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Matt Bonner

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Matt Bonner
Bonner with the Spurs in 2010
Personal information
Born (1980-04-05) April 5, 1980 (age 44)
Concord, New Hampshire, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
High schoolConcord (Concord, New Hampshire)
CollegeFlorida (1999–2003)
NBA draft2003: 2nd round, 45th overall pick
Selected by the Chicago Bulls
Playing career2003–2016
PositionPower forward / center
Number16, 15
Career history
2003–2004Pallacanestro Messina
2004–2006Toronto Raptors
2006–2016San Antonio Spurs
Career highlights and awards
Career statistics
Points4,632 (5.8 ppg)
Rebounds1,749 (3.0 rpg)
Assists552 (0.7 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference

Matthew Robert Bonner (born April 5, 1980), also known as the Red Rocket or Red Mamba, is an American former professional basketball player. 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. During his career Bonner played for the Toronto Raptors and the San Antonio Spurs with whom he won two NBA championships. He is the only player in NBA history to be born in New Hampshire.

Early life

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Born in Concord, New Hampshire, Bonner attended Concord High School, where he helped lead them to three state championships.[1] Bonner was also the Valedictorian of his graduating class.[2]

College career

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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.[3]

Professional career

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Sicilia Messina (2003–2004)

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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)

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In September 2004, Bonner signed a one-year deal with the Toronto Raptors. On December 15, 2004, Bonner was ejected during a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves after attempting to block a Kevin Garnett shot attempt, with Raptors fans giving him a standing ovation, chanting his name and high-fiving him on his way out.[4][5] 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.[6]

In August 2005, Bonner re-signed with the Raptors on a two-year deal.[7]

San Antonio Spurs (2006–2016)

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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, both of which were career lows for Bonner at that time.[8] 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 season-highs of 25 points and 17 rebounds.[9]

On December 7, 2009, Bonner scored a career high 28 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in a 104–101 loss to the Utah Jazz.[10]

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%.[11]

Bonner preparing to take a free throw, 2010

In 2011, Bonner starred in Fundamentals of the Game with Coach B, a comedy web series hosted on the Spurs' official website.[12]

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,[13]

On July 15, 2015, Bonner again re-signed with the Spurs.[14] Bonner's final NBA game was played on April 13, 2016, in a 96–91 win over the Dallas Mavericks where he recorded 6 points,1 rebound, 1 assist and 1 block.

He announced his retirement on January 6, 2017.[15][16] On January 12, 2017, the Spurs jokingly "retired" Bonner's iconic flannel shirt in a locker room ceremony.[17]

NBA 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
 †  Won an NBA championship  *  Led the league

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2004–05 Toronto 82 0 18.9 .533 .424 .789 3.5 .6 .5 .2 7.2
2005–06 Toronto 78 6 21.9 .448 .420 .829 3.6 .7 .6 .4 7.5
2006–07† San Antonio 56 0 11.7 .447 .383 .711 2.8 .4 .3 .2 4.9
2007–08 San Antonio 68 3 12.5 .416 .336 .864 2.8 .5 .2 .3 4.8
2008–09 San Antonio 81 67 23.8 .496 .440 .739 4.8 1.0 .6 .3 8.2
2009–10 San Antonio 65 8 17.9 .446 .390 .729 3.3 1.0 .5 .4 7.0
2010–11 San Antonio 66 1 21.7 .464 .457* .744 3.6 .9 .4 .3 7.3
2011–12 San Antonio 65 2 20.4 .440 .420 .762 3.3 .9 .2 .3 6.6
2012–13 San Antonio 68 4 13.4 .487 .442 .733 1.9 .5 .3 .3 4.2
2013–14† San Antonio 61 0 11.3 .445 .429 .750 2.1 .5 .2 .2 3.2
2014–15 San Antonio 72 19 13.0 .409 .365 .811 1.6 .7 .1 .2 3.7
2015–16 San Antonio 30 2 6.9 .509 .441 .750 .9 .3 .2 .0 2.5
Career 792 112 16.9 .464 .414 .780 3.0 .7 .4 .3 5.8

Playoffs

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2007† San Antonio 9 0 2.8 .286 .250 1.000 .3 .0 .2 .0 .8
2008 San Antonio 2 0 4.5 .667 .000 .000 1.0 1.0 .0 .0 2.0
2009 San Antonio 5 5 20.0 .217 .231 1.000 3.2 .0 .6 .4 3.0
2010 San Antonio 10 0 17.3 .432 .370 1.000 3.2 .4 .1 .3 5.0
2011 San Antonio 6 0 20.5 .480 .333 .800 3.2 .3 .2 .2 6.3
2012 San Antonio 13 0 12.7 .313 .348 .600 1.9 .7 .2 .3 2.4
2013 San Antonio 20 1 13.4 .475 .469 .833 2.0 .3 .3 .3 4.1
2014† San Antonio 22 2 6.1 .476 .333 .750 .7 .5 .1 .0 1.3
2015 San Antonio 7 0 5.1 .200 .222 .000 .9 .1 .1 .1 .9
Career 94 8 11.0 .402 .355 .811 1.7 .4 .2 .2 2.8

Awards and achievements

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  • 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

Post-NBA career

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After retiring from professional basketball, Bonner joined the San Antonio Spurs TV Broadcast as a studio analyst.[18]

Personal life

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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.[19]

Bonner applied for Canadian citizenship in February 2009, but did not qualify, due to the amount of time he spent outside the country.[20]

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."[21] He is also a fan of the sport of curling, due to discovering it on Canadian television during his tenure with the Toronto Raptors.[22]

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."

Kobe Bryant coined Bonner's other nickname, the "Red Mamba", on Twitter while live-tweeting in 2013 during a televised replay of his 81-point game against Bonner and the Toronto Raptors.[23]

He was well known for being the lone NBA player wearing New Balance shoes,[24] even though he did not have a proper sponsorship deal with the brand. He said in an interview that a friend, who was a New Balance representative, was the one who provided him with a few dozen pairs of shoes. A few years later, after wearing out all the shoes, and New Balance being out of the basketball sneaker market, Bonner finally signed his first basketball shoe deal with Adidas in January 2014 with the use of the Nice Kicks twitter account.[25]

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.[26]

In March 2016, Bonner was featured on the season-premiere episode of FYI's Tiny House Nation, where he and his wife Nadia had a 276-sq.-foot house custom-built.[27]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Matt Bonner". NewHampshire.com. February 14, 2014. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  2. ^ "Mini bio". NBA.com. January 22, 2013. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  3. ^ "Bio – Matt Bonner". GatorZone.com. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  4. ^ "Bonner a big hit with fans". The Globe and Mail. December 16, 2004.
  5. ^ "Ex-Rap Bonner retires after 12 seasons". TSN. January 6, 2017.
  6. ^ Dubbin, Adam (August 5, 2020). "All-Time Gators Men's Basketball Bio: Matt Bonner (1999–2003)". USA Today.
  7. ^ "Return of the Red Rocket". Raptors HQ. August 21, 2005.
  8. ^ "Matt Bonner". NBA Stats. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  9. ^ "Duncan-less Spurs see win streak snapped at five". ESPN.com. December 11, 2007. Archived from the original on March 7, 2019. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  10. ^ "San Antonio Spurs at Utah Jazz Box Score, December 7, 2009". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  11. ^ "NBA Player 3-Point Shooting Statistics – 2010–11 leaders". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  12. ^ "Video: Learn NBA fundamentals from Matt Bonner". sports.yahoo.com. February 10, 2011. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  13. ^ "Spurs Re-Sign Matt Bonner". NBA.com. July 21, 2014. Retrieved July 21, 2014.
  14. ^ "Spurs Re-sign Matt Bonner". NBA.com. July 15, 2015. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
  15. ^ "Matt Bonner Announces Retirement From NBA". NBA.com. January 6, 2017. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
  16. ^ "Ex-Spurs player Matt Bonner announces retirement with hilarious retirement video". FOXSports.com. January 6, 2017. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
  17. ^ "Spurs jokingly 'retire' Matt Bonner's flannel shirt". ESPN.com. January 13, 2017. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
  18. ^ "MATT BONNER JOINS SAN ANTONIO SPURS TV BROADCAST". NBA.com. January 6, 2017. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
  19. ^ "Bonner Brothers Reunite Deep In The Heart Of Texas". NBA.com. April 10, 2014. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  20. ^ "Spurs' Bonner applies for Canadian citizenship". TSN.ca. February 11, 2009. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  21. ^ "Matt Bonner's Sandwich Hunter Archive". NBA.com. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  22. ^ Brazeau, Jonathan (January 24, 2017). "Matt Bonner's tenure with Raptors led to curling fandom". Sportsnet.
  23. ^ "Kobe Bryant". Twitter.com. January 22, 2013. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  24. ^ "San Antonio Spurs' player Matt Bonner is the first NBA player to land a sneaker deal via Twitter". ESPN.com. May 19, 2014. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  25. ^ "Kicks On Court: Matt Bonner Signs with adidas, Wears Crazy 8". Nicekicks.com. January 23, 2014. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  26. ^ "Rock On Foundation". Rockonfoundation.org. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  27. ^ Andrew Joseph (March 30, 2016). "Tall NBA player Matt Bonner bought a tiny house". USA Today. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
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