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Marcin Gortat

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Marcin Gortat
Gortat with the Wizards in November 2014
No. 4 – Washington Wizards
PositionCenter
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1984-02-17) February 17, 1984 (age 40)
Łódź, Poland
NationalityPolish
Listed height6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight240 lb (109 kg)
Career information
NBA draft2005: 2nd round, 57th overall pick
Selected by the Phoenix Suns
Playing career2003–present
Career history
2002–2003ŁKS Łódź (Poland)
2003–2007RheinEnergie Cologne (Germany)
20072010Orlando Magic
2007Anaheim Arsenal (D-League)
20102013Phoenix Suns
2013–presentWashington Wizards
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference

Marcin Gortat (Polish pronunciation: ['mar.t͡ɕiŋ 'ɡɔr.tat]; born February 17, 1984) is a Polish professional basketball player who currently plays for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The 6 ft 11 in, 240-pound center is the son of boxer Janusz Gortat. He was a second-round draft choice of the Phoenix Suns in the 2005 NBA draft and was traded for future cash considerations to the Orlando Magic. In 2010, he was traded back to Phoenix.

Gortat started his career with ŁKS Łódź, then played three seasons for RheinEnergie Cologne in Germany's Basketball Bundesliga. With them, he won the domestic championship in 2006 and played in the 2006-07 Euroleague season for the first time in the team's history.

Early life

In his youth, Gortat was frequently involved in athletics such as high jump and soccer. His father Janusz Gortat was a Polish boxer and a bronze medalist in light heavyweight during the Munich 1972 and Montreal 1976 Olympics, and his mother Alicja Gortat was a representative of the Polish national team in volleyball. He has an older brother Robert, who is also a boxer.

Gortat grew up in Łódź, Poland together with his brother Filip. He graduated from Technical School in Łódź. Apart from Polish, he is fluent in English, German and Serbian. He was also a professional swimmer for the national team of Poland.

NBA career

Orlando Magic (2007–2010)

After being drafted no. 57 overall in round 2 of the 2005 NBA draft by the Phoenix Suns, Gortat elected to keep playing with RheinEnergie Cologne in Germany. On November 20, 2007 he was assigned to play with the Anaheim Arsenal in the NBA Development League.[1][2] He was recalled from the D-League on December 2,[3] and he played his first NBA game, for the Orlando Magic, on March 1, 2008 against the New York Knicks. As of the end of the 2007–08 season, Gortat had appeared in 14 NBA games for the Magic, including eight playoff appearances. On April 16, 2008, in the Magic's last game of the 2007–08 NBA season, little-used Gortat played 28 minutes[4] and registered 12 points and 11 rebounds in a 103–83 Magic win over the Washington Wizards.[5] On December 15, 2008, starting in place of the injured Dwight Howard, Gortat played 28 minutes[6] and recorded 16 points and 13 rebounds.[7] On April 13, 2009, again starting in place of Howard, Gortat played almost 43 minutes and topped his career high in rebounding with 18 rebounds and had 10 points. On April 30, 2009, Gortat made his first playoff start in Game 6 against the Philadelphia 76ers, replacing Howard, who was suspended because of his actions in game 5. He had 11 points and 15 rebounds as the Magic eliminated their opponent 4–2. Later that year, the Magic made a run all the way to the NBA Finals, making Gortat the first Polish-born player to ever appear in the championship series.

On July 8, 2009, Gortat, a restricted free agent, signed an offer sheet for five years and $34 million with the Dallas Mavericks. However, Orlando prevented Gortat from going to Dallas by matching the offer sheet on July 13, 2009. Gortat was said to be "very disappointed" to stay with the Magic, since continuing as backup to Dwight Howard would mean limited playing time, whereas playing for Dallas would likely have meant being the starting center.[8]

Phoenix Suns (2010–2013)

Gortat battling for a rebound during his tenure with the Suns.

On December 18, 2010, Gortat was traded to the Phoenix Suns along with Vince Carter, Mickaël Piétrus, a 2011 first-round draft pick (which would become Nikola Mirotić), and $3 million, in exchange for Jason Richardson, Earl Clark, and then-former Magic player and former teammate Hedo Türkoğlu.[9] Due to Steve Nash wearing the #13 jersey, which was the number that Gortat had worn in Orlando and Poland, he decided to wear #4 for his tenure with the Suns. During his first season with the Suns, his numbers increased immediately due to gaining more minutes off the bench, and then eventually starting at center in place of Robin Lopez. During his time in Phoenix, Gortat also acquired the nickname "The Polish Hammer".

During the lockout-shortened 2011–12 NBA season, Gortat averaged 15.4 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. He was the only Suns player to start and play every game of the regular season. Gortat also joined the likes of former Magic teammate Dwight Howard, Andrew Bynum, and DeMarcus Cousins as the only centers to average a double-double in that season. After the season ended, he was named to the Polish national basketball team for the FIBA EuroBasket 2013 qualification round. In the second game against Finland, he scored 27 points and grabbed 21 rebounds to help Poland qualify for 2013's FIBA Eurobasket tournament.

On November 7, 2012, he scored 23 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and had a career-best 7 blocks in a 117–110 victory against the Charlotte Bobcats. During the end of February, Gortat had an injury towards his knee that left him off the team for the rest of the season.

Washington Wizards (2013–present)

Gortat in 2013.

On October 25, 2013, Gortat was traded, along with Shannon Brown, Malcolm Lee, and Kendall Marshall, to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Emeka Okafor and a 2014 protected first-round draft pick.[10]

On February 27, 2014, Gortat recorded a career high 31 points, along with 12 rebounds and 4 blocks, in a 134-129 triple overtime win over the Toronto Raptors.[11]

On May 13, 2014, Gortat recorded a playoff career high 31 points (also matching his regular season career high) and 16 rebounds to win Game 5 and avoid elimination in the second round where the Indiana Pacers lead the series 3-1. He became the first Washington Wizards player to record at least 30-points and 15-rebounds in a playoff game since Moses Malone in 1987.[12]

On July 10, 2014, Gortat re-signed with the Wizards to a reported five-year, $60 million contract.[13][14]

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  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high

NBA regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2007–08 Orlando 6 0 6.8 .471 .000 .667 2.7 .3 .2 .2 3.0
2008–09 Orlando 63 3 12.6 .569 1.000 .578 4.6 .2 .3 .8 3.8
2009–10 Orlando 81 0 13.4 .533 .000 .680 4.2 .2 .2 .9 3.6
2010–11 Orlando 25 2 15.8 .543 .000 .667 4.7 .7 .3 .8 4.0
2010–11 Phoenix 55 12 29.7 .563 .250 .731 9.3 1.0 .5 1.3 13.0
2011–12 Phoenix 66 66 32.0 .555 .000 .649 10.0 .9 .7 1.5 15.4
2012–13 Phoenix 61 61 30.8 .521 .000 .652 8.5 1.2 .7 1.6 11.1
2013–14 Washington 81 80 32.8 .542 1.000 .686 9.5 1.7 .5 1.5 13.2
Career 357 144 22.3 .547 .154 .670 6.9 .7 .4 1.2 8.6

NBA Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2008 Orlando 8 0 6.0 .833 .000 .000 1.0 .0 .0 .5 1.3
2009 Orlando 24 1 11.3 .654 .000 .625 3.2 .1 .4 .6 3.3
2010 Orlando 14 0 15.1 .654 .000 .727 4.4 .6 .2 .3 3.0
2014 Washington 11 11 34.7 .429 .000 .659 9.9 1.5 .5 1.4 13.0
Career 57 12 16.0 .564 .000 .662 4.5 .5 .3 .6 4.8

Euroleague

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2006–07 RheinEnergie Cologne 14 14 27.7 .594 .500 .667 5.6 1.2 1.1 1.1 10.4 12.6
Career 14 14 27.7 .594 .500 .667 5.6 1.2 1.1 1.1 10.4 12.6

See also

References

  1. ^ Magic Assign Marcin Gortat to NBA D-League
  2. ^ Magic Assign Marcin Gortat To Anaheim Arsenal
  3. ^ NBA Development League: 2007-08 Transactions
  4. ^ Magic 103, Wizards 83 - box score
  5. ^ Magic rest starters, ride Redick, Gortat to blowout of Wizards
  6. ^ Magic 109, Warriors 98 - box score
  7. ^ Nelson gets hot in second half to carry Magic past Warriors
  8. ^ Magic to retain center Gortat
  9. ^ "Suns, Magic Complete Six-Player Trade". NBA.com. 2010-12-18. Retrieved 2010-12-18.
  10. ^ "Wizards Acquire Gortat From Suns". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. October 25, 2013. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
  11. ^ Notebook: Wizards 134, Raptors 129 (3OT)
  12. ^ Notebook: Wizards 102, Pacers 79
  13. ^ "Gortat re-signs with Wizards for five years, $60 million". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. July 10, 2014. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
  14. ^ "Wizards Re-Sign Marcin Gortat". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. July 10, 2014. Retrieved July 10, 2014.

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