Bronson Koenig

Bronson Koenig

Koenig playing for Wisconsin
Free agent
Position	Guard
Personal information
Born	(1994-11-13) November 13, 1994 (age 29) La Crosse, Wisconsin, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight	195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school	Aquinas (La Crosse, Wisconsin)
College	Wisconsin (2013–2017)
NBA draft	2017: undrafted
Playing career	2017–present
Career history
2017–2018	Grand Rapids Drive
2018	Mornar
2019	Mineros de Zacatecas
2019–2020	Erie BayHawks
Career highlights and awards
Second-team All-Big Ten – Coaches (2017) Third-team All-Big Ten – Coaches (2016) USBWA Most Courageous Award (2017)
Stats   at Basketball-Reference.com

Bronson Koenig (born November 13, 1994) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Erie BayHawks of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Wisconsin Badgers. Koenig attended Aquinas High School in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

High school career

Koenig attended Aquinas High School in La Crosse, Wisconsin. As a sophomore, Koenig averaged 17 points and 3 assists per game. He was named First Team All-State after leading Aquinas to the 2011 Division III State Championship. He missed much of his junior season due to an injury. In his senior campaign, he again led his team to a state title and was named 2013 Wisconsin Player of the Year by the Associated Press. Koenig scored 16 points in the title game. He averaged 17.0 points and 4.4 assists per game as a senior, shooting 45.5 percent from beyond the arc. Koenig was a McDonald's All American nominee. ^[1]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Bronson Koenig PG	La Crosse, WI	Aquinas	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Sep 24, 2011
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:     Rivals:     247Sports: N/A    ESPN:    ESPN grade: 78
Overall recruiting rankings:
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: "2013 Wisconsin Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 6, 2011. "Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com. Retrieved September 6, 2011. "ESPN- Wisconsin Badgers Men's Basketball Recruiting". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 6, 2011. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved September 6, 2011. "2013 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 6, 2011.

College career

Koenig in 2017

Koenig was moved into the Badgers starting lineup during the 2014–15 season after an injury to point guard Traevon Jackson on January 11, 2015. He averaged 11.6 points per game as a starting guard. ^[2]

In the second round of the 2016 NCAA basketball tournament against the Xavier Musketeers, Koenig made a game-tying three-pointer with 11.7 seconds left. Then, after a Xavier offensive foul, he made another three-pointer at the buzzer to give Wisconsin a 66–63 victory. Koenig finished the game with 20 points. After the win, he said, "I like to have the ball in my hands in those kinds of situations because I believe in myself." ^[3]

Koenig set the school record for career three point shots made on February 23, 2017 in a loss at Ohio State, passing former record-holder Ben Brust. ^[4] Koenig averaged 14.5 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game as a senior, shooting 39.3 percent from the 3-point arc. He finished his career with 1,459 points and 270 career 3-pointers. ^[5]

College 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

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2013–14	Wisconsin	37	0	15.5	.443	.328	.750	1.2	1.1	0.3	0.1	3.5
2014–15	Wisconsin	40	24	28.8	.414	.405	.812	1.8	2.5	0.2	0.2	8.7
2015–16	Wisconsin	35	35	34.9	.392	.390	.763	2.8	2.4	0.4	0.2	13.1
2016–17	Wisconsin	36	35	31.4	.419	.393	.905	2.1	2.0	0.6	0.3	14.5
Career		148	94	27.5	.412	.388	.814	2.0	2.0	0.4	0.2	9.9

Professional career

Grand Rapids Drive (2017–2018)

After going undrafted in the 2017 NBA draft, Koenig signed a two-way contract with the Milwaukee Bucks on July 6, 2017. On September 21, 2017, the Bucks requested waivers on Koenig. ^[6] A week later, he signed a training camp deal with the Chicago Bulls. He was waived on October 14 as one of the team's final preseason roster cuts. ^[7] He would later participate with the Grand Rapids Drive for the 2017-18 NBA G League season. Koenig averaged 9.8 points per game and shot 40% from the three point arc in 47 games with Grand Rapids. ^[8]

Mornar Bar (2018)

On August 10, 2018, Koenig signed with Mornar Bar. ^[9] He left Mornar on November 29, 2018. ^[10]

Basket Brescia Leonessa (2019)

On July 19, 2019, Koenig was reported to have signed with Basket Brescia Leonessa of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). ^[11] On September 24, 2019, due to long time injury, Basket Brescia Leonessa decided to release him. ^[12]

Erie BayHawks (2019–2020)

On November 29, 2019, the Erie BayHawks announced that they had traded the returning right of Taylor Braun to the Grand Rapids Drive for the returning right of Koenig. ^[13] Koenig missed a game in January 2020 with an undisclosed injury. ^[14] On February 11, he recorded 15 points, three rebounds and one assist in a loss to the Capital City Go-Go. ^[15] He averaged 5.3 points per game. ^[8]

Personal life

Koenig is the son of Paul Koenig and Ethel Funmaker. He is a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation. ^[16] He is opposed to using Native names as mascots, and was particularly against the Washington Redskins team name. ^[17] In September 2016, Koenig and his brother drove a trailer packed with supplies 14 hours from Madison to the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, to join the protesters against the Dakota Access Pipeline. In December 2016, Koenig wrote a first-person article about the experience for The Players' Tribune entitled, "What I Found in Standing Rock." ^{[18] [19]}

References

1. "24 Bronson Koenig". Wisconsin Badgers . University of Wisconsin. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
2. Potrykus, Jeff (April 3, 2015). "Roles reverse for Badgers' Traevon Jackson and Bronson Koenig". Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel . Retrieved March 21, 2016.
3. Wolken, Dan (March 21, 2016). "Bronson Koenig drills game-winning jumper to send Wisconsin to Sweet 16". USA Today . Retrieved March 21, 2016.
4. Potrykus, Jeff (February 24, 2017). "UW's Bronson Koenig downplays three-point record". Men's Lunch. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
5. Sommerfeldt, Todd (June 23, 2017). "La Crosse Aquinas graduate Bronson Koenig closing in on NBA contract". La Crosse Tribune . Retrieved January 24, 2020.
6. "Bucks Request Waivers on Bronson Koenig". Milwaukee Bucks. September 21, 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
7. "Bulls waive Jaylen Johnson and Bronson Koenig". NBA.com. October 14, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
8. Low, Asher (April 29, 2020). "Where are they now: Bronson Koenig". Badgers Wire. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
9. "Bronson Koenig signs with Mornar Bar". Sportando. Archived from the original on August 11, 2018. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
10. "PROMENE U MORNARU: Dvojica otišla, Grant došao". novosti.rs. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
11. Lupo, Nicola (July 19, 2019). "Bronson Koenig signs with Germani Brescia". Sportando. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
12. Carchia, Emiliano (September 24, 2019). "Brescia release Bronson Koenig". Sportando. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
13. "Erie BayHawks Complete Trade With Grand Rapids Drive". NBA.com. November 29, 2019. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
14. "Bronson Koenig: Returns from injury". CBS Sports . January 15, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
15. "Bronson Koenig: Scores 15 off bench". CBS Sports . February 12, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
16. Potrykus, Jeff (2 February 2015). "Bronson Koenig embraces being role model for American Indians". Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel . Retrieved 6 April 2015.
17. Ward, Bryan (March 19, 2015). "Wisconsin floor general speaks out against Native mascots". Lakota County Times. Archived from the original on October 6, 2016. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
18. "What I Found in Standing Rock | By Bronson Koenig". The Players' Tribune. 2016-12-02. Retrieved 2022-11-06.
19. "Bronson Koenig becomes Native American role model he never had". USA Today .