Utah Jazz fans must have their hands on their Heads when their team arranged to acquire Tony Bradley, a relatively unknown athlete from the University of North Carolina who only played one year in college basketball during which he couldn’t start. However, a quick search will show that the center, who was originally selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 28th overall pick, was showing signs of becoming one of the game’s greats and had been introduced to the team with longer-term development in mind.
Who is Tony Bradley?
Bradley was born Tony Lee Bradley Jr. to Vanessa and Tony Bradley on January 8, 1998 in Bartow, Florida. From an early age, Bradley became increasingly interested in basketball, his father’s favorite sport. Around the age of 10, Bradley Snr. In 2009, his son was invited to the McDonald’s All-American Game where they got to watch future NBA players such as Derrick Favors, Lance Stephenson and DeMarcus Cousins. This was said to be the engine of Bradley Junior’s passion to one day reach the NBA.
His dad started by building a concrete basketball court in their backyard where his son would practice day in and day out in hopes of becoming one of the players he watched. Tony Bradley’s tenacity seemed to pay off as he earned McDonald’s All-American and Jordan Brand Classic high school selections at Bartow High School. That year, Bradley averaged 22.8 points, 12.6 rebounds, and 3 blocks per game, to also call himself Florida Mr. Basketball.
After graduating from high school, Bradley, who had attracted interest from schools like the University of Kansas, University of Florida, Florida State University, Vanderbilt, University of Alabama and others outstanding academic programs, accepted the offer from North Carolina University (UNC). Despite the hype that surrounded his first year at the school, Tony Bradley was unable to start a game due to the presence of Kennedy Meeks who was a senior at the time. Bradley, however, still managed to play all 38 games for his school, averaging 7.1 points and 5.1 rebounds in 14.6 minutes per game as the UNC Tar Heels. He went on to win the 2017 NCAA Championship from Gonzaga.
When was he drafted into the NBA?
Following the University of North Carolina’s NCAA Championship win, Tony Bradley announced he was giving up his final three years of college to enter the 2017 NBA Draft. He had originally been given the option of returning to UNC for his sophomore year but after being projected to be selected in at least the third round of the draft, Bradley opted to turn pro, becoming the school’s first player since 2008. .to play just one college year of basketball.
In the 2017 NBA draft, the Los Angeles Lakers picked him with the 28th overall pick, but immediately traded him to the Utah Jazz. Bradley made his NBA debut on November 5, 2017 against the Houston Rockets before being traded to the Salt Lake City Stars of the NBA Development League. He then made a total of 24 appearances for the D League team, averaging 15.4 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. In the NBA, Bradley managed just 9 appearances, averaging 0.9 points and 1.2 rebounds in 3.2 minutes per game. He also appeared in an NBA playoff game in 2018, scoring 2 points and 1 rebound in 2 minutes of play.
other facts
Salary / Contract
Tony Bradley earns an average annual salary of around $1.5 million on his two-year, $3.09 million contract with the Utah Jazz. This makes him the 13th highest paid player in the team.
Body measurements
Tony Bradley who is considered a very good offensive rebounder stands at 6 feet 10 inches or 2.08m tall. That ties him in second place with Ekpe Udoh and Derrick Favors on the list of Utah Jazz’s Greatest Players, behind 2018 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert, whose height is listed at 2. .16 m.
Bradley’s weight is further listed at 248 pounds or 112 kg, wingspan at 2.26m, and standing span at 2.86m.