Leon Powe
Power forward | |
Number | 0, 44, 7 |
---|---|
Career history | |
2006–2009 | Boston Celtics |
2009–2011 | Cleveland Cavaliers |
2011 | Memphis Grizzlies |
2012 | Atléticos de San Germán |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Career NBA statistics | |
Points | 5,273 (6.2 ppg) |
Rebounds | 911 (3.8 rpg) |
Blocks | 82 (0.3 bpg) |
Stats at NBA.com | |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Leon Powe Jr. (
Early life
Powe grew up in Oakland, California. His father left him when he was two years old. When he was seven years old, the family's house burned down and they were homeless for years. They moved more than twenty times within six years. He and his siblings were taken away from their mother by the state of California and put into foster care. Powe's mother died four days before he played in the state championship.[1]
High school career
Powe attended
College career
Powe played college basketball for the California Golden Bears from 2003 to 2006. Although he was present for three seasons, he did not play in his sophomore year (2004–05) due to a serious knee injury.[3] During his freshman season, he was named the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, leading the conference in rebounding.
Questions abounded about whether Powe would return to form following his knee surgery, but he worked hard and rehabilitated to become a dominant force on the interior as he continued to improve his game. He produced 20.5 PPG and 10.1 RPG while leading Cal to a 20–11 record and a berth in the
Powe was named California's most valuable player during a banquet in April 2006. Powe, who also was selected Cal's
Professional career
After his junior year, Powe decided to enter his name in the 2006 NBA draft.[3] Powe was selected by the Denver Nuggets in the second round as the 49th overall pick. The Nuggets subsequently traded him to the Boston Celtics. After playing for the Celtics summer league team, Powe was signed by the team to a 3-year contract. Although Powe did not reach the sum of 14 in his per game points, rebounds, and assists necessary to guarantee the second year of his contract, that second year became guaranteed when Boston did not waive him by July 1, 2007. Powe had a similar hurdle of 16 for the sum of the three statistics to guarantee the third year of his contract (2008–09).[4][5]
2006–07 NBA season
Powe played as a fourth string center behind Kendrick Perkins, Brian Scalabrine and Michael Olowokandi in his rookie season. After a rash of injuries submarined Boston's playoff chances, Powe received a limited opportunity to showcase his skills. He proved himself a capable defender who could alter shots and provide interior rebounding. On January 12, 2007, Powe made the most out of his 25 minutes and registered a career-high 12 rebounds against the Toronto Raptors. On April 10, 2007, he scored 19 points against the Atlanta Hawks. Powe finished the 2006–07 campaign averaging 4.2 points and 3.4 rebounds in just over 11 minutes per game.
2007–08 NBA season
On January 29, 2008, Powe had a breakout performance that took place in
One of his most notable performances of the season came in
2008–09 NBA season
On March 13, 2009, Powe started in place of the injured Kevin Garnett, scoring a career-high 30 points, grabbing 11 rebounds and blocking a career-high 5 shots, in a 102–92 Celtics victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.[12]
Powe spent the end of the season attempting to recover from a right knee strain. He returned in time for the playoffs, only to tear the ACL and meniscus in his left knee in Game 2 of the first round against the Chicago Bulls.[13] Powe continued to play on the torn ACL for three minutes before being taken out. His season ended with the knee injury, and had successful surgery to repair the injury on May 5, 2009.[14] On August 2, the Cleveland Cavaliers offered Powe an offer sheet worth two years and $1.8 million.[15] On August 11, 2009, Powe and the Cavaliers agreed in principle to the deal with an option on the second year.[16] On August 12, 2009, he officially signed the deal.[17]
2010–11 NBA season
On February 24, 2011, Powe was waived when the Cleveland Cavaliers needed to clear their roster capacity after making two trades.[18][19] He had just recovered from surgery to repair the torn meniscus in his right knee which had kept him sidelined for six weeks.[20] Over a week later, Powe signed for the rest of the season with the Memphis Grizzlies.[19]
Basketball post-career
In 2014, Powe was hired by the Celtics as community ambassador.[21]
NBA career statistics
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 |
† | Won an NBA championship |
Regular season
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2006–07 | Boston | 63 | 2 | 11.4 | .446 | .000 | .736 | 3.4 | .2 | .2 | .3 | 4.2 |
2007–08† | Boston | 56 | 5 | 14.4 | .572 | .000 | .710 | 4.1 | .3 | .3 | .3 | 7.9 |
2008–09 | Boston | 70 | 7 | 17.5 | .524 | .000 | .689 | 4.9 | .7 | .3 | .5 | 7.7 |
2009–10 | Cleveland | 20 | 2 | 11.8 | .429 | .000 | .587 | 3.0 | .0 | .3 | .1 | 4.0 |
2010–11 | Cleveland | 14 | 3 | 13.4 | .492 | .000 | .462 | 2.7 | .1 | .5 | .2 | 5.0 |
2010–11 | Memphis | 16 | 0 | 8.8 | .500 | .000 | .609 | 1.6 | .3 | .2 | .1 | 5.5 |
Career | 239 | 19 | 13.9 | .515 | .000 | .682 | 3.8 | .3 | .3 | .3 | 6.2 |
Playoffs
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2008 †
|
Boston | 23 | 1 | 11.7 | .493 | .000 | .667 | 2.7 | .2 | .0 | .1 | 5.0 |
2009
|
Boston | 2 | 0 | 12.0 | .429 | .000 | .667 | 4.5 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 5.0 |
2010
|
Cleveland | 3 | 0 | 3.0 | .250 | .000 | .750 | .7 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 1.7 |
2011
|
Memphis | 4 | 0 | 3.5 | .250 | .000 | .750 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 1.8 |
Career | 32 | 1 | 9.9 | .457 | .000 | .675 | 2.4 | .1 | .0 | .1 | 4.3 |
References
- ^ Hubbard, Lee (February 19, 2003). "The Making of Leon Powe". East Bay Express.
- ^ Player Bio: Leon Powe :: Men's Basketball Archived June 14, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Cal sophomore Powe to test draft - NBA - ESPN
- ^ Okanes, Jonathan (July 19, 2006). "Celtics put Cal's Powe on payroll". Contra Costa Times. Archived from the original on December 8, 2006.
- ^ May, Peter (August 6, 2006). "Blazers coach plays defense". The Boston Globe.
- ^ Steve Bulpett, Celtics elect to win, Boston Herald, January 30, 2008.
- ^ Mark Murphy, C's go through motions, gear up for postseason, Boston Herald, April 17, 2008.
- ^ Chris Forsberg, They're chanting his name..., The Boston Globe, June 8, 2008.
- ^ Celts withstand Lakers' late Game 2 run behind Pierce, defense, Associated Press, June 8, 2008.
- ^ Scott Tribble, Celtics Build Lead with Heavy Dose of Powe-time Archived June 11, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, Celtics.com, June 9, 2008.
- ^ Daily Dime: Powe steps up for Celtics, ESPN.com, June 9, 2008.
- ^ Powe's time is well spent Boston Herald, March 14, 2009
- ^ Leon Powe's postseason over: Boston Celtic has torn ACL - ESPN
- ^ Microfracture surgery on Powe's left knee a success NBA.com, May 5, 2009
- ^ NBA.com: Player News NBA.com: Player News
- ^ Cavs, Leon Powe agreed two-year deal, ESPN.GO.com, August 11, 2009.
- NBA.com. August 12, 2009. Retrieved August 12, 2009.
- ^ CAVALIERS: Cavaliers Acquire Erden and Harangody from Boston for Future Second Round Pick
- ^ a b Free agent Leon Powe signed by Memphis Grizzlies - ESPN
- ^ Cleveland Cavaliers' Leon Powe out 6 weeks after knee surgery - ESPN
- ^ "Celtics Hire Leon Powe For 'Whatever Danny (Ainge) Wants Me To Do'". NESN.com. September 30, 2014. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com
- Leon Powe on Twitter
- Leon Powe Fan Site
- The Making of Leon Powe
- Cal Bears Profile
- Draft Profile
- Videos of Leon Powe on mReplay.com