K. J. McDaniels

K. J. McDaniels
No. 32 Houston Rockets
Position Shooting guard / Small forward
League NBA
Personal information
Born (1993-02-09) February 9, 1993
Birmingham, Alabama
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight 205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school Central Park Christian School
(Birmingham, Alabama)
College Clemson (2011–2014)
NBA draft 2014 / Round: 2 / Pick: 32nd overall
Selected by the Philadelphia 76ers
Playing career 2014–present
Career history
2014–2015 Philadelphia 76ers
2015–present Houston Rockets
2015–2016Rio Grande Valley Vipers
Career highlights and awards
  • ACC Defensive Player of the Year (2014)
  • First-team All-ACC (2014)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Kevin "K. J." McDaniels Jr. (born February 9, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Clemson University before he was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 32nd overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft.

High school career

McDaniels attended Central Park Christian School in Birmingham, Alabama.[1] Considered a three-star recruit by ESPN.com, McDaniels was listed as the No. 35 small forward in the nation in 2011.[2]

College career

McDaniels played limited minutes as a freshman for Clemson in 2011–12, averaging 3.9 points and 1.8 rebounds per game. As a sophomore, McDaniels became a starter for the Tigers. He averaged 10.9 points and 5.0 rebounds, and finished second in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in blocked shots with 2.1 per game.[3]

As a junior in 2013–14, McDaniels became one of the top players in the ACC. He averaged 17.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. He led the ACC in blocks per game at 2.8 and at the conclusion of the regular season was named first team All-ACC and the conference Defensive Player of the Year.[4] In the postseason, he led the Tigers to the 2014 National Invitation Tournament. McDaniels led the team to the tournament semifinals in Madison Square Garden.[5]

In April 2014, McDaniels declared for the NBA draft, foregoing his final year of college eligibility.[6]

Professional career

Philadelphia 76ers (2014–2015)

On June 26, 2014, McDaniels was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 32nd overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft.[7] In July 2014, he joined the 76ers for the 2014 NBA Summer League.[8] After being named in the 76ers' 2014 training camp roster on September 29, 2014,[9] McDaniels was not present at Richard Stockton College the next day for the opening day of training camp after he and his agent were not happy with the contract he was offered by the 76ers.[10] Subsequently, his deal was restructured and on October 1, McDaniels agreed to a one-year, non-guaranteed tender worth $507,000, allowing him to become a restricted free agent in 2015.[11] He went on to start his rookie season in fine form, becoming one of the 76ers main players off the bench and earned notoriety for his shot-blocking prowess.[12] He recorded his first career double-double on November 29 with season-highs of 21 points and 13 rebounds in a loss to the Dallas Mavericks.[13] McDaniels played 52 games for Philadelphia and averaged 9.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 25.4 minutes per game.

Houston Rockets (2015–present)

On February 19, 2015, McDaniels was traded to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Isaiah Canaan and a 2015 second-round pick; he was one of a record 43 players to be traded on the day of the trade deadline.[14] He appeared in just 10 games for Houston to finish the regular season, and missed the team's entire playoff run after suffering a non-displaced fracture in his right elbow in the regular season finale.[15]

On July 21, 2015, McDaniels re-signed with the Rockets to a three-year, $10 million contract.[16][17] On April 3, 2016, he played a season-high 18 minutes and scored 10 points in the Rockets' 118–110 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.[18] During the 2015–16 season, he received multiple assignments to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rockets' D-League affiliate.[19]

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
2014–15 Philadelphia 52 15 25.4 .399 .293 .756 3.8 1.3 .8 1.3 9.2
2014–15 Houston 10 0 3.3 .333 .000 .500 .5 .2 .0 .2 1.1
2015–16 Houston 37 1 6.4 .403 .280 .800 1.1 .3 .2 .2 2.4
Career 99 16 16.0 .397 .286 .761 2.4 .8 .5 .8 5.8

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016 Houston 4 0 8.5 .308 .333 .000 1.8 .3 .0 .8 2.3
Career 4 0 8.5 .308 .333 .000 1.8 .3 .0 .8 2.3

Personal life

McDaniels is the son of Kevin and Shawn McDaniels,[20] and has a younger brother named Dylan.[21]

References

  1. Herbert, James (24 June 2014). "2014 NBA Draft: K.J. McDaniels, overlooked as usual". CBS Sports. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  2. "K. J. McDaniels Recruiting Profile". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 4, 2014.
  3. "K. J. McDaniels CBSSports.com profile". CBSSports.com. Retrieved May 4, 2014.
  4. "Clemson's McDaniels named ACC defensive player of the year". GoUpstate.com. March 11, 2014. Retrieved May 4, 2014.
  5. "Clemson rallies past Belmont, advances to NIT semifinals". CBSSports.com. March 25, 2014. Retrieved May 4, 2014.
  6. Feldman, Dan (April 22, 2014). "Report: Clemson's K.J. McDaniels to declare for NBA draft". NBCSports.com. Retrieved May 4, 2014.
  7. "Sixers Select McDaniels, Grant, Micic in the Second Round of the 2014 NBA Draft". NBA.com. June 27, 2014. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
  8. Rappaport, Max (July 4, 2014). "Orlando Pro Summer League: Schedule And Roster". NBA.com. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  9. "Sixers Announce 2014 Training Camp Roster". NBA.com. September 29, 2014. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  10. Pompey, Keith (October 1, 2014). "Rookie K.J. McDaniels a no-show at 76ers camp". Philly.com. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  11. Wojnarowski, Adrian (October 1, 2014). "Philadelphia's K.J. McDaniels takes bold approach to rookie deal". Yahoo.com. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  12. Mahoney, Rob (December 9, 2014). "Meet 76ers rookie K.J. McDaniels, the unsung shot-blocking natural". SI.com. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
  13. "Chandler leads Mavericks over 76ers 110-103". NBA.com. November 29, 2014. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  14. "Rockets Acquire K.J. McDaniels and Pablo Prigioni". NBA.com. February 19, 2015. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  15. "KJ McDaniels injury update: Non-displaced right elbow fracture". Chron.com. April 17, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  16. "Rockets Re-Sign K.J. McDaniels". NBA.com. July 21, 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  17. Feigen, Jonathan (July 19, 2015). "Rockets agree with KJ McDaniels on three-year deal". Chron.com. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  18. "Harden's 41 lead Rockets past Thunder 118-110". NBA.com. April 3, 2016. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  19. "2015-16 NBA Assignments". NBA.com. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
  20. Herbert, James (June 24, 2014). "2014 NBA Draft: K.J. McDaniels, overlooked as usual". CBSSports.com. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
  21. Lelinwalla, Mark (January 9, 2015). "K.J. MCDANIELS HAS AN INTERESTING BET GOING WITH HIS MOTHER AND IT INVOLVES CASH AND TWITTER". TriangleOffense.com. Retrieved January 9, 2015.
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