Brandon Clarke
Clarke with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2020
No. 15 – Memphis Grizzlies
PositionPower forward / center
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1996-09-19) September 19, 1996 (age 27)
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
NationalityCanadian / American
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High schoolDesert Vista
(Phoenix, Arizona)
College
NBA draft2019: 1st round, 21st overall pick
Selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder
Playing career2019–present
Career history
2019–presentMemphis Grizzlies
Career highlights and awards
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

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 and San José State University Spartans men’s basketball team. He was drafted 21st overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2019 NBA draft and then immediately traded to the Grizzlies. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 2020.

Early life and high school career

Clarke was born in Vancouver, British Columbia to a Canadian mother and Jamaican father. At age three, Clarke moved with his family to the U.S. city of Phoenix, Arizona; he is now a dual citizen of Canada and the U.S.[1][2] He attended Desert Vista High School in Phoenix.[3] He was named All-Arizona Division 1 honoree by the Arizona Republic after leading Desert Vista to the championship game in 2015.[4]

College career

He played two seasons for the San Jose State Spartans. As a freshman he was named Mountain West Sixth 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.[5]

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.[6] 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.[7] Clarke also broke a team record in points scored in an NCAA Tournament game, breaking a record previously set by Adam Morrison.[8]

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.[9] With four double-doubles, he was named the most valuable player (MVP) of the 2019 NBA Summer League, becoming the second non-American to win the award. 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 non-American to win championship MVP and the first player in Summer League history to win both honors.[10]

On October 23, 2019, Clarke made his NBA debut, coming off the bench in a 101–120 loss to the Miami Heat with eight points, seven rebounds, an assist and a block.[11] On December 18, he scored a career-high 27 points, alongside seven rebounds, in a 122–126 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.[12] Clarke again scored 27 points, alongside six rebounds and two steals, in a 111–104 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.[13] On February 25, 2020, it was announced that Clarke would be sidelined because of a right quadricep injury.[14] On September 15, 2020, Clarke was named to the 2019–20 NBA All-Rookie First Team[15]

On December 16, 2020, the Grizzlies exercised their team option on Clarke for the 2021–22 season.[16] On January 8, 2021, he scored a season-high 21 points, alongside eight rebounds, five assists and two blocks, in a 115–110 win over the Brooklyn Nets.[17] The Grizzlies qualified for the postseason for the first time since 2017 after a series of play-in tournament wins. On May 29, during the Grizzlies' first round series against the Utah Jazz, Clarke made his playoff debut, playing seven minutes and grabbing one rebound in a 111–121 Game 3 loss.[18] The Grizzlies were eliminated by the Jazz in five games.

On October 16, 2021, the Grizzlies exercised their team option on Clarke for the 2022–23 season.[19] On January 28, 2022, Clarke scored a season-high 22 points, alongside three rebounds, in a 119–109 win over the Utah Jazz.[20] The Grizzlies qualified for the playoffs for the second straight season, where they faced the Minnesota Timberwolves during their first round series. On April 26, Clarke recorded playoff career-highs of 21 points and 15 rebounds in a 111–109 Game 5 win.[21] On April 29, he recorded 17 points, eleven rebounds, five assists and three blocks as the Grizzlies eliminated the Timberwolves from the playoffs with a 114–106 Game 6 win.[22] The Grizzlies were eventually eliminated during the second round, with the Golden State Warriors beating them in six games.

On October 16, 2022, Clarke signed a four-year, $52 million contract extension with the Grizzlies.[23][24] On March 3, 2023, during a 113–97 loss to the Denver Nuggets, he suffered a left leg injury and exited the game after playing only two minutes. The next day, the Grizzlies announced that Clarke had suffered a torn left Achilles, ending his 2022–23 season.[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
2019–20 Memphis 58 4 22.4 .618 .359 .759 5.9 1.4 .6 .8 12.1
2020–21 Memphis 59 16 24.0 .517 .260 .690 5.6 1.6 1.0 .9 10.3
2021–22 Memphis 64 1 19.5 .644 .227 .654 5.3 1.3 .6 1.1 10.4
2022–23 Memphis 56 8 19.5 .656 .167 .723 5.5 1.3 .6 .7 10.0
Career 237 29 21.3 .604 .290 .705 5.6 1.4 .7 .9 10.7

Play-in

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2020 Memphis 1 0 24.6 .727 .800 – 4.0 3.0 .0 2.0 20.0
Career 1 0 24.6 .727 .800 – 4.0 3.0 .0 2.0 20.0

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2021 Memphis 2 0 4.5 .500 — — .5 .0 .0 .5 1.0
2022 Memphis 12 0 24.7 .615 .000 .667 7.0 2.0 .8 .8 12.3
Career 14 0 21.8 .613 .000 .667 6.1 1.7 .6 .8 10.7

College

* Led NCAA Division I
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 Redshirt Redshirt
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

  1. ^ Crumpacker, John (December 14, 2018). "Brandon Clarke Bolstering Bulldogs". West Coast Conference. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  2. ^ Gay, Carlan (July 16, 2019). "NBA Draft 2019: The world may not have known it, but Brandon Clarke has always been a proud Canadian". NBA.com. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  3. ^ Prehm, Matt (August 24, 2017). "Oregon makes final three for big-time basketball transfer". 247Sports. Retrieved September 27, 2018.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ "SJSUSpartans.com - Brandon Clarke Bio - San Jose State University Official Athletic Site Men's Basketball". SJSUSpartans.com. Archived from the original on September 28, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  5. ^ "Brandon Clarke -2017-18 Men's Basketball Roster - Gonzaga University". GoZags. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  6. ^ "WCC Announces 2018-19 Men's Basketball All-Conference Team" (Press release). West Coast Conference. March 5, 2019. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  7. ^ Faraudo, Jeff [@JeffFaraudo] (March 24, 2019). "Nice company: Brandon Clarke 1 of 3 players with 35 points and 5 blocked shots in an NCAA tournament game. The others: Shaquille O'Neal and David Robinson" (Tweet). Archived from the original on April 8, 2019. Retrieved June 14, 2021 – via Twitter.
  8. ^ NCAA March Madness [@marchmadness] (March 24, 2019). "Brandon Clarke was UNSTOPPABLE! The junior set the Gonzaga record for most points in an NCAA Tournament game! 🔥 #MarchMadness https://t.co/TySnYPinrV" (Tweet). Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved June 14, 2021 – via Twitter.
  9. ^ "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.
  10. ^ "Clarke stakes Grizzlies to summer league crown". ESPN.com. Associated Press. July 15, 2019. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  11. ^ "Butler misses Miami debut, Heat beat Grizzlies 120-101". ESPN.com. October 23, 2019. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  12. ^ "THUNDER OVERCOME 24-POINT DEFICIT TO BEAT GRIZZLIES 126-122". NBA.com. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  13. ^ "CLARKE LEADS GRIZZLIES TO A 111-104 WIN OVER TRAIL BLAZERS". NBA.com. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  14. ^ "Brandon Clarke out with leg injury". grizzlybearblues.com. February 25, 2020. Archived from the original on December 1, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  15. ^ "Ja Morant, Zion Williamsom headline 2019-20 Kia All-Rookie First Team Tyler Herro, Rui Hachimura voted to Second Team". NBA.com. September 15, 2020. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  16. ^ "Grizzlies exercise 2021-22 contract options on Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., Brandon Clarke and Grayson Allen". NBA.com. December 16, 2020. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  17. ^ "BROOKS LEADS GRIZZLIES TO 1ST HOME VICTORY 115-110 OVER NETS". NBA.com. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  18. ^ "MITCHELL SCORES 29 POINTS, JAZZ BEAT GRIZZLIES FOR 2-1 LEAD". NBA.com. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  19. ^ "Grizzlies exercise rookie options for Morant, Clarke, Bane". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  20. ^ "ALL-STAR MORANT HAS TRIPLE-DOUBLE, GRIZZLIES BEAT JAZZ". NBA.com. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  21. ^ "MORANT'S LAST-SECOND LAYUP GIVES GRIZZLIES 3-2 SERIES LEAD". NBA.com. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  22. ^ "GRIZZLIES RALLY AGAIN PAST WOLVES 114-106 TO REACH 2ND ROUND". NBA.com. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  23. ^ "Memphis Grizzlies sign Brandon Clarke to multi-year contract extension". NBA. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  24. ^ "Brandon Clarke, Grizzlies Agree to 4-Year, $52M Contract Extension". Bleacher Report. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  25. ^ "Grizzlies PR on Twitter: "The @memgrizz announced the following medical update"". Twitter. Retrieved March 4, 2023.

External links

Memphis Grizzlies roster
2019 NBA draft
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