Danny Granger Jr. (born April 20, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player who played ten seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted by the Indiana Pacers in 2005 after a two-year college stint at New Mexico. In 2009, Granger averaged 26 points per game on 45 percent shooting and was named an All-Star and the league's Most Improved Player. An injury to his left knee limited Granger to just five games during the 2012–13 season, and in February 2014, he was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers. He went on to play for the Los Angeles Clippers and Miami Heat before having short stints with the Phoenix Suns and Detroit Pistons in 2015.
Granger made the Missouri Valley Conference All-Freshman team for Bradley in 2001–02, averaging 11.1 points and 7.1 rebounds a game. He was a highly publicized transfer to New Mexico after the first semester of his sophomore season, having averaged 19.2 points and 7.9 rebounds for the Braves.[2] He wasn't eligible to start playing for the Lobos until January 2004.[4][5] He said the reason for the transfer was because of Braves head coach Jim Les's intimidating tactics,[6] including being 'verbally abusive'.[7]
Granger averaged a career-best 19.5 points per game and also led the Lobos in rebounding (9.0 rpg), steals (1.32 spg) and blocks (1.41 bpg) as a junior in 2003–04. He became the first Lobos player to lead the team in all those categories in the same season and was awarded the Bob King Team MVP Award. He also became just the second Lobo in 33 years, and the fifth all-time, to average more than 19 points and nine rebounds for an entire season, joining Luc Longley, Willie Long, Mel Daniels and Ira Harge. A First Team All-Mountain West Conference selection, Granger was twice named the league's Player of the Week for the weeks ending December 22 and January 25.[1]
As a senior in 2004–05, Granger was the only player in the NCAA to average at least 18.8 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, while also averaging at least 2.0 blocks (2.1), 2.0 steals (2.0) and 2.0 assists (2.0). He led the team in scoring, rebounding, steals and blocked shots for the second year in a row. He became the first player in school history to record 60+ assists, blocks and steals in a season. In 52 games, he registered 91 career blocked shots, ranking sixth all-time in New Mexico history. He fell just six points short of 1,000 in his New Mexico career, and for the second year in a row, he was given the Bob King Team MVP Award. He was named the MWC tournament MVP and earned First Team All-Mountain West honors for the second straight year.[1] He was also runner-up to Utah's Andrew Bogut as MWC Player of the Year.[2]
Granger was selected 17th overall in the 2005 NBA draft by the Indiana Pacers. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team after averaging 7.5 points and 4.9 rebounds in 78 games. He was a starter in the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge during All-Star Weekend in Houston on February 17, 2006, where he had nine points, three rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot in six minutes, and shot 2-of-4 from 3-point range.[1]
In 2006–07, Granger became one of only four Pacers players to hit 100+ 3-point field goals in a season in the previous 15 years. He led Indiana with 110, after making just 30 3-pointers in his rookie season. He was the only Pacers player to see action in all 82 games; he started 57 games, including the first 14 and 42 of the last 44 games.[1]
Perennial team scoring leader (2007–12)
In 2007–08, Granger was the team's leading scorer with an average of 19.6 points per game. On November 5, 2007, he was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played Tuesday, October 30 through Sunday, November 4. It was his first and only NBA Player of the Week honor.[8] He set a franchise record by making 65 straight free throws (January 21 to February 22), breaking the record set by Reggie Miller in 2005.[1]
On October 31, 2008, Granger signed a five-year contract extension with the Pacers believed to be worth a guaranteed $60 million.[9] The new contract began in 2009–10, with incentives that could have pushed the total closer to $65 million.[10]
Granger in December 2008, shooting a free throw
In 2008–09, Granger became the first player in NBA history to lift his scoring average at least five points per game in three consecutive seasons, and the first Indiana player to average more than 25 points per game in more than 30 years. He ranked fifth in the NBA with 25.8 points and was named the NBA's Most Improved Player.[11] His average was the highest by an Indiana player since Billy Knight's single-season team record of 26.6 points per game in 1976–77. Granger scored 20 or more points in a career-high 16 straight games from December 15 to January 19, tying the longest streak in the Pacers' NBA history. In a three-game span from January 3 to 7, he scored 35 or more points in each game and is the only Pacers player to ever do so. In February 2009, he played in his first and only NBA All-Star Game. He missed a total of 15 games due to injury or illness, including 11 in February and March with a torn tendon in his right foot.[1]
In 2009–10, Granger led the Pacers with 24.1 points per game, eighth best in the NBA and third best in the Eastern Conference. He scored 20 or more points in 45 of 62 appearances and scored 30+ points 16 times. He tallied a career-high 44 points against the Utah Jazz on March 26, 2010. He missed a total of 18 games due to injury or illness, including 16 straight in December and January with a torn plantar fascia in his right foot.[1]
In 2010–11, Granger was the Pacers' leading scorer for the fourth season in a row, with 20.5 points per game, which was 16th best in the NBA and his third consecutive season of 20+ points per game. He scored in double figures in all but four games and tallied 20 or more points 39 times with 30+ points nine times.[1] On January 2, 2011, he grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds in a 98–92 loss to the New York Knicks.[12]
Granger (#33) in December 2011, attempting to block Luol Deng's shot
In the lockout-shortened 2011–12 season, Granger was the Pacers' leading scorer for the fifth consecutive season—his 18.7 points per game ranked 22nd best in the NBA.[1]
Injury-riddled end to Pacers tenure (2012–14)
Granger missed the first 55 games of the 2012–13 season with tendinosis of the left knee. He played five games between February 23 and March 3 before being placed back on the inactive list and eventually having surgery on the knee on April 4.[1]
Granger missed the first 25 games of the 2013–14 season with a strained left calf.[13][14] Indiana fans gave Granger a standing ovation on December 20 when he made his season debut in the first quarter of the Pacers' 114–81 win over the Houston Rockets, and chanted his name when he finally made his first basket, a 3-pointer, early in the fourth.[14] He appeared in 29 games (2 starts) for the Pacers in 2013–14, averaging 8.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 22.5 minutes per game.[1]
On July 14, 2014, Granger signed with the Miami Heat.[19] On February 19, 2015, he was traded to the Phoenix Suns in a three-team trade involving the New Orleans Pelicans.[20] However, due to knee problems, he did not play for the Suns in 2014–15.[21] On July 9, 2015, he was traded to the Detroit Pistons, along with Reggie Bullock and Marcus Morris, in exchange for a 2020 second-round draft pick.[22] He spent the preseason in Arizona rehabbing from knee and foot injuries,[23] and on October 26, 2015, he was waived by the Pistons.[24]
Granger was raised in a religious household by Jehovah's Witnesses.[25] Granger's younger brother, Scotty, is a musical artist and songwriter. Granger is the great-nephew of the "Queen of Gospel", Mahalia Jackson.[26]
^Broussard, Chris (March 28, 2009). "What's The Difference Between Danny Granger and Kobe Bryant?". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 3, 2017. The guy who scored an impressive 30 on his ACT and was accepted to Yale works on stuff some players don't even think about.
