Xavier Henry (/zɑːˈv/; born March 15, 1991) is an American former professional basketball player. He played one year of college basketball with the Kansas Jayhawks before he was drafted in the 2010 NBA draft by the Memphis Grizzlies. He played four and a half seasons in the NBA between 2010 and 2014. He finished his career in 2017 after two seasons in the NBA G League.

Xavier Henry
Henry with the Kansas Jayhawks in December 2009
Personal information
Born (1991-03-15) March 15, 1991 (age 33)
Ghent, Belgium
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High schoolPutnam City
(Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
CollegeKansas (2009–2010)
NBA draft2010: 1st round, 12th overall pick
Selected by the Memphis Grizzlies
Playing career2010–2017
PositionShooting guard / small forward
Number13, 4, 7
Career history
20102012Memphis Grizzlies
20122013New Orleans Hornets
2012Iowa Energy
20132014Los Angeles Lakers
2014Los Angeles D-Fenders
2015–2016Santa Cruz Warriors
2016–2017Oklahoma City Blue
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference

Early life

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Henry was born in Ghent, Belgium, where his father played professional basketball in the early 1990s.[1]

High school career

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Henry attended Putnam City High School in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He missed the start of his of senior season after he fractured his cheekbone in a car accident in October 2008.[2] On March 14, 2009, he led Putnam City to the Oklahoma Class 6A state championship, scoring 24 points in the title game against Jenks High School.[3]

Henry was named to the 2009 McDonald's All-American Game where he scored 14 points.[4] Henry was also selected to play in the 2009 Nike Hoop Summit at the Rose Garden in Portland where he led Team USA with 22 points including six 3-pointers[5] and the Jordan Brand Classic at Madison Square Garden where he scored 10 points for the white team.[6] He was SLAM magazine's high school diary keeper for the 2008–09 basketball season.[7]

Recruitment

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By the end of his senior season, Henry was ranked as the #6 overall prospect and #2 shooting guard in the class of 2009 by Scout.com,[8] #8 overall and #3 shooting guard by Rivals.com[9] and #3 overall, #2 shooting guard by ESPN.[10] Originally, Henry was heavily recruited by both Memphis and Kansas. On November 18, 2008 Henry announced his commitment to Memphis citing the opportunity to play alongside his brother, C. J., as the primary reason for the decision.[11]

In March 2009, Memphis's head coach John Calipari took the head coaching job at the University of Kentucky, prompting Henry to reopen his recruitment.[12]

On April 23, Henry officially announced his choice to play basketball for Kansas.[13]

I grew up always wanting to go to Kansas. I switched to Memphis because my brother was going there. Now, with coach (John Calipari) leaving (for Kentucky), we've decided to go to KU. I'm really excited. That's where my whole family played.

— Xavier Henry
US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Xavier Henry
SG
Oklahoma City Putnam City 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Apr 23, 2009 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 98

College career

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Henry guarding future Lakers and D-Fenders teammate Manny Harris of Michigan on December 19, 2009

Henry scored 27 points in his first college game, breaking the record for most points scored by a Jayhawk in a debut game as a freshman.[14] On December 12, 2009, Henry scored 31 points against La Salle at the Sprint Center in Kansas City. In doing so he became the first KU freshman to score 30 points in a game since Paul Pierce. Henry's 31 points was four short of the KU record for points scored by a freshman set by KU legend Danny Manning.[15]

College statistics

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2009–10 Kansas 36 36 27.5 .458 .418 .783 4.4 1.5 1.5 .5 13.4

Professional career

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Memphis Grizzlies (2010–2012)

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On April 7, 2010, Henry announced that he would forgo his final three seasons of collegiate eligibility and enter the 2010 NBA draft, where he was expected to be a first-round selection.[16] On June 24, Henry was selected 12th overall in the 2010 NBA draft by the Memphis Grizzlies.

New Orleans Hornets (2012–2013)

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On January 4, 2012, Henry was acquired by New Orleans Hornets as a part of a three-team trade that sent Marreese Speights to Memphis and two future second-round picks to the Philadelphia 76ers.[17] Henry was assigned to the Iowa Energy of the NBA Development League on March 17, 2012[18] and recalled on March 19.[19]

Los Angeles Lakers (2013–2014)

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On September 5, 2013, Henry signed with the Los Angeles Lakers.[20] In his debut on October 29, 2013, he led the Lakers to a 116–103 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers while scoring a career-high 22 points.[21] On February 27, 2014, he was assigned to the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA Development League.[22] On March 2, 2014, he was recalled by the Lakers.[23] On April 11, 2014, Henry underwent surgery to repair both a torn ligament in his left wrist and a cartilage abnormality in his right knee.[24]

On July 25, 2014, Henry re-signed with the Lakers[25] to a reported one-year, $1 million contract.[26]

On October 18, 2014, Henry's agents announced that he would be seeking a second opinion following his April 11 knee surgery and traveling to Germany for Regenokine treatment.[27] On November 15, 2014, he was reassigned to the Los Angeles D-Fenders.[28] He was recalled the next day. On November 22, he was reassigned to D-Fenders[29] and again recalled a day later. On November 24, he was ruled out for the rest of the season after an MRI revealed a ruptured left Achilles tendon that he suffered at practice.[30] On December 28, 2014, he was waived by the Lakers.[31]

Santa Cruz Warriors (2015–2016)

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On October 19, 2015, Henry signed with the Golden State Warriors.[32] He was waived just four days later.[33] On November 2, he was acquired by the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA Development League as an affiliate player of Golden State.[34] On February 19, 2016, he made his debut for Santa Cruz in a 116–100 loss to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, recording 14 points, four rebounds, one assist and two blocks in 16 minutes.[35]

Oklahoma City Blue (2016–2017)

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On September 12, 2016, Henry signed with the Milwaukee Bucks,[36] but was later waived by the team on September 23 prior to training camp.[37] On November 3, he was acquired by the Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA Development League (now renamed the NBA G League).[38]

Career statistics

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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

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2010–11 Memphis 38 16 13.9 .406 .118 .635 1.0 .5 .3 .1 4.3
2011–12 New Orleans 45 0 16.9 .395 .412 .612 2.4 .8 .6 .2 5.3
2012–13 New Orleans 50 2 12.5 .410 .364 .630 1.8 .3 .3 .1 3.9
2013–14 L.A. Lakers 43 5 21.1 .417 .346 .655 2.7 1.2 1.0 .2 10.0
2014–15 L.A. Lakers 9 0 9.6 .231 .000 .583 .4 .3 .3 .0 2.2
Career 185 23 15.7 .406 .325 .635 1.9 .6 .5 .1 5.7

Personal life

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Henry is a Christian. Henry has spoken about his faith saying, "I understand the world is not all about me. I want to lead people to Christ, do the best I can and make life worthwhile. Life is about other things. It's helping people out and being a servant to everybody else."[39]

Henry's brother, C. J., was a 2005 MLB first-round draft pick and returned to college after playing three years of minor-league baseball in the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies organizations.[40] The brothers' father, Carl, played basketball at Kansas in the 1980s[41] and their mother played basketball for the Kansas women's team.[42]

References

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  1. ^ Jenni Carlson. "Xavier Henry has plenty of reasons to keep smiling". NewsOK.com. March 6, 2008. Retrieved on April 4, 2009.
  2. ^ "Xavier Henry to decide in the Spring". TheShiver.com. November 6, 2008. Archived from the original on November 13, 2012. Retrieved November 6, 2008.
  3. ^ Ryan Aber. "Class 6A boys: Putnam City routs Jenks for trophy". NewsOK.com. March 15, 2009. Retrieved on March 21, 2009.
  4. ^ "Wednesday's McDonald's All-American Game box scores". SeattleTimes.com. April 2, 2009. Retrieved April 2, 2009.
  5. ^ "World stars surprise USA at Nike Hoop Summit". Rivals.com. April 12, 2009. Retrieved April 12, 2009.
  6. ^ "Big men shine in Jordan Brand Classic". ESPN.com. April 19, 2009. Retrieved April 19, 2009.
  7. ^ Ryan Jones. "Xavier Henry Will Be Televised Archived March 21, 2009, at the Wayback Machine". SLAM Online. March 19, 2009. Retrieved on March 21, 2009.
  8. ^ "Scout Top 100". Scout.com. Archived from the original on December 12, 2013. Retrieved November 18, 2008.
  9. ^ "Rivals Top 150". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 18, 2008.
  10. ^ "ESPNU 100". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on February 9, 2009. Retrieved November 18, 2008.
  11. ^ "Henry picks Memphis". KUSports.com. November 18, 2008. Retrieved November 18, 2008.
  12. ^ Pennington, James (March 31, 2009). "Father of No. 1 recruit, Xavier Henry, says he will decommit from Memphis". The Kentucky Kernel. Archived from the original on July 10, 2012. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  13. ^ "Xavier Henry announces he's coming to KU". KUSports.com. April 23, 2009. Retrieved April 23, 2009.
  14. ^ J. Brady McCollough. "Henry sets KU debut record for freshman with 27 points". Kansas City Star. November 13, 2009. Retrieved on November 14, 2009.
  15. ^ Bedore, Gary (December 13, 2009). "Most excellent: Henry scores 31 in rout of Explorers". KUsports.com. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  16. ^ "Kansas Freshman Henry Declares For NBA Draft". tsn.ca. April 7, 2010. Archived from the original on November 1, 2013. Retrieved April 7, 2010.
  17. ^ "HORNETS ACQUIRE HENRY". NBA.com. January 4, 2012. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
  18. ^ "New Orleans Hornets Assign Xavier Henry to Iowa Energy". NBA.com. March 17, 2012. Retrieved March 17, 2012.
  19. ^ "HORNETS RECALL XAVIER HENRY FROM IOWA ENERGY". NBA.com. March 19, 2012. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
  20. ^ "Lakers Sign Xavier Henry". NBA.com. September 5, 2013. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  21. ^ "Notebook: Lakers 116, Clippers 103". NBA.com. October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
  22. ^ "Xavier Henry Assigned to the D-Fenders". NBA.com. February 27, 2014. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  23. ^ "Lakers Recall Xavier Henry". NBA.com. March 2, 2014. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
  24. ^ "Xavier Henry Undergoes Successful Surgeries". NBA.com. April 11, 2014. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
  25. ^ "Lakers Re-sign Xavier Henry". NBA.com. July 25, 2014. Archived from the original on August 11, 2014.
  26. ^ "Xavier Henry Agrees Upon One-Year, $1M Deal With Lakers". RealGM.com. July 18, 2014. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
  27. ^ "Xavier Henry Seeks Second Opinion". NBA.com. October 18, 2014. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  28. ^ "Lakers assign Jordan Clarkson and Xavier Henry to D-League". InsideHoops.com. November 15, 2014. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
  29. ^ "Lakers re-assign Jordan Clarkson and Xavier Henry to D-League". InsideHoops.com. November 22, 2014. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  30. ^ "Xavier Henry to Miss Season". NBA.com. November 24, 2014. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  31. ^ "Lakers Awarded Tarik Black on Waiver Claim". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. December 28, 2014. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
  32. ^ "Warriors Sign Xavier Henry & Chris Udofia". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. October 19, 2015. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  33. ^ "Warriors Waive Chris Babb, Jarell Eddie, Xavier Henry & Chris Udofia". NBA.com. October 23, 2015. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  34. ^ "Santa Cruz Warriors Announce 2015 Training Camp Roster". NBA.com. November 2, 2015. Archived from the original on November 14, 2015. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  35. ^ "Warriors Routed By Vipers". NBA.com. February 19, 2016. Archived from the original on February 27, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  36. ^ "BUCKS SIGN XAVIER HENRY". NBA.com. September 12, 2016. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  37. ^ "BUCKS ANNOUNCE 2016 TRAINING CAMP ROSTER". NBA.com. September 23, 2016. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  38. ^ "Oklahoma City Blue Announces Training Camp Roster". NBA.com. November 3, 2016. Archived from the original on January 15, 2017. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  39. ^ "Bigger than the game: Professing Christians play valued roles in Memphis Grizzlies' team spirit". April 9, 2011. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  40. ^ Thamel, Pete (July 9, 2007). "A Top Prospect Could Turn Into a Package Deal". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  41. ^ Brandon Lilly. "Bracing for success: Putnam City's Henry appears ready for the next step". Sports Illustrated. January 8, 2008. Retrieved on March 21, 2009.
  42. ^ "About.com profile". basketball.about.com. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved April 2, 2009.
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