Gregory Keith Monroe Jr. (born June 4, 1990) is an American former professional basketball player who is a player development coach for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted by the Detroit Pistons in the 2010 NBA draft with the seventh overall pick and became the last Pistons player to wear the number 10 jersey, as the Pistons retired the number for Dennis Rodman in 2011.[1] In his freshman season at Georgetown University, Monroe was named Big East Rookie of the Year.
Considered a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, Monroe was listed as the No. 1 power forward and the No. 8 player in the nation in 2008.[3]
College career
Freshman season (2008–2009)
In his freshman season at Georgetown, Monroe was named the Big East Rookie of the Year and earned Big East All-Rookie team and CBSSports.com NCAA Freshman All-American first team honors. In 31 games, he averaged 12.7 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.8 steals, and 1.5 blocks in 30.9 minutes per game.[2]
Sophomore season (2009–2010)
In his sophomore season, Monroe was named to the All-Big East first team, Big East All-Tournament team, USBWA All-District II team, NABC Division I All-District 5 first team, AP NCAA All-America third team and NABC Division I All-America third team. In 34 games, he averaged 16.1 points, 9.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.5 blocks in 34.2 minutes per game.[4]
On April 17, 2010, Monroe declared for the NBA draft, foregoing his final two years of college eligibility.[5]
Professional career
Detroit Pistons (2010–2015)
Monroe was selected with the seventh overall pick in the first round of the 2010 NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons. On July 6, 2010, he signed with the Pistons.[6]
Monroe made his NBA regular season debut on October 30, 2010, against the Chicago Bulls. He came off the bench to score 2 points and 3 rebounds in 7 minutes. After coming off the bench for the first month of the season, Monroe made his first career start on December 10, 2010, against the Minnesota Timberwolves. In this game, Monroe recorded eight points, fifteen rebounds, and a block in 35 minutes of action. Despite a slow start to the season, Monroe's production increased in 2011 as he became a solid scorer and rebounder for the rebuilding Pistons. On February 23, 2011, against the Indiana Pacers, Monroe had his best game of the season with 27 points and 12 rebounds on 11–17 shooting.
On May 4, 2011, Monroe placed sixth in NBA Rookie of the Year voting totals, finishing closely behind Gary Neal of San Antonio.[7]
During the 2013–14 season, Monroe recorded his third consecutive season with 1,000-plus points and 600-plus rebounds, joining Grant Hill as the only Pistons to do so since 1994–95.[8]
On June 30, 2014, the Pistons tendered a one-year qualifying offer to make Monroe a restricted free agent.[9] On September 8, 2014, it was announced Monroe signed the Pistons' qualifying offer, thus making him an unrestricted free agent in 2015.[10] The next day, the NBA suspended Monroe without pay for the first two games of the 2014–15 season for driving while visibly impaired in February 2014.[11] On December 3, 2014, he scored a season-high 29 points in a 102–109 overtime loss to the Boston Celtics.[12] On April 8, 2015, he returned to action after missing 11 games with a knee injury to record 19 points and 10 rebounds in another loss to the Celtics.[13]
Milwaukee Bucks (2015–2017)
Monroe with the Bucks in December 2016
On July 9, 2015, Monroe signed a three-year, $50 million contract with the Milwaukee Bucks.[14][15] He made his debut for the Bucks in their season opener on October 28, 2015, recording 22 points and 14 rebounds in a 122–97 loss to the New York Knicks.[16] Between February 9 and March 7, 2016, Monroe had a 12-game bench stint as head coach Jason Kidd tinkered with his line-up. In his first game coming off the bench, he recorded a season-high 29 points and 12 rebounds in a 112–111 win over the Boston Celtics.[17] Monroe returned to the starting line-up on March 9 for the Bucks' game against the Miami Heat.[18]
Monroe was assigned a permanent bench role for the Bucks in 2016–17 by Kidd. On January 25, 2017, he led the Bucks with a season-high 28 points in a 114–109 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.[19]
Phoenix Suns (2017–2018)
On November 7, 2017, Monroe was traded, along with the rights to a protected future first-round pick and a 2018 protected second-round pick, to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Eric Bledsoe.[20] He was dealing with a left calf strain upon arriving in Phoenix.[21] He made his debut for the Suns on November 16, 2017, recording 20 points and 11 rebounds in 26 minutes as a starter in a 142–116 loss to the Houston Rockets.[21] Monroe played amid speculation that he could be traded or have his contract bought out.[21] Six days later, he had 22 points and 15 rebounds in a 113–107 overtime loss to his former team, the Milwaukee Bucks.[22] On January 24, 2018, he had 16 points and a season-high 17 rebounds in a 116–101 loss to the Indiana Pacers.[23] On February 1, 2018, he was waived by the Suns.[24]
Boston Celtics (2018)
On February 8, 2018, Monroe signed with the Boston Celtics.[25][26] On April 6, 2018, he recorded his second career triple-double with 19 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists off the bench in a 111–104 win over the Chicago Bulls. He became the first Celtics center to record a triple-double since Robert Parish did it on March 29, 1987.[27]
Toronto Raptors (2018–2019)
On August 10, 2018, Monroe signed with the Toronto Raptors.[28] On February 7, 2019, Monroe was traded to the Brooklyn Nets with a 2021 second-round pick in exchange for cash considerations. He was immediately waived by the Nets.[29]
Boston Celtics (2019)
On March 24, 2019, Monroe signed a 10-day contract with the Boston Celtics.[30] He was not re-signed by the Celtics upon the expiration of his 10-day contract.[31]
On July 30, 2020, Monroe signed with Russian club Khimki of the VTB United League and the EuroLeague for the 2020–21 season.[34] He was named league player of the week on November 11, after contributing 28 points and ten rebounds in an 86–78 win against PBC CSKA Moscow.[35] On January 23, 2021, Khimki terminated Monroe's contract.[36]
On December 27, 2021, Monroe signed a 10-day deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves. He played his first game against the Boston Celtics and contributed 11 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists in the Wolves' 108–103 victory.[39]
On January 6, 2022, Monroe signed a 10-day contract with the Washington Wizards.[40] Monroe appeared in two games for the Wizards before his contract expired and he returned to Capital City.[41]
On February 5, 2022, Monroe signed a 10-day contract with the Milwaukee Bucks.[42] The same day, he scored six points and grabbed six rebounds in 15 minutes of playing time in his debut, during a 137–108 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.[43] Ten days later, he was reacquired by the Capital City Go-Go.[41]
On March 28, 2022, Monroe signed a 10-day deal with the Utah Jazz.[44]
On April 7, 2022, Monroe signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves for the remainder of the 2021–22 season.[45]
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