Quick Facts
Biography
Danny Granger Jr. (born April 20, 1983) is an American professional basketball player who is a free agent. He played both the small forward and power forward positions. At times he has also played the point forward position. Before his professional career, he went to Grace King High School in Metairie, Louisiana, where he was a McDonald's All-American nominee before his senior year. He was a strong student who scored a 30 on the ACT and was offered admission to Yale University. He played for Bradley University and then transferred to University of New Mexico in the middle of his sophomore year.
College career
Granger started his collegiate career at Bradley University where he played the 2001–02 and 2002–03 seasons. After a lackluster 12–18 season in 2002–03, he transferred to the University of New Mexico, where he began playing during the second semester of his junior season in 2003–04, although he wasn't eligible to start playing for the Lobos until January, 2004. He said the reason for the transfer was because of Braves head coach Jim Les's intimidating tactics, including being 'verbally abusive'. In 2004–05, he became the first player in school history to get 60 assists, 60 blocks and 60 steals in a season. He won the Mountain West Conference tournament MVP and led the Lobos to the NCAA tournament.
Granger graduated with a degree in civil engineering.
In 2008 Granger made a $500,000 pledge to his alma mater in support of the Lobo Leap to Excellence capital campaign to name the new men's locker room in The Pit.
College career statistics
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001–02 | Bradley | 21 | 17 | 24.6 | .446 | .176 | .790 | 7.1 | .7 | 1.3 | 2.4 | 11.1 |
| 2002–03 | 14 | 13 | 27.1 | .518 | .300 | .684 | 7.9 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 19.2 | |
| 2003–04 | New Mexico | 22 | 22 | 32.0 | .491 | .333 | .760 | 9.0 | 2.1 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 19.5 |
| 2004–05 | 30 | 30 | 30.0 | .524 | .433 | .755 | 8.9 | 2.4 | 2.1 | 2.0 | 18.8 | |
| Career | 95 | 82 | 28.4 | .496 | .366 | .752 | 8.2 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 16.7 | |
NBA career
Indiana Pacers (2005–2014)
Granger was selected 17th overall in the 2005 NBA draft by the Indiana Pacers, as the organization included former Lobo Mel Daniels and Hall of Famer Larry Bird, who was coached in college by the father of New Mexico men's coach Bob King.
In his first NBA season, Granger played in 78 regular season games, averaging 7.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, while making the All-NBA Rookie Second Team. He added 8.2 points and 5.2 rebounds in 6 playoff games.
With the departure of Peja Stojaković and arrival of Al Harrington during the 2006 offseason, Granger became the Pacers' starting small forward for 2006–07. After the first 15 games, he became the first man off the bench.
Since a January 17, 2007 eight-player trade with the Golden State Warriors, Granger started at the small forward and shooting guard spots, mainly due to the departure of Harrington. With the second and third scoring options (Harrington and Stephen Jackson, respectively) on the team gone, he was given more chances for scoring and averaged 13.9 points per game in 2006–07.
In 2007–08, Granger led the Pacers in scoring for the first time, averaging 19 points per game, while starting all 80 games he appeared in.
On October 31, 2008, Granger and the Pacers agreed on a 5-year contract extension. The contract paid him $9,930,500 in 2009–10 and escalates ten percent each year, ending after the 2013–14 season. The finalisation of the deal was announced that night, mere hours before the midnight deadline which, if passed without any agreement, would have made Granger a restricted free agent the following summer.
In the 2008–09 season, he scored a career high 42 points against the Detroit Pistons on December 12, 2008 and again against the Golden State Warriors on January 11, 2009. On January 29, 2009 Granger was announced as an All-Star reserve for the Eastern Conference. On May 12, 2009 Danny Granger was named the Most Improved Player for 2008–09. At the end of the 2008–09 season, Granger had raised his scoring average by at least five points per game each year (7.5, 13.9, 19.6, 25.8) for three consecutive years, becoming the only player in league history to do so.
Following his breakout season in 2008–09, the next season was a bit of a disappointment, marred by injuries and losses. On March 26, 2010, however, Granger scored a new career-high 44 points against the Utah Jazz.
In the summer of 2010, Granger participated in the FIBA World Championship, playing for the US Senior National team. On September 12, the US team won the gold medal at the 2010 FIBA World Championship, beating host country Turkey 81–64.
Despite having an under .500 record in 2010-11, Granger's Pacers advanced to the playoffs after missing it the previous four seasons. Granger averaged 21.6 points per game in the post-season, but the team came up short against the Chicago Bulls led by soon-to-be MVP Derrick Rose.
In the 2012–13 season, Granger only played 5 games due to patellar tendinosis.
On December 20, 2013, Granger made his season debut in a 114-81 home win against the Houston Rockets and received a standing ovation from the Bankers Life Fieldhouse crowd. In 22 minutes, he recorded 5 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block.
Later years (2014–2017)
On February 20, 2014, Granger and a second-round draft pick were traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Evan Turner and Lavoy Allen. Six days later, he was bought out by the 76ers. On February 28, 2014, Granger signed with the Los Angeles Clippers. He went on to play twelve regular season and thirteen playoff games for the Clippers.
On July 14, 2014, Granger signed with the Miami Heat. On December 29, 2014, he scored a season-high 21 points in a 101-102 loss to the Orlando Magic.
On February 19, 2015, Granger was traded to the Phoenix Suns in a three-team trade involving the New Orleans Pelicans. However, due to knee problems, he did not play for the Suns in 2014–15. Despite this, he exercised his one-year, $2.17 million option with the Suns on June 17, 2015.
On July 9, 2015, Granger was traded to the Detroit Pistons, along with Reggie Bullock and Marcus Morris, in exchange for a 2020 second-round draft pick. On October 26, 2015, he was waived by the Pistons prior to the start of the regular season. Granger would then take the rest of that season off - as well as the following season - in order to make sure he fully recovered. Granger now works for CBS Sports as an analyst, although he has expressed interest in returning to play in the NBA.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005–06 | Indiana | 78 | 17 | 22.6 | .462 | .323 | .777 | 4.9 | 1.2 | .7 | .8 | 7.5 |
| 2006–07 | Indiana | 82 | 57 | 34.0 | .459 | .382 | .803 | 4.6 | 1.4 | .8 | .7 | 13.9 |
| 2007–08 | Indiana | 80 | 80 | 36.0 | .446 | .404 | .852 | 6.1 | 2.1 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 19.6 |
| 2008–09 | Indiana | 67 | 66 | 36.2 | .447 | .404 | .878 | 5.1 | 2.7 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 25.8 |
| 2009–10 | Indiana | 62 | 62 | 36.7 | .428 | .361 | .848 | 5.5 | 2.8 | 1.5 | .8 | 24.1 |
| 2010–11 | Indiana | 79 | 79 | 35.0 | .425 | .386 | .848 | 5.4 | 2.6 | 1.1 | .8 | 20.5 |
| 2011–12 | Indiana | 62 | 62 | 33.3 | .416 | .381 | .873 | 5.0 | 1.8 | 1.0 | .6 | 18.7 |
| 2012–13 | Indiana | 5 | 0 | 14.8 | .286 | .200 | .625 | 1.8 | .6 | .4 | .2 | 5.4 |
| 2013–14 | Indiana | 29 | 2 | 22.5 | .359 | .330 | .962 | 3.6 | 1.1 | .3 | .4 | 8.3 |
| 2013–14 | L.A. Clippers | 12 | 0 | 16.2 | .429 | .353 | .857 | 2.3 | .7 | .3 | .3 | 8.0 |
| 2014–15 | Miami | 30 | 6 | 20.4 | .401 | .357 | .757 | 2.7 | .6 | .4 | .2 | 6.3 |
| Career | 586 | 431 | 31.5 | .434 | .380 | .848 | 4.9 | 1.9 | 1.0 | .8 | 16.8 | |
| All-Star | 1 | 0 | 11.0 | 1.000 | .000 | .000 | 1.0 | .0 | 2.0 | .0 | 2.0 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Indiana | 6 | 3 | 27.0 | .529 | .563 | 1.000 | 5.2 | 1.7 | .7 | 1.2 | 8.2 |
| 2011 | Indiana | 5 | 5 | 36.6 | .478 | .348 | .875 | 5.6 | 3.2 | 1.2 | .2 | 21.6 |
| 2012 | Indiana | 11 | 11 | 38.2 | .397 | .356 | .821 | 5.6 | 2.5 | .5 | .4 | 17.0 |
| 2014 | L.A. Clippers | 13 | 0 | 10.3 | .275 | .227 | .778 | 1.5 | .2 | .5 | .1 | 2.6 |
| Career | 35 | 19 | 25.7 | .417 | .358 | .842 | 4.0 | 1.6 | .6 | .4 | 10.8 | |
Personal life
Granger was raised in a religious household of Jehovah's Witnesses. He credits his upbringing for teaching him respect and helping him "evolve into a man."
Granger's younger brother, Scotty Granger, is a musical artist and songwriter who appeared on a reality TV show titled The One: Making a Music Star on ABC, in the summer of 2006 and in ABC's Wipeout game show in 2008. In 2011, Scotty took part in the singing songwriting competition series Platinum Hit on Bravo finishing third overall in the competition after singing his composition "Beautiful You". He has continued a musical career and starting in 2013, he adopted the artistic name Scotty Grand. Granger is also the great-great-nephew of the "Queen of Gospel", Mahalia Jackson.
Granger is actively involved in the "Dribble to Stop Diabetes" campaign due to his family history with diabetes. During his later portions of his career, Granger had also taken an interest in real estate. On December 17, 2016, it was announced that Granger would be inducted the New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame. Granger is currently a sports analyst involving college basketball for the CBS Sports Network, although he has expressed interest in returning to the NBA in a bench role.