Zach LaVine

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Zach LaVine
File:Zach LaVine vs USC (cropped).jpg
LaVine driving to the basket with UCLA in 2014
No. 8 – Minnesota Timberwolves
Position Shooting guard / Point guard
League NBA
Personal information
Born (1995-03-10) March 10, 1995 (age 29)
Renton, Washington
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight 189 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High school Bothell (Bothell, Washington)
College UCLA (2013–2014)
NBA draft 2014 / Round: 1 / Pick: 13th overall
Selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves
Playing career 2014–present
Career history
2014–present Minnesota Timberwolves
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Zachary LaVine (born March 10, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected in the first round of the 2014 NBA draft with the 13th overall pick by the Timberwolves. He is a two-time Slam Dunk Contest champion.

LaVine grew up in Washington, where he was honored as the state's top high school player. He played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins. After one season at UCLA, he entered the NBA after being named one of the top freshmen in the Pac-12 Conference. As a rookie with Minnesota, he won the league's Slam Dunk Contest, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. In 2016, he became just the fourth NBA player to ever win consecutive dunk contests.

Early life

LaVine was born in Renton, Washington, to athletic parents. His father, Paul, played American football professionally in the United States Football League (USFL) and National Football League (NFL), and his mother, CJ, was a softball player.[1][2] Around the age of five, LaVine developed an interest in basketball after watching Michael Jordan in Space Jam.[3] He later became a fan of Kobe Bryant, and modeled his game after his childhood idol.[4]

LaVine practiced playing in the family backyard, where his father had him repeatedly emulate the NBA's Three-Point Shootout.[3] He attended Bothell High School in Bothell, Washington.[1] Playing point guard, he was their primary ball handler. By his junior year, he had grown to 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m), and he would practice dunking for hours in his backyard after his shooting routine would end.[3]

As a senior, he averaged 28.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game, and was named the 2013 Associated Press Washington state player of the year and Washington Mr. Basketball.[1] He was also recognized nationally as a first-team Parade All-American.[5] He played in the Ballislife All-American Game, and won the event's slam dunk contest.[6] Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, LaVine was listed as the No. 12 shooting guard and the No. 44 player in the nation in 2013.[7]

College career

On June 20, 2012, LaVine verbally committed to attending UCLA and playing for coach Ben Howland for the 2013 season.[8] After Howland was fired nine months later, LaVine considered staying in-state and attending the University of Washington instead. However, he decided to remain with UCLA and their new coach, Steve Alford; LaVine had inherited an affection for UCLA from his father, who grew up a fan of Bruins basketball while growing up in nearby San Bernardino, California.[9]

After a strong start to 2013–14 as the team's sixth man, featuring an impressive display of outside shooting and explosive dunks, the former point guard LaVine evoked memories of former Bruin Russell Westbrook's UCLA beginnings.[3] NBA draft pundits began ranking LaVine high on their projections for the 2014 NBA draft if he declared himself eligible.[3][10] ESPN.com draft expert Chad Ford attributed LaVine's appeal to the Westbrook comparisons. At one point, Ford listed him as the 10th overall pick, while NBADraft.net ranked him fifth.[3] During the season, LaVine typically entered the game with coach Alford's freshman son, Bryce Alford, who usually handled the ball, while starter Kyle Anderson was the team's main facilitator.[3][11] During a six-game span beginning on January 26, 2014, he endured a shooting slump where he made just 7 of 36 shots from the field.[9] He averaged 9.4 points per game during the season, fourth best on the team, and his 48 three-point field goals made were the second most by a freshman in the school's history.[12] However, LaVine did not reach double-figures in scoring in 14 of the final 18 games,[13] and totaled just 11 points and was 0 for 8 on three-point attempts in the final five games.[14] Despite his late-season struggles, he was voted to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team,[15][16] and he was named with Bryce Alford as the team's most valuable freshmen.[12]

On April 16, 2014, he declared for the NBA draft, foregoing his final three years of college eligibility.[17]

College statistics

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2013–14 UCLA 37 1 24.4 .441 .375 .691 2.5 1.8 .9 .2 9.4

Professional career

Minnesota Timberwolves (2014–present)

Zach LaVine draws a foul from DeAndre Jordan

On June 26, 2014, LaVine was selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the 13th overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft and signed his rookie scale contract on July 8, 2014.[18] The Timberwolves drafted him more for his long-term potential than for immediate returns.[19] During the offseason, he won the slam dunk contest at the Seattle Basketball Pro-Am League while using many of the same moves he used to capture the Ballislife contest.[20][21] Over the first five games of the 2014–15 season, LaVine had played a total of just 12 minutes. But when an ankle injury sidelined starter Ricky Rubio indefinitely, LaVine became the starting point guard over veteran Mo Williams.[22][23] After being switched back to the bench by coach Flip Saunders in favor of Williams, LaVine scored 28 points in a 120–119 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on November 28. He was only the second teenager ever in the NBA to have at least 25 points and five assists as a reserve.[lower-alpha 1] LaVine moved back into the starting lineup after back spasms sidelined Williams.[25] On December 6 against the San Antonio Spurs, LaVine had 22 points and 10 assists for his first double-double.[26] He became just the fourth teenage player to record a 20-point, 10-assist game in the NBA.[lower-alpha 2]

Rubio returned in February 2015, resulting in a dip in playing time for LaVine. However, Williams was also traded that month to open up more opportunities.[28][29] Again incorporating moves from the Ballislife contest two years earlier, LaVine won the Slam Dunk Contest during the 2015 NBA All-Star Weekend.[6] He become the youngest champion since an 18-year-old Kobe Bryant in 1997.[30] LaVine became a crowd favorite after his first dunk, which he performed while wearing Jordan's No. 23 jersey from the movie Space Jam.[31] With a perfect 50 on each of his first two dunks, he was the first player since Dwight Howard in 2009 with a perfect score on multiple dunks.[32] Yahoo! Sports hailed him as "the most electrifying performer of All-Star Saturday Night... and, if we're being honest, in quite a number of years."[30] LaVine also participated in the Rising Stars Challenge that weekend.[33] On April 11, LaVine had a season-best game with 37 points and nine rebounds in a loss to the Golden State Warriors.[34][35] For the season, LaVine played in 77 games, starting in 40, and averaged 10.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 3.6 assists, while shooting 42.2 percent overall and 34.1 percent on three-pointers. He was named to the All-NBA Rookie Second Team.[36]

On October 21, 2015, the Timberwolves exercised their third-year team option on LaVine's rookie scale contract, extending the contract through the 2016–17 season.[37] With Ricky Rubio sidelined in early November, LaVine took over the starting point guard role and took advantage of the increased minutes. On November 13, he scored a season-high 26 points in a loss to the Indiana Pacers.[38] He later topped that mark on December 13, scoring 28 points in a loss to the Phoenix Suns.[39] In a 114–107 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 25, 2016, LaVine, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Andrew Wiggins became the first trio of NBA teammates under age 21 to score at least 20 points in the same game.[40][41] On January 27, he scored 35 points against the Oklahoma City Thunder, just two points shy of his career-high. His 35 points set a franchise record for a bench player and set the highest scoring total by a non-starter in the league in 2015–16.[42] He tied Minnesota single-game records with a shooting percentage of 82.4 (14 for 17) and most two-point field goals without a miss (9 for 9).[43] During 2016 All-Star Weekend, LaVine scored 30 points for Team USA in the Rising Stars Challenge to capture MVP honors.[44] He also became the fourth player ever to win consecutive Slam Dunk Contests.[lower-alpha 3] His battle with Aaron Gordon through two tie-breakers in the final round drew comparisons to the showdown between Jordan and Dominique Wilkins in 1988.[45]

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

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2014–15 Minnesota 77 40 24.7 .422 .341 .842 2.8 3.6 .7 .1 10.1
2015–16 Minnesota 82 33 28.0 .452 .389 .793 2.8 3.1 .8 .2 14.0
Career 159 73 26.4 .439 .373 .816 2.8 3.3 .8 .2 12.1

Off the court

In March 2016, LaVine guest starred in an episode of the hit Disney XD television series Kirby Buckets.[46]

Notes

  1. ↑ The first was Kobe Bryant in 1997.[24]
  2. ↑ He joined LeBron James, Dajuan Wagner, and Stephon Marbury.[27]
  3. ↑ He joined Jordan, Jason Richardson, and Nate Robinson.[45]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Zach LaVine Recruiting Profile
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ UCLA's Zach LaVine is dunking his way to the NBA
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ UCLA's Zach LaVine Declares for NBA Draft , UCLABruins.com, April 16, 2014
  18. ↑ Timberwolves Sign First-Round Pick Zach LaVine
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  41. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  43. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  44. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  45. ↑ 45.0 45.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  46. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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