Kennedy Collier Chandler (born September 16, 2002) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player who last played for the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity college athletics, intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in NCAA Division I, ...

. He was a consensus five-star

recruit __NOTOC__ Recruit can refer to: Military * Military recruitment * Recruit training, in the military * '' Rekrut'' (English: Recruit), a military recruit or low rank in German-speaking countries * Seaman recruit Books *''Le Réquisitionnaire'' (E ...

and one of the top

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

s in the 2021 class. In his senior season of high school, he was named a

McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hamburger ...

, as well as being selected to the rosters of the

Jordan Brand Classic The Jordan Brand Classic is a high school All-Star basketball game played annually in April. The game's rosters feature the best and most highly recruited high school boys in the senior class including alumns like Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Bl ...

and the

Nike Hoop Summit The Nike Hoop Summit is an international men's basketball all-star game sponsored by Nike, held once a year since 1995, except from 2001–2003, which features the USA Basketball Men's Junior Select Team against a World Select Team of internationa ...

. In his only season at Tennessee, Chandler was named to the Second Team All- SEC and the SEC All-Freshman Team. He was drafted 38th overall in the

2022 NBA draft The 2022 NBA draft (branded as the 2022 NBA Draft presented by State Farm for sponsorship reasons), the 76th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual draft, was held on June 23, 2022, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The ...

by the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

, but was later traded to the Grizzlies.

High school career

Chandler began playing varsity basketball for

Briarcrest Christian School Briarcrest Christian School is a private, coeducational, Christian school in Eads, an unincorporated area of Shelby County, Tennessee. The school was founded as a segregation academy during the racial integration of public schools in Memphis, Tenne ...

Eads, Tennessee Eads is an unincorporated community in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, named after Civil War engineer James Buchanan Eads. Some parts of Eads (and some surrounding areas) have been annexed by the city of Memphis. Some of its area is curren ...

while in eighth grade. As a freshman, he came off the bench and helped his team reach the Division II-AA semifinals. In his sophomore season, Chandler averaged 19.5 points, four rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. He led Briarcrest to the DII-AA state title, earning tournament

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

honors after scoring 20 points in a 65–54 win over

Brentwood Academy Brentwood Academy is a coeducational Christian independent college preparatory school located in Brentwood, Tennessee, for grades 6–12. History The charter of Brentwood Academy was signed on November 20, 1969, after ten acres of land on Gr ...

. He was named DII-AA

Tennessee Mr. Basketball Each year the Tennessee Mr. Basketball award is given to the person chosen as the best high school boys' basketball player in the U.S. state of Tennessee by the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association. A Mr. Basketball is named for each of ...

. After the season, Chandler won the

Nike Elite Youth Basketball League The Nike Elite Youth Basketball League, also known as Nike EYBL, or simply EYBL, is a basketball circuit for teams of players aged 17 and under. The circuit was founded in 2010 and is composed of AAU travel teams. Both boys and girls play in the E ...

Peach Jam with Mokan Elite. As a junior, he averaged 22.2 points, 4.3 assists and 2.6 steals per game, leading his team to a state runner-up finish and being named DII-AA Tennessee Mr. Basketball for his second straight year. Chandler transferred to Sunrise Christian Academy in

Bel Aire, Kansas Bel Aire is a city in Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States, and a suburb of Wichita. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,262. History Bel Aire was founded in January 1955 when a group of local residents petitioned the ...

for his senior season to help prepare for the college level. As a senior, he averaged 14.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.3 steals per game, leading his team to a 21–4 record. Chandler was named to the rosters for the

McDonald's All-American Game The McDonald's All-American Game is the all-star basketball game played each year for American and Canadian boys' and girls' high school basketball graduates. Consisting of the top players, each team plays a single exhibition game after the concl ...

and

Recruiting

Chandler received basketball scholarship offers from

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

and Ole Miss, among others, during his first two years of high school. He emerged as a five-star recruit prior to his junior season. On August 14, 2020, Chandler committed to playing college basketball for

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

over offers from

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

and

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

College career

In his college debut, Chandler posted 20 points and four assists in a 90–62 win against UT Martin. On December 4, 2021, he scored 28 points in a 69–54 win over

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

. Chandler was named to the Second Team All- SEC as well as the All-Freshman Team. He averaged 13.9 points, 4.7 assists and 2.2 steals per game. On April 5, 2022, Chandler declared for the

, forgoing his remaining college eligibility. Chandler was a projected top twenty pick in the 2022 NBA draft.

Professional career

Memphis Grizzlies (2022–2023)

Chandler was drafted 38th overall by the

in the

. On June 24, 2022, a day after the draft, he was traded to the

in exchange for a 2024 second-round pick. On July 6, Chandler signed a four-year, $7.1 million rookie scale contract with the Grizzlies. The deal set a record for the most guaranteed money ($4.9 million) given to an American-born second-round draft pick on his rookie contract. He joined the Grizzlies for the

2022 NBA Summer League The 2022 NBA Summer League, also branded as the NBA 2K23 Summer League 2022, was an off-season competition held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) primarily at the Thomas and Mack Center and Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada on the campus ...

. Chandler made his Summer League debut on July 5, recording eight points, four rebounds, four assists, four steals and three blocks in a 103–99 win over the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

. On October 22, he made his NBA debut, recording two assists and two blocks in a 137–96 loss to the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

. On April 8, 2023, Chandler was waived by the Grizzlies.

National team career

Chandler represented the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

at the 2021 FIBA Under-19 World Cup in Latvia. He averaged 7.7 points and 3.4 assists per game, helping his team win the gold medal.

Career statistics

NBA

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 36 , , 0 , , 7.8 , , .422 , , .133 , , .462 , , 1.1 , , 1.6 , , .3 , , .1 , , 2.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 36 , , 0 , , 7.8 , , .422 , , .133 , , .462 , , 1.1 , , 1.6 , , .3 , , .1 , , 2.2

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , style="text-align:left;",

, 34 , , 34 , , 30.8 , , .464 , , .383 , , .606 , , 3.2 , , 4.7 , , 2.2 , , .2 , , 13.9

References

External links

Tennessee Volunteers bioUSA Basketball bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chandler, Kennedy 2002 births Living people American men's basketball players Basketball players from Memphis, Tennessee McDonald's High School All-Americans Memphis Grizzlies players Memphis Hustle players Point guards San Antonio Spurs draft picks Tennessee Volunteers basketball players