J. R. Giddens

J. R. Giddens

Giddens with Brescia in January 2013
Personal information
Born	(1985-02-13) February 13, 1985 (age 40) Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight	210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school	John Marshall (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
College	Kansas (2003–2005) New Mexico (2006–2008)
NBA draft	2008: 1st round, 30th overall pick
Selected by the Boston Celtics
Playing career	2008–2019
Position	Shooting guard
Career history
2008–2010	Boston Celtics
2008–2009	→Utah Flash
2010	Maine Red Claws
2010	New York Knicks
2010	Asseco Prokom Gdynia
2011	Valencia Basket
2011	New Mexico Thunderbirds
2011–2012	PAOK Thessaloniki
2012–2014	Brescia Leonessa
2014	Vaqueros de Bayamón
2014–2015	Peñarol de Mar del Plata
2015–2016	Instituto
2016	Leones de Santo Domingo
2017	Trouville
2017	Gregorio Urbano Gilbert
2017	Mineros de Parral
2018	Ferro Carril Oeste
2018	Pueblo Nuevo
2018	Halcones de Ciudad Obregón
2018	Correcaminos UAT Victoria
2019	Español de Talca
2019	Domingo Paulino
2019	Cañeros del Este
Career highlights and awards
Serie A2 Basket All-Star (2014) MWC Player of the Year (2008) First-team All-MWC (2008) Third-team Parade All-American (2003)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

Justin Ray "J. R." Giddens (born February 13, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. He was selected to the 2003 McDonald's All-American team, then initially played for the University of Kansas but transferred to the University of New Mexico following his sophomore season. He was selected with the 30th overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics, and played for various professional teams until 2019. Giddens is the former head coach of the women's basketball team at Northern New Mexico College. ^[1]

College

Giddens accepted a scholarship offer from University of Kansas from then-head coach Roy Williams. After Williams left, Giddens was persuaded to stay by Williams' replacement Bill Self. ^[2] In his first year at Kansas, Giddens earned All-Big 12 Conference Freshman honors while averaging 11 points per game. In May 2005 he was involved in a fight outside a bar in Lawrence and received a stab wound. He was later charged with battery for his role in the incident and left Kansas in a mutual agreement with Self. ^{[3] [4]} Giddens transferred to New Mexico and sat out the next season due to NCAA regulations. As a junior, he was suspended from the team in late February for disciplinary reasons and missed the team's summer trip to work on his academics. ^{[2] [5]} New Mexico hired head coach Steve Alford, who took a no-nonsense approach to discipline, and Giddens made a dramatic transformation. ^[6] As a senior, he was named Mountain West Conference Co-Player of the Year and Honorable Mention All-American following career highs in points (16.3 per game) and rebounds (8.8 per game). ^[7]

Professional career

On June 26, 2008, Giddens was selected by the Boston Celtics with the 30th overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft. He had worked out with the Celtics for three days, and received praises from head coach Doc Rivers, ^[8] who thought he could fight for minutes on the team right away. ^[9] He was even mentioned as a possible replacement for restricted free agent Tony Allen. ^[10] Giddens was already familiar with Leon Powe and Kendrick Perkins, who were his teammates at the 2003 McDonald's All-American Game. But on behalf of his agent Aaron Mintz, Giddens declined to work out at the Celtics' minicamp in early July, because he had not signed a contract yet. ^{[11] [12]}

On November 15, 2008, Giddens was assigned to the Boston Celtics' NBA Development League affiliate team, the Utah Flash. ^[13] He had played with the Celtics in the 2008–09 pre-season but had been on the inactive list for the first 10 games of the regular season. ^[13] He was recalled by the Celtics from Utah Flash development team on February 8, 2009. ^[14]

Giddens started his first game for the Boston Celtics on January 2, 2010.

On February 18, 2010, Giddens, Bill Walker and Eddie House were traded to the New York Knicks for Nate Robinson and Marcus Landry. ^[15]

On October 13, 2010, Giddens's agent said that Giddens would spend the 2010–11 season with Asseco Prokom Gdynia in Poland, ^[16] but Giddens left the team in December 2010 by mutual consent. ^[17]

In September 2011, Giddens signed with PAOK Thessaloniki of Greece. ^[18]

In September 2012, Giddens signed with Basket Brescia Leonessa, an Italian Legadue team.

On June 30, 2014, he signed with Vaqueros de Bayamón of Puerto Rico. ^[19]

On November 22, 2014, Giddens signed with Peñarol de Mar del Plata of Argentina. ^[20] On March 10, 2015, he was waived by the Peñarol after appearing in seventeen LNB games. ^[21]

In January 2017, Giddens signed with Club Trouville of the Liga Uruguaya de Basketball. ^[22] The next month, he left the club after appearing in five games. ^[23] On February 22, 2017, he signed with Mexican club Mineros de Parral. ^[24]

On March 22, 2018, Giddens signed with Ferro Carril Oeste of the Liga Nacional de Básquet in Argentina. ^[25]

Stabbing incident

On May 19, 2005, Giddens was stabbed in his right calf in a bar fight in Lawrence, Kansas, requiring 30 stitches. ^{[2] [3]}

Personal

• Majored in university studies.
• Cleared 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) as a high jumper in high school.
• His parents are Charles and Dianna, and he has two sisters, Breeanna and Portia.
• Lists Steve Urkel and Mr. Rogers as his favorite television characters.
• Has sixteen tattoos, including his first initial "J" on his left triceps and his last initial "G" on his right triceps, and the Bible verse Philippians 4:13 – "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength" – on his right shoulder. ^[26]

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
2008–09	Boston	6	0	1.3	.667	–	–	.5	.0	.2	.0	.7
2009–10	Boston	21	1	4.7	.429	.000	.500	1.0	.3	.2	.0	1.1
2009–10	New York	11	0	12.7	.487	.000	.636	2.8	.6	.5	.1	4.1
Career		38	1	6.5	.476	.000	.565	1.4	.3	.3	.1	1.9

References

1. Levin, Ari (March 15, 2023). "J.R. Giddens Out at Northern". iograndesun.com. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
2. DraftExpress.com NBA Draft Prospect Profile: J.R. Giddens
3. Ex-Jayhawk Giddens charged with battery – Men's College Basketball – ESPN
4. Mark Murphy, Celtics select J.R. Giddens with 30th pick in NBA draft, Boston Herald , June 27, 2008.
5. Geoff Grammer, Steve Alford: A bitter departure, Albuquerque Journal, August 4, 2013.
6. Richard Stevens, Alford Takes UNM To New Levels, But No Sweet 16 Trip Archived March 20, 2014, at the Wayback Machine , New Mexico Athletics, June 22, 2013.
7. J.R. Giddens, Profile Archived March 19, 2014, at the Wayback Machine , New Mexico Athletics.
8. Steve Bulpett, For Celts, future is now, Boston Herald , June 27, 2008.
9. Julian Benbow, Taking a shot with J.R., The Boston Globe , June 27, 2008.
10. Steve Bulpett, Celts drafting offseason plan, Boston Herald , June 28, 2008.
11. Monique Walker, This year, Davis not one of the babies in camp, The Boston Globe , July 3, 2008.
12. Scott Souza, Celtics: Giddens a no-show at mini-camp, The MetroWest Daily News , July 2, 2008.
13. Celtics Assign Giddens to Utah Flash | Celtics.com
14. "Boston Celtics player transactions (Boston Herald)". Archived from the original on May 10, 2011. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
15. "Knicks Acquire Eddie House, J.R. Giddens and Bill Walker". NBA.com . February 18, 2010. Archived from the original on February 21, 2010. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
16. Giddens to play in Europe
17. "JR Giddens leaves Prokom". Archived from the original on March 13, 2012. Retrieved December 31, 2010.
18. PAOK signs swingman Giddens
19. "JR Giddens inks with Vaqueros de Bayamon". Sportando.com. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
20. "J.R. Giddens (ex Bayamon) agreed terms with Penarol". Eurobasket.com. November 22, 2014. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
21. "Penarol cut J.R. Giddens". Eurobasket.com. March 10, 2015. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
22. Trouville lands J.R. Giddens, ex Leones SD
23. Trouville y un nuevo recambio (in Spanish)
24. Te presentamos a los nuevos refuerzos del equipo mineros de parral, de excelente nivel, el orgullo parralense y jugador reconocido en liga nacional Alan Olivas, así como el jugador ex NBA (knicks-celtics) JR Giddens (in Spanish)
25. Cauchi, O. (March 22, 2018). "J.R. Giddens inks with Ferro Basquet". sportando.com. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
26. Jeremy Fowler, Men's basketball: Lobo J.R. Giddens seeks to rise above the labels Archived April 8, 2008, at the Wayback Machine , The Albuquerque Tribune, February 10, 2007.

External links

• Career statistics from NBA.com  and  Basketball Reference
• J. R. Giddens Euroleague.net Profile
• J. R. Giddens Player Info @ DraftExpress.com
• J. R. Giddens – New Mexico Player Bio
• J. R. Giddens Draft 2008 Profile @ NBA.com
• Trying to get past his past – The Boston Globe