Keyondrei Samuel "Kiwi" Gardner (born April 7, 1993) 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 for the

Illawarra Hawks The Illawarra Hawks (formerly the Wollongong Hawks and The Hawks) is an Australian professional basketball team based in Wollongong, New South Wales. The Illawarra Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games ...

of the

NBL1 East The NBL1 East, formerly the Waratah League, is a semi-professional basketball league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2021, Basketball New South Wales and the National ...

. He became an Internet sensation via

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

in 2011. Gardner played one season of

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

Midland College Midland College (MC) is a public community college in Midland, Texas. It was established as an independent junior college in 1972 and held its first classes on campus in 1975. Since that time, the campus has expanded to a main campus on in Mi ...

before beginning his professional career in 2013.

High school career

Gardner was raised in the

Maxwell Park Maxwell Park is a neighborhood in Oakland, California located in the foothills of the city. It is geographically bordered by MacArthur Boulevard, High Street, Trask Street, Foothill Boulevard, and 55th Avenue and is adjacent to Mills College, I- ...

neighborhood in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

and began playing basketball at the age of four. From 2007 to 2010, Gardner attended

Manteca High School Manteca High School is a public, co-educational secondary school in Manteca, California, United States that was established on May 21, 1920. It is the oldest school within Manteca Unified School District. Although originally built with a tower, ...

Manteca, California Manteca (Spanish for "lard") is a city in San Joaquin County, California. The city had a population of 83,498 as of the 2020 census. History Manteca is a city in the Central Valley of California, located east of San Francisco. It was fou ...

. As a sophomore in 2008–09, he averaged 19.8 points, 6.0 assists, 2.1 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game as he helped the Buffaloes finish with a 24–4 record. As a junior in 2009–10, he averaged 24 points, 3.8 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 3.5 steals as he helped the Buffaloes finish a 23–6 record. In 2010, Gardner transferred to

Westwind Preparatory Academy Westwind Preparatory Academy was a college preparatory public charter high school in Phoenix, Arizona, operated by Westwind Children's Services, a nonprofit operator of several other Phoenix-area charter schools, Westwind Community Schools. The s ...

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

. He did not meet the eligibility requirements of the Arizona Interscholastic Association because of transferring in his senior year, so he did not play on WPA's State Championship High School team that year. Instead, he played on WPA's prep team. Gardner was chosen to participate in the NCAA's High School Slam Dunk contest during the Final Four Tournament, where the crowd watched the same showmanship that has led to hundreds of thousands of hits on his

highlight videos. He averaged 23.7 points, seven assists, four steals and four rebounds per game during the 2010–11 season, leading Westwind to a 30–2 record and a state title.

College career

Gardner committed to

Providence College Providence College is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic university in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded in 1917 by the Dominican Order and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, local diocese, it offers 47 undergradua ...

, but he never gained eligibility to play. He subsequently sat out the 2011–12 season and transferred to

, where he played nine games during the 2012–13 season. Following the season, he declared for the NBA draft.

Professional career

After going undrafted in the 2013 NBA draft, Gardner spent the 2013–14 season in the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

with the

Santa Cruz Warriors The Santa Cruz Warriors are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Santa Cruz, California, and are affiliated with the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors play their home games at Kaiser Permanente Arena. Prior to ...

. After a stint with the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

during the

2014 NBA Summer League The 2014 NBA Summer League consists of two pro basketball leagues organized by the NBA and the Orlando Magic just after the 2014 NBA Draft. Ten teams took part in the week-long summer league at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, from July 5 t ...

, Gardner returned to Santa Cruz for the 2014–15 season and helped the Warriors win the D-League championship. In 2015, Gardner played in Mexico for Pioneros de Los Mochis. For the 2015–16 season, he played in Saudi Arabia with Al-Ansar. He scored 74 points in a game outside Mecca. After a preseason stint with the

Windy City Bulls The Windy City Bulls are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, and are affiliated with the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls play their home games at Now Arena, from Chicago. It became the thirte ...

in November 2016, Gardner joined the

Westports Malaysia Dragons Kuala Lumpur Dragons is a professional basketball team based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia that currently plays in the ASEAN Basketball League. It also played as the Blustar Detergent Dragons in the Philippines' PBA Developmental League in 2016. H ...

of the

ASEAN Basketball League The ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) is a professional men's basketball league in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong/Macau, which includes six teams from Southeast Asian nations (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam), one tea ...

in February 2017. After one season, Gardner played in lower professional and semi-professional leagues in China, Japan, and Hong Kong. On February 7, 2020, Gardner was acquired by the Santa Cruz Warriors, returning to the franchise for a second stint. He played 11 games to finish the

2019–20 NBA G League season The 2019–20 NBA G League season was the 19th season of the NBA G League, the official minor league basketball organization owned by the National Basketball Association (NBA). The season was suspended indefinitely on March 12, 2020, following the ...

. In March 2022, Gardner moved to Australia to play for the

of the

. He was named the 2022 NBL1 East MVP.

References

External links

NBL1 profile

NBA D-League profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Kiwi 1993 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Australia American expatriate basketball people in Malaysia American expatriate basketball people in Mexico American expatriate basketball people in Saudi Arabia American men's basketball players Basketball players from California Kuala Lumpur Dragons players Midland Chaps basketball players People from Manteca, California Pioneros de Los Mochis players Point guards Santa Cruz Warriors players