00 Cleveland 10014.5.375.4211.0001.51.1.5.04.9
2000–01 Cleveland 65517.2.431.411.8951.41.2.6.16.0
2001–02 Cleveland 44010.8.398.365.9131.31.4.3.14.8
Career 119514.6.416.396.9101.31.3.5.15.4

EuroLeague
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2002–03 Benetton 211928.6.540.511.7592.71.71.6.114.813.4
2003–04 Efes Pilsen 201933.1.461.391.8643.01.61.5.214.313.0
2005–06† CSKA Moscow 242431.8.453.390.8603.11.51.3.212.811.6
2006–07 252529.5.475.420.9254.01.01.6.213.514.6
2007–08† 252529.1.512.458.8843.3.91.2.112.613.0
2008–09 212128.8.494.432.8782.71.31.0.010.611.2
2009–10 212132.2.505.470.9133.01.11.4.015.015.6
2010–11 10927.5.397.229.7082.2.5.2.08.34.5
Career 16716430.2.486.427.8683.11.31.3.113.012.7

Personal life

Trajan is the son of social worker Gladys Langdon, and Dr. Steve Langdon, a professor of anthropology at the University of Alaska Anchorage.[21] Trajan traveled with his father on many anthropological trips within southeastern Alaska. His father studied the Alaskan Tlingit tribe.

References
  1. Club, CSKA Moscow Professional Basketball. "Error 404 - CSKA Moscow". www.cskabasket.com. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  2. "LANGDON, TRAJAN - Welcome to EUROLEAGUE BASKETBALL". www.euroleague.net. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  3. "Legabasket". 195.56.77.208. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  4. Trajan Langdon. Archived October 1, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
  5. Where are they now? Duke basketball edition: Trajan Langdon, The Duke Chronicle, Bobby Colton, April 19, 2018. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  6. Following his father's vision, Alaska's Trajan Langdon made it to Duke by learning to take the road less traveled, USA Today, Jill Lieber, March 26, 1999. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  7. "UConn Had 'Moore' Than Enough Talent To Beat Duke". The Salina Journal. March 30, 1999. p. 27. Retrieved August 26, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. Battista, Judy. "N.C.A.A. TOURNAMENT: MEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP; Langdon's Journey Is a Step Too Long". Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  9. "sports02". www.umich.edu. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  10. "Six seconds can't define Langdon's Duke career". Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  11. Rhoden, William C. "Sports of The Times; No Mystery at the End: Known Factors, Not an X Factor, Won It". Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  12. "EUROBASKET - Euroleague basketball". www.eurobasket.com. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  13. The EuroLeague determines the site for each year's Final Four shortly before the previous year's Final Four, before it can possibly be known who will advance. The 2008 event was held in Madrid.
  14. Euroleague feature: King of the Final Four on YouTube
  15. "Ex-Duke star Langdon leads Moscow team past Clippers". ESPN.com. October 7, 2006. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  16. "CSKA icon Langdon announces retirement". Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  17. "Trajan Langdon retires from basketball". Inside Hoops. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
  18. 1998 USA Basketball. Archived September 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  19. "Brooklyn Nets Name Trajan Langdon Assistant General Manager". NBA.com. March 8, 2016. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
  20. "Pelicans hire Trajan Langdon as General Manager". NBA.com. May 19, 2019. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  21. Lieber, Jill (March 26, 1999). "Following his father's vision, Alaska's Trajan Langdon made it to Duke by . . ". USA Today. Retrieved May 26, 2011.
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