Grant Gondrezick

Grant Gondrezick
Personal information
Born	January 19, 1963; Boulder, Colorado
Died	January 7, 2021 (aged 57)
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight	205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school	Boulder (Boulder, Colorado)
College	Pepperdine (1981–1986)
NBA draft	1986: 4th round, 77th overall pick
	Selected by the Phoenix Suns
Playing career	1986–1998
Position	Shooting guard
Number	3
Career history
1986–1987	Phoenix Suns
1987–1988	Caen
1988–1989	Los Angeles Clippers
1989–1990	Rapid City Thrillers
1990–1991	Albany Patroons
1991	La Crosse Catbirds
1992–1993	Miami Tropics
1993–1994	Carife Ferrara
1994–1995	Okapi Aalstar
1995–1996	Estudiantes de Bahía Blanca
1996	Fórum Filatélico
1996–1997	CSP Limoges
1997–1998	Estudiantes de Bahía Blanca
	Stats at NBA.com
	Stats at Basketball Reference

Grant Gondrezick Sr. (January 19, 1963 – January 7, 2021) was an American shooting guard who played professional basketball in the NBA and a number of other leagues.

Basketball career

After attending high school in his hometown, 6'5" Gondrezick played college basketball at Pepperdine University in the mid-1980s. He led the team in scoring during the 1983–84 season with a 13.7 points per game average,^[1] and was redshirted in the following year.

In 1986, Gondrezick was drafted by the Phoenix Suns with the 77th pick of the NBA draft. During his rookie season with the Suns in April 1987, Gondrezick was indicted on drug charges along nine others including two teammates and two former Suns players.^[2] The league announced the players would face lifetime bans if they were found guilty of the charges.^[3] Gondrezick proclaimed his innocence and claimed he was shocked by the indictments.^[4] In September 1987, he pled guilty to a charge of witness tampering and received a $100 fine and three years probation. The drug charges were dismissed.^[5]

After spending a season in France, Gondrezick returned to the NBA for the 1988–89 season with the Los Angeles Clippers. After appearing in 27 games for the Clippers, he checked into a substance abuse clinic in January 1989 and never played in the NBA again.^[6]

He spent a total of two seasons in the National Basketball Association, one apiece with the Suns and the Clippers, averaging five points, two rebounds and one assist per game.

Personal life

Gondrezick was married to Lisa Harvey and had three children, WNBA player Kysre Gondrezick, Kalabrya Gondrezick, and Grant Gondrezick Jr.

Gondrezick's older brother, Glen, was also a professional basketball player, and a shooting guard. He played six years in the NBA,^[7] dying in 2009 at the age of 53 due to heart failure.

On January 8, 2021, it was announced that Gondrezick had died suddenly the night before at the age of 57.^[8]

References

^ Pepperdine basketball media guide^{[permanent dead link‍]}
^ "3 Suns Players Are Indicted in Drug Investigation". New York Times. April 18, 1987.
^ Keteyian, Armen (April 27, 1987). "Dark Clouds Over Sun Country". Sports Illustrated.
^ Shain, Jeffrey (April 20, 1987). "Phoenix Suns players James Edwards and Grant Gondrezick Make Their First Public Statements". UPI.
^ Eden, Gordon (October 29, 1987). "The Fall Guy: Other Indicted Suns, Davis Still in Phoenix; Not Gondrezick". Los Angeles Times.
^ Howard-Cooper, Scott (January 31, 1989). "Clippers' Gondrezick Says He'll Enter Substance Abuse Clinic in Van Nuys". Los Angeles Times.
^ An older and wiser Gondrezick gets his shot with Sixers, but basketball is no longer everything to him; The Philadelphia Inquirer, October 16, 1994. C02
^ Tapin, Patrick (January 8, 2021). "Grant Gondrezick, un des plus grands joueurs passés par le Caen BC, est décédé". Retrieved January 9, 2021. (in French)

External links

Stats at Basketball-Reference

[1] Pepperdine basketball media guide^{[permanent dead link‍]}

[2] "3 Suns Players Are Indicted in Drug Investigation". New York Times. April 18, 1987.

[3] Keteyian, Armen (April 27, 1987). "Dark Clouds Over Sun Country". Sports Illustrated.

[4] Shain, Jeffrey (April 20, 1987). "Phoenix Suns players James Edwards and Grant Gondrezick Make Their First Public Statements". UPI.

[5] Eden, Gordon (October 29, 1987). "The Fall Guy: Other Indicted Suns, Davis Still in Phoenix; Not Gondrezick". Los Angeles Times.

[6] Howard-Cooper, Scott (January 31, 1989). "Clippers' Gondrezick Says He'll Enter Substance Abuse Clinic in Van Nuys". Los Angeles Times.

[Phil-7] An older and wiser Gondrezick gets his shot with Sixers, but basketball is no longer everything to him; The Philadelphia Inquirer, October 16, 1994. C02

[8] Tapin, Patrick (January 8, 2021). "Grant Gondrezick, un des plus grands joueurs passés par le Caen BC, est décédé". Retrieved January 9, 2021. (in French)

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