Arron Afflalo

Arron Afflalo

Afflalo with the Nuggets in 2011
No. 40 – Sacramento Kings
Position Shooting guard / Small forward
League NBA
Personal information
Born (1985-10-15) October 15, 1985
Los Angeles, California
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight 210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school Centennial (Compton, California)
College UCLA (2004–2007)
NBA draft 2007 / Round: 1 / Pick: 27th overall
Selected by the Detroit Pistons
Playing career 2007–present
Career history
2007–2009 Detroit Pistons
2009–2012 Denver Nuggets
2012–2014 Orlando Magic
2014–2015 Denver Nuggets
2015 Portland Trail Blazers
2015–2016 New York Knicks
2016–present Sacramento Kings
Career highlights and awards

Arron Agustin Afflalo (born October 15, 1985) is an American professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for UCLA. As a junior, he was named a consensus NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans and was voted the player of the year in the Pac-12 Conference. After electing to forgo his senior year in college, Afflalo was selected in the first round of the 2007 NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons with the 27th overall pick.

High school and college career

Afflalo was born at the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, only a few minutes' walk from Pauley Pavilion, where the UCLA Bruins play their home games. His parents are Benjamin Afflalo and Gwendolyn Washington. He also has a younger sister named Paris.[1]

As a senior in 2003–04, Afflalo helped lead Centennial High School to a California Division III title.

Considered a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, Afflalo was listed as the No. 6 shooting guard and the No. 26 player in the nation in 2004.[2]

As a college player for UCLA, Afflalo's defensive dominance throughout the 2006–07 season (one example being holding Cal's Ayinde Ubaka to zero points in one of the two teams' matchups), and his 17.4 points per game, led to him being voted the Pac-10 Player of the Year by the other coaches in the conference.[3] He also set the then-school record for most three-point field goals made (87) in a season.[lower-alpha 1] Commenting on the award, Afflalo said, "It is good that contributions on both ends of the floor are recognized ... If you truly have a love and passion for the game, then you should work at every aspect of it, not just the part that gives you [attention], that being scoring."[3]

NCAA tournament

In a 2006 NCAA tournament game against Alabama, Afflalo hit the game-winning three-point shot[5] and also defended Alabama point guard Ronald Steele on his errant three-point attempt which would have given Alabama the lead.

In the Bruins' 2006 Sweet Sixteen comeback victory over Gonzaga, Afflalo and teammate Ryan Hollins, in what was later widely hailed as a classy move, helped the distraught Gonzaga star Adam Morrison off the court after the final buzzer sounded.[6][7] Against Memphis in the Elite Eight, Afflalo was noted by many to be largely responsible for stopping Rodney Carney and helping UCLA advance to the Final Four.[8]

In the 2007 NCAA Tournament he was named the West Regional's Most Outstanding Player after scoring 24 points and making several big plays in a 68–55 victory over the Kansas Jayhawks.[9] However, his quick foul trouble against the Florida Gators cost his team the ability to successfully compete and the Bruins ended up bowing out of the tournament.[10]

Professional career

Detroit Pistons (2007–2009)

On June 28, 2007, Afflalo was drafted with the 27th overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons and later signed July 6.[11] In a surprising turn of events, Afflalo made his first career NBA start on November 1, 2007, the opening night of his rookie season, when Rip Hamilton missed the first two games to attend the birth of his son. Afflalo started the team's first and second games during his rookie campaign[12] that culminated with a loss to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2008 NBA Playoffs.[13]

On February 14, 2009, Afflalo helped Team Detroit to its second victory in three years at the Shooting Stars Competition during the 2009 NBA All-Star Weekend in Phoenix, Arizona. Afflalo teamed with Detroit Shock head coach and former NBA legend Bill Laimbeer, and Shock guard Katie Smith to get the win against Team Phoenix in the final.[14]

Denver Nuggets (2009–2012)

On July 13, 2009, he was traded along with Walter Sharpe to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for a second round pick in the 2011 NBA draft and cash.[15] The draft pick became the 52nd overall pick and was used by the Pistons to draft Vernon Macklin.[16]

On February 10, 2011, Afflalo made a 20-foot jump shot at the buzzer over Shawn Marion as Denver beat Dallas 121–120. The Nuggets trailed by as many as 13 in the 4th and were down 119–110 with under 2 minutes to play before pulling off a miraculous upset victory. Afflalo had 19 points in the fourth quarter alone to almost single-handedly power Denver to the win.[17]

Orlando Magic (2012–2014)

Affalo with the Magic in December 2013

On August 10, 2012, he was traded to the Orlando Magic in a four-team deal which sent Dwight Howard to the Los Angeles Lakers, Andrew Bynum to the Philadelphia 76ers, and Andre Iguodala to the Nuggets.[18]

On December 3, 2013, he recorded a career-high 43 points and minutes with 52, in a double-overtime loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.[19] His previous career-high in points came just less than a month earlier with 36 points against the Milwaukee Bucks on November 13,[20] where he also made a career-high 8 three-point shots.[21]

Return to Denver Nuggets (2014–2015)

On June 26, 2014, Afflalo was traded back to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Evan Fournier and the draft rights to Roy Devyn Marble.[22][23] Afflalo, arguably Orlando's best player in 2013–14, was dealt to avoid concerns that he would opt out of his contract following the 2014–15 season and assured the Magic value in return. It also cleared $6 million in cap space for the team.[24]

On October 29, 2014, Afflalo made his return for the Nuggets, recording 15 points and 4 rebounds in the season opening 89-79 win over the Detroit Pistons.[25]

Portland Trail Blazers (2015)

On February 19, 2015, Afflalo was traded, along with Alonzo Gee, to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Will Barton, Víctor Claver, Thomas Robinson and a lottery-protected 2016 first-round pick.[26]

New York Knicks (2015–2016)

On July 9, 2015, Afflalo signed with the New York Knicks. The move reunited him with his former Denver Nuggets teammate Carmelo Anthony.[27] Afflalo missed the first eight games of the regular season with hamstring issues, making his debut for the Knicks on November 11 against the Charlotte Hornets. In 28 minutes as a starter, he recorded 12 points and 6 rebounds in a 95–93 loss.[28] Over his first nine games for the Knicks, Afflalo averaged just 11.2 points per game. He went on to score a season-high 31 points in an overtime loss to the Houston Rockets on November 29.[29] He topped that mark with 38 points against the Atlanta Hawks on January 3, hitting 14-of-17 from the field and 7-of-8 from three-point range.[30]

Sacramento Kings (2016–present)

On July 9, 2016, Afflalo signed with the Sacramento Kings.[31]

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
Led the league

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2004–05 UCLA 292931.3.442.386.7083.32.2.6.210.8
2005–06 UCLA 393833.4.462.366.8064.21.8.6.115.8
2006–07 UCLA 363632.9.461.375.8022.81.9.6.216.9
Career 104 103 32.7 .457 .373 .781 3.5 1.9 .6 .2 14.8

NBA

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2007–08 Detroit 75 9 12.9 .411 .208 .782 1.8 .7 .4 .1 3.7
2008–09 Detroit 74 8 16.7 .437 .402 .817 1.8 .6 .4 .2 4.9
2009–10 Denver 82 75 27.1 .465 .434 .735 3.1 1.7 .6 .4 8.8
2010–11 Denver 69 69 33.7 .498 .423 .847 3.6 2.4 .5 .4 12.6
2011–12 Denver 62 62 33.6 .471 .398 .798 3.2 2.4 .6 .2 15.2
2012–13 Orlando 64 64 36.0 .439 .300 .857 3.7 3.2 .6 .2 16.5
2013–14 Orlando 73 73 35.0 .459 .427 .815 3.6 3.4 .5 .0 18.2
2014–15 Denver 53 53 33.0 .428 .337 .841 3.4 1.9 .6 .1 14.5
2014–15 Portland 25 19 30.1 .414 .400 .851 2.7 1.1 .4 .1 10.6
2015–16 New York 71 57 33.4 .443 .382 .840 3.7 2.0 .4 .1 12.8
Career 648 489 28.7 .452 .385 .820 3.1 2.0 .5 .2 11.6

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2008 Detroit 12 0 7.0 .389 .000 .000 .4 .5 .3 .0 1.2
2009 Detroit 4 0 16.5 .476 .200 .600 .8 .3 .0 .5 6.3
2010 Denver 6 6 20.0 .625 .429 .818 2.0 1.2 .2 .3 9.2
2011 Denver 3 3 28.3 .353 .250 .875 3.0 2.3 .0 .0 11.3
2012 Denver 7 7 32.7 .405 .200 .800 3.6 2.7 .7 .3 10.9
2015 Portland 3 3 20.0 .167 .250 .000 2.3 .7 .0 .0 1.7
Career 35 19 18.4 .424 .258 .775 1.7 1.2 .3 .2 6.0

Personal life

Afflalo attended Centennial High School two years ahead of rapper Kendrick Lamar, who credited Afflalo's academic and athletic achievements in the first verse of the song "Black Boy Fly", a bonus track from his album Good Kid, M.A.A.D City.[32] In the song, Lamar described Afflalo as an example of someone who had the "determination, ambition plus dedication and wisdom" to get out of Compton. Afflalo nodded towards Lamar's drive in an interview with XXL, saying "I was almost like the golden child in the city of Compton, or at least at Centennial at that time, considering where I was as a basketball player, and all the positivity I had around me, in terms of school and people appreciating me and showing me love for what I did on the court and in the community at that time in my life. So for him to kind of be in the background and who he is today, it showed you the perseverance that he had for so many years."[33]

Notes

  1. ↑ The record stood for eight years until Bryce Alford broke it in 2015.[4]

References

  1. ↑ #4 Arron Afflalo
  2. ↑ Arron Afflalo – Yahoo! Sports
  3. 1 2 Afflalo is player of year
  4. ↑ Wang, Jack (March 19, 2015). "NCAA Tournament: Bryce Alford gets hot and fortunate as UCLA stuns SMU". Los Angeles Daily News. Archived from the original on March 22, 2015.
  5. ↑ Farmar's five 3s have UCLA heading to Oakland "Afflalo got loose and launched a 3-pointer, keeping UCLA ahead 60–56 with 34 seconds left."
  6. ↑ UCLA scores final 11 points in stunning comeback over Gonzaga "Hollins and Afflalo went to help up Morrison, who was spread on the floor at midcourt."
  7. ↑ Who was George Mason? Archived July 9, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
  8. ↑ Afflalo, UCLA clamp down on Memphis, stamp Final Four ticket "Afflalo scored 15 points and shut down Memphis leading scorer Rodney Carney, helping No. 2 seed UCLA defeat the top-seeded Tigers"
  9. ↑ Afflalo plays big, takes UCLA to NCAA-record 17th Final Four
  10. ↑ Florida runs over UCLA, sets up another battle with Ohio St. "Bruins guard Arron Afflalo sat on the bench for almost the entire first half with foul trouble"
  11. ↑ NBA Transactions: 2007-08
  12. ↑ Arron’s Evolution: In second season, Afflalo expects to flash more offense
  13. ↑ ESPN: 2008 ECF
  14. ↑ Phoenix team falters from downtown, Detroit takes title
  15. ↑ "Nuggets Acquire Afflalo, Sharpe from Detroit". NBA.com. July 13, 2009. Retrieved July 14, 2009.
  16. ↑ Arron Afflalo NBA & ABA Stats
  17. ↑ Arron Afflalo's buzzer-beater helps Nuggets bury Mavs
  18. ↑ Magic Acquire Six Players, Five Draft Picks in Howard Trade
  19. ↑ Notebook: Sixers 126, Magic 125
  20. ↑ Magic's Arron Afflalo scores a career-high 43 points in loss to Sixers
  21. ↑ Arron Afflalo’s “Courageous Effort” Propels Magic Past Bucks
  22. ↑ Nuggets Acquire Arron Afflalo in Trade with Orlando
  23. ↑ Magic trade Arron Afflalo to Nuggets
  24. ↑ Magic trade Arron Afflalo to Nuggets for Evan Fournier and the draft's 56th pick
  25. ↑ Nuggets open with 89-79 win over Pistons
  26. ↑ Trail Blazers Acquire Arron Afflalo And Alonzo Gee From Denver
  27. ↑ "Knicks Acquire Four Free Agents: Afflalo, R. Lopez, Williams, O'Quinn". NBA.com. July 9, 2015. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  28. ↑ "Hornets' Zeller hits layup with 0.6 left to top Knicks 95-93". NBA.com. November 11, 2015. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
  29. ↑ "Rockets rally in fourth, beat Knicks 116-111 in overtime". NBA.com. November 29, 2015. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
  30. ↑ "Afflalo scores 38, Knicks beat Hawks 111-97". NBA.com. January 3, 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  31. ↑ "Kings Sign Four Free Agents". NBA.com. July 9, 2016. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  32. ↑ "Kendrick Lamar - Black Boy Fly lyrics". genius.com. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  33. ↑ XXL Staff. "NBA Star Arron Afflalo Responds to Kendrick Lamar's "Black Boy Fly" Shout-Out". XXL Magazine. Retrieved 5 August 2016.

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