Matt Bonner

Matt Bonner

Bonner with the Spurs in 2010
Free agent
Position	Power forward / Center
Personal information
Born	(1980-04-05) April 5, 1980 Concord, New Hampshire
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight	235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
High school	Concord (Concord, New Hampshire)
College	Florida (1999–2003)
NBA draft	2003 / Round: 2 / Pick: 45th overall
Selected by the Chicago Bulls
Playing career	2003–present
Career history
2003–2004	Pallacanestro Messina
2004–2006	Toronto Raptors
2006–2016	San Antonio Spurs
Career highlights and awards
2× NBA champion (2007, 2014) 2× AP honorable mention All-American (2002, 2003) 2× Academic All-American (2002, 2003) First-team All-SEC (2003) Second-team All-SEC (2002) Third-team All-SEC (2001)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Matthew Robert Bonner (born April 5, 1980) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Bonner played college basketball for the University of Florida before being selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 45th overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft. He is a two-time NBA champion as a member of the San Antonio Spurs.

Early life

Born in Concord, New Hampshire, Bonner attended Concord High School where he helped lead them to three state championships. Bonner was also the Valedictorian of his graduating class.^[1]

College career

Bonner accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida, where he played for coach Billy Donovan's Florida Gators men's basketball team from 1999 to 2003. In his four seasons, he amassed 1,570 points, 778 rebounds and 165 three-point field goals. As a senior in 2003, he was a first-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection and an Associated Press honorable mention All-American.

Bonner graduated with a bachelor's degree, with high honors, in business administration and a 3.96 grade point average (GPA). He won Academic All-American of the Year for the sport of basketball in both 2002 and 2003.^[2]

Professional career

Italy (2003–2004)

Bonner was selected with the 45th overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls but was then traded to the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors did not have a roster spot available at the time and asked Bonner to play overseas and hone his skills with a verbal promise to make the team the following season.

Bonner signed with Sicilia Messina of the Italian league in Messina, Sicily. Sicilia filed for bankruptcy in the middle of the season and stopped paying its players. Many players left the team but Bonner continued to play and finished the year averaging 19.2 points and 9.3 rebounds.

Toronto Raptors (2004–2006)

In September 2004, Bonner signed a one-year deal with the Toronto Raptors. In 2004–05, he played in all 82 regular season games and averaged 7.2 points. He remains the only Raptors rookie to play all 82 games in a season.

In August 2005, Bonner re-signed with the Raptors on a two-year deal.

San Antonio Spurs (2006–2016)

On June 21, 2006, Bonner was traded with Eric Williams and a second round draft pick to the San Antonio Spurs for Rasho Nesterović and cash considerations. In his first season with the Spurs, he averaged 4.9 points in just 11.7 minutes per game. The team went on to win the NBA championship that season.

In July 2007, Bonner re-signed with the Spurs on a three-year deal. On December 11, 2007, in a loss to the Golden State Warriors, Bonner recorded career-highs of 25 points and 17 rebounds.^[3]

In July 2010, Bonner again re-signed with the Spurs on a multi-year deal. He went on to lead the NBA in three-point field goal percentage for 2010–11 after he shot 45.7%.^[4]

After a social media campaign from his brother Luke, Bonner participated in the 2013 NBA Three-Point Shootout during All-Star Weekend. He recorded a score of 19 in the first round to knock out Ryan Anderson (18) and Stephen Curry (17) and advanced to the final where he lost 20-23 to Kyrie Irving. Later that year, Bonner and the Spurs reached the NBA Finals where they lost to the Miami Heat in seven games.

On June 15, 2014, Bonner won his second NBA championship after the Spurs defeated the Miami Heat 4–1 in the 2014 NBA Finals.

On July 21, 2014, Bonner re-signed with the Spurs.^[5]

On July 15, 2015, he again re-signed with the Spurs.^[6]

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Awards and achievements

• 2013–14 NBA champion
• 2006–07 NBA champion
• 2010–11 NBA three-point field-goal percentage leader
• 2002–03 Honorable Mention All-American
• 2001–02 Honorable Mention All-American
• 2002–03 Academic All-American of the Year
• 2001–02 Academic All-American of the Year
• 2002–03 All-SEC First Team
• 2001–02 All-SEC Second Team
• 2000–01 All-SEC Third Team
• 2002–03 SEC three-point field-goal percentage leader
• 2002–03 All-SEC Academic
• 2001–02 All-SEC Academic
• 2000–01 All-SEC Academic
• 1998–99 NHIAA Champions – Concord HS
• 1997–98 NHIAA Champions – Concord HS
• 1996–97 NHIAA Champions – Concord HS

Personal life

Bonner speaking into a microphone

Bonner and his wife Nadia have one daughter, Evangeline-Vesper Lynne Bonner (born June 21, 2009) and one son, August Bonner (born August 27, 2012).

He has a younger brother, Luke, who was also a professional basketball player. Luke served as Matt's best man at his wedding.^[7]

Bonner applied for Canadian citizenship in February 2009.^[8]

Bonner is a sandwich enthusiast. He has a blog titled "The Sandwich Hunter: The Quest for the Hoagie Grail" in which he documents his search for the "world's best sandwich."^[9]

During his tenure with the Toronto Raptors, he received the nickname the "Red Rocket" for his red hair and constant use of the public transit in Toronto, the Toronto Transit Commission, whose slogan is "Ride the Rocket."^[10]

Kobe Bryant took Bonner's other nickname, the "Red Mamba", on Twitter while live-tweeting during a televised replay of his 81-point game against the Toronto Raptors.^[11]

After his contract with New Balance expired, Bonner signed a basketball shoe deal with Adidas in January 2014.^[12]

Bonner and his brother Luke run a nonprofit organization called the Rock On Foundation, in which they look to support community involvement in arts and athletics.^[13]

See also

• Florida Gators
• List of Florida Gators men's basketball players in the NBA
• List of University of Florida alumni

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Matt Bonner.

• Career statistics and player information from NBA.com, or Basketball-Reference.com