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Meyers Leonard

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Meyers Leonard
Leonard with the Portland Trail Blazers in 2019
Free agent
PositionPower forward / Center
Personal information
Born (1992-02-27) February 27, 1992 (age 32)
Woodbridge, Virginia
NationalityAmerican
Listed height7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight260 lb (118 kg)
Career information
High schoolRobinson (Robinson, Illinois)
CollegeIllinois (2010–2012)
NBA draft2012: 1st round, 11th overall pick
Selected by the Portland Trail Blazers
Playing career2012–present
Career history
2012–2019Portland Trail Blazers
2019–2021Miami Heat
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference

Meyers Patrick Leonard (born February 27, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Illinois Fighting Illini before being selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 11th overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft. After spending his first seven seasons with the Trail Blazers, he was traded to the Heat in the 2019 off-season.

Early life

Leonard, born in Woodbridge, Virginia,[1] grew up in Robinson, Illinois, a small town in southeastern Illinois. When he was six years old, his father James, a golf pro, was killed in a freak bicycle accident. His mother Tracie, once an athlete who would run upwards of 10 miles a day, had been largely housebound since her husband's death, due to an old horseback injury and subsequent disc surgery that left her with crippling pain.[2]

When he was in second grade, the young Leonard gained a surrogate family. Brian Siler, an insurance agent in Robinson who had a son of the same age, was aware of Leonard's family situation, and eventually became a father figure. Leonard regularly attended the Silers' church and went on family vacations. According to ESPN.com writer Dana O'Neil:

"Looking to shoehorn the relationship into a convenient box, outsiders have called this Meyers' version of The Blind Side, but the comparison is inaccurate. The book and subsequent movie tell the story of Michael Oher, a boy who was homeless and didn't have much of a family life. Meyers Leonard has a family. It has not abandoned him. On the contrary, Tracie loves her son, loves him so much that she was willing to accept help."[2]

High school career

Leonard entered high school as a guard, but was converted to center after a six-inch (15 cm) growth spurt between his freshman and sophomore years. O'Neil called him "something of a basketball anomaly", adding that Leonard "gained all that height without losing his coordination or his fast-twitch muscles."[2]

In high school, Leonard was named a member of the 2010 Illinois All-State Team as selected by the Associated Press, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, News-Gazette, and the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association. Leonard led Robinson High School to the IHSA class 2A state championship[3] before choosing to play collegiate basketball at the University of Illinois.

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Meyers Leonard
C 		Robinson, IL Robinson High School 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 240 lb (110 kg) Jul 29, 2008 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:5/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 95
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 6 (C)   Rivals: 6 (C)  ESPN: 4 (C)
  • 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:

  • "Illinois Commit List for 2010". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
  • "Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
  • "ESPN – Illinois Fighting Illini Basketball Recruiting 2010". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
  • "2010 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 18, 2010.

College career

Illinois (2010–2012)

Leonard playing for Illinois

As a freshman at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in 2010–11, Leonard averaged 2.1 points and 1.2 rebounds per game in 8.2 minutes per game for the Fighting Illini.[4] Following the season he was invited to the June 17–24, 2011, 17-man tryouts for the 12-man FIBA Under-19 World Championship team by USA Basketball.[5] Leonard was one of 12 selected players that competed as Team USA in the 2011 FIBA U19 World Championships in Latvia from June 30 – July 10, 2011, and placed fifth in the competition.[6]

As a sophomore in 2011–12, Leonard averaged 13.6 points and 8.2 rebounds per game.[4] Leonard was named Big 10 Co-Player of the Week on December 5, 2011 after averaging 16.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game in two Illinois victories.[7] Leonard was also named Big 10 Player of the Week on December 26, 2011 after averaging 16.5 points and 14.5 rebounds per game in two games.[8] Following the season, Leonard was named Honorable Mention All Big-10.[9] He then entered the NBA draft.[10]

Professional career

Portland Trail Blazers (2012–2019)

Leonard was drafted with the 11th overall pick by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2012 NBA draft.[11] On July 13 he signed his rookie scale contract with the Trail Blazers.[12][13] On October 31, 2012, Leonard made his NBA debut, logging 23 minutes and scoring four points against the Los Angeles Lakers.[14] He made his first career start on November 21, 2012, against the Phoenix Suns, finishing with 12 points and 5 rebounds.[15] On March 30, 2013, he had a season-best game with 22 points and 10 rebounds in a loss to the Golden State Warriors.[16]

Leonard's numbers dipped from his rookie to sophomore season, falling behind fellow second-year big man Joel Freeland as the primary backup to starter Robin Lopez. He saw action in 29 fewer games in 2013–14, with his minutes and points per game cut in half, as the Blazers transformed from a lottery team to a playoff contender.[17] On January 2, 2014, he had a season-best game with 8 points and 10 rebounds in a 134–104 win over the Charlotte Bobcats.[18]

In 2014–15, Leonard played only 13 total minutes in Portland's first 9 games as he was stuck in the big man rotation behind Lopez, Freeland and Chris Kaman. On November 15, 2014, with LaMarcus Aldridge scratched with an upper respiratory illness against the Brooklyn Nets, Leonard picked up the start at power forward, playing 29 minutes. With his first major minutes at the power forward spot, he performed admirably, tallying 12 rebounds and hitting a three-pointer. He went on to pick up DNPs in 11 of the next 12 games. But when Lopez broke his hand going up for a rebound against the San Antonio Spurs on December 15, Leonard got another chance to show that he deserved time on the court. His improvement was incremental, but noticeable, over the following seven weeks. His play while Lopez was out earned him time to prove himself. He only saw six DNPs after the turn of the year, and grew in confidence despite limited minutes. At the season's end, Leonard had produced a remarkable Steve Nash-like 50/40/90 season, shooting 51% from the field, 42% from three-point range, and 93% from the free throw line.[19] In the penultimate game of the regular season on April 13, he scored a career-high 24 points in a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.[20] He went on to record a playoff-best game with 13 points and 13 rebounds in a win over the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 4 of Portland's first-round series. The Blazers lost the series 4–1.[21]

On December 1, 2015, Leonard scored a season-high 23 points in a loss to the Dallas Mavericks.[22] On March 24, 2016, he was ruled out for the rest of the season after injuring his left shoulder, requiring surgery.[23]

On July 10, 2016, Leonard re-signed with the Trail Blazers on a four-year, $41 million contract.[24][25] On October 8, 2016, he was cleared for all practice activities, six months after undergoing surgery on his left shoulder.[26] On December 23, 2016, he scored a season-high 16 points off the bench in a 110–90 loss to the Spurs.[27]

On May 20, 2019, in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals, Leonard recorded a career-high 30 points and 12 rebounds in a 119–117 overtime loss to the Golden State Warriors.[28]

Miami Heat (2019–2021)

On July 6, 2019, Leonard was traded to the Miami Heat in a four-team trade.[29] The Heat reached the 2020 NBA Finals, but lost the series in 6 games to the Los Angeles Lakers. Leonard started two games in the Finals when Bam Adebayo was injured.

On November 22, 2020, the Miami Heat announced that they had re-signed with Leonard.[30] On February 2, 2021, it was reported that Leonard had undergone shoulder surgery and would miss the remainder of 2020–21 season.[31] On March 9, 2021, the Heat announced that Leonard would be suspended indefinitely while the NBA conducts an investigation into his use of an anti-Semitic slur during a video game livestream session.[32] The NBA suspended him for one week and fined him $50,000.[33]

Oklahoma City Thunder (2021–present)

On March 17, 2021, Leonard was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder with a 2027 second round pick for Trevor Ariza.[34]

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
2012–13 Portland 69 9 17.5 .545 .429 .809 3.7 .5 .2 .6 5.5
2013–14 Portland 40 0 8.9 .451 .000 .762 2.8 .5 .2 .1 2.5
2014–15 Portland 55 7 15.4 .510 .420 .938 4.5 .6 .2 .3 5.9
2015–16 Portland 61 10 21.9 .448 .377 .761 5.1 1.5 .1 .3 8.4
2016–17 Portland 74 12 16.5 .386 .347 .875 3.2 1.0 .2 .4 5.4
2017–18 Portland 33 2 7.7 .590 .423 .818 2.1 .5 .2 .0 3.4
2018–19 Portland 61 2 14.4 .545 .450 .843 3.8 1.2 .2 .1 5.9
2019–20 Miami 51 49 20.3 .509 .414 .643 5.1 1.1 .3 .3 6.1
2020–21 Miami 3 2 9.7 .429 .429 .500 2.3 .7 .0 .0 3.3
Career 447 93 16.0 .482 .390 .809 3.9 .9 .2 .3 5.6

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2014 Portland 4 0 2.3 .000 – – .5 .0 .0 .0 .0
2015 Portland 5 0 21.2 .667 .769 .500 6.6 1.0 .4 .4 7.8
2017 Portland 3 1 10.3 .200 .000 – 2.7 .3 .0 .0 .7
2018 Portland 2 0 4.0 1.000 – – 2.0 .0 .0 .0 4.0
2019 Portland 11 2 15.5 .523 .424 .333 3.6 1.1 .2 1 7.7
2020 Miami 3 2 10.3 .625 .500 1.000 .3 1.0 .3 .0 4.7
Career 28 5 12.7 .552 .481 .462 3.1 .8 .2 .1 5.3

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2010–11 Illinois 33 1 8.2 .483 .000 .706 1.2 .2 .2 .4 2.1
2011–12 Illinois 32 29 31.8 .584 .091 .732 8.2 1.3 .5 1.9 13.6
Career 65 30 19.8 .567 .083 .729 4.7 .7 .3 1.1 7.7

Personal life

Leonard has two older brothers; Bailey is a U.S. Marine who has served in Afghanistan.[35] Leonard is one of only two NBA players, along with Jonathan Isaac, to stand for the National Anthem before games during the resumed 2020 season.[36] Leonard's dog, Bella died of cancer in December 2017.[37] In April 2019, Leonard invested in FaZe Clan as a content creator.[38] On August 2, 2015, Leonard married his long-time sweetheart Elle Bielfeldt. They founded a sports bar company called Level Foods together.[39]

Controversy

On March 9, 2021, Leonard received criticism for using an anti-Semitic slur (kike) during a Twitch stream while playing Call of Duty: Warzone. The Heat announced the same day that they were reviewing the matter and that Leonard would be "away from the team indefinitely."[40] FaZe Clan cut ties with him later that day.[41] He later apologized for using the slur, claiming that he did not know what it meant.[42]

References

  1. ^ Klee, Paul (June 1, 2010). "Meyers Leonard: A road less traveled". The News-Gazette. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c O'Neil, Dana (January 25, 2012). "Meyers Leonard shoulders plenty". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
  3. ^ Helfgot, Mike (March 14, 2010). "Class 2A championship: Derek Hannahs cashes in on overtime opportunities to lead Robinson to victory". ChicagoTribune.com. Retrieved March 14, 2010.
  4. ^ a b "Illinois Athletics – Meyers Leonard". FightingIllini.com. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
  5. ^ Snyder, Mark (May 12, 2011). "Keith Appling, Tim Hardaway Jr. invited to USA Basketball U-19 tryouts". Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on June 12, 2011. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  6. ^ "TENTH FIBA MEN'S U19 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP – 2011". USA Basketball. August 6, 2011. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  7. ^ "Illinois, Indiana and Michigan State Claim Weekly Accolades". BigTen.org. December 5, 2011. Archived from the original on October 6, 2012. Retrieved June 26, 2012.
  8. ^ "Leonard Named Big Ten Player of the Week Again". FightingIllini.com. December 26, 2011. Archived from the original on March 4, 2012. Retrieved June 26, 2012.
  9. ^ "2011–12 All-Big Ten Men's Basketball Team" (PDF). cstv.com. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
  10. ^ Powers, Scott (April 13, 2012). "Meyers Leonard to enter NBA draft". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
  11. ^ "Chicago Tribune: Chicago news, sports, weather, entertainment".
  12. ^ Sports, Oregonian/OregonLive (July 13, 2012). "Damian Lillard, Meyers Leonard sign Trail Blazers rookie contracts". oregonlive.
  13. ^ Golliver, Ben (July 13, 2012). "Blazers Officially Announce Signings Of Damian Lillard & Meyers Leonard". Blazer's Edge.
  14. ^ "Lakers vs. Trail Blazers - Game Recap - October 31, 2012 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
  15. ^ "Trail Blazers vs. Suns - Game Recap - November 21, 2012 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
  16. ^ "Meyers Leonard 2012-13 Game Log". Basketball-Reference.com.
  17. ^ Oregonian/OregonLive, Sean Meagher | The (May 22, 2014). "You be the GM: Trail Blazers center Meyers Leonard". oregonlive.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ "Meyers Leonard 2013-14 Game Log". Basketball-Reference.com.
  19. ^ "Meyers Leonard Goes From Afterthought to Folk Hero". Blazer's Edge. May 22, 2015.
  20. ^ Westbrook scores 36; Thunder beat Trail Blazers 101-90
  21. ^ "Meyers Leonard 2014-15 Game Log". Basketball-Reference.com.
  22. ^ "Matthews returns and Mavs defeat Trail Blazers 115-112 in OT". Archived from the original on May 9, 2018. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  23. ^ "Meyers Leonard to Undergo Shoulder Surgery". Portland Trail Blazers.
  24. ^ "TRAIL BLAZERS SIGN MEYERS LEONARD". NBA.com. July 10, 2016. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
  25. ^ Freeman, Joe (July 10, 2016). "Trail Blazers, Meyers Leonard agree to 4-year, $41 million free agent deal". OregonLive.com. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
  26. ^ Holdahl, Casey (October 8, 2016). "LEONARD CLEARED FOR FULL PRACTICE, EXPECTED TO PLAY VERSUS LAKERS". NBA.com. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
  27. ^ "Leonard has 33 and Spurs beat Blazers 110-90". ESPN.com. December 23, 2016. Retrieved December 24, 2016.
  28. ^ "Warriors beat Blazers 119-117 in OT for NBA Finals berth". ESPN.com. May 20, 2019. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  29. ^ "HEAT Acquire Butler And Leonard". NBA.com. July 6, 2019. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  30. ^ "Leonard Re-Signs With HEAT". NBA.com. November 22, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  31. ^ Richardson, Shandel (February 3, 2021). "Miami Heat's Meyers Leonard In Good Spirits After Season-Ending Surgery". si.com. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  32. ^ Friedell, Nick (March 9, 2021). "Miami Heat say Meyers Leonard will be away from team indefinitely while NBA probes use of anti-Semitic slur". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  33. ^ "Miami Heat's Meyers Leonard fined $50,000, suspended for week for using anti-Semitic slur". ESPN. March 11, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  34. ^ "Thunder Acquires 2027 Second-Round Draft Pick, Meyers Leonard and Generates Trade Exception". NBA.com. March 17, 2021. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  35. ^ "Marine surprises brother after not seeing him for 2 years" – via www.youtube.com.
  36. ^ "Heat's Leonard opts to stand for national anthem". ESPN.com. August 1, 2020.
  37. ^ "Bella, Meyers Leonard's beloved pup, loses battle with cancer". RSN.
  38. ^ Duran, H. B. (April 11, 2019). "NBA Player Meyers Leonard Announces Investment In FaZe Clan". The Esports Observer. Archived from the original on April 12, 2019. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  39. ^ "OUR STORY". LEVEL.
  40. ^ Joseph, Andrew (March 9, 2021). "The Heat's Meyers Leonard said an anti-Semitic slur during a Twitch stream". USA Today. Retrieved March 9, 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  41. ^ Cooke, Hunter (March 9, 2021). "FaZe Clan 'cutting ties' with NBA player Meyers Leonard over use of anti-Semitic slur during Warzone stream". Dot Esports.
  42. ^ Kalland, Robby (March 10, 2021). "Meyers Leonard Claimed He 'Didn't Know' What The Slur He Used Meant". UPROXX.
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