Kevin Burleson (born April 9, 1979) 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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

coach, and a former professional basketball player. He is currently the head coach of

Rio Grande Valley Vipers The Rio Grande Valley Vipers are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Edinburg, Texas, and are affiliated with the Houston Rockets. The Vipers play their home games at the Bert Ogden Arena. The Vipers have won fo ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA De ...

. 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

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

Golden Gophers The Minnesota Golden Gophers (commonly shortened to Gophers) are the college athletics, college sports teams of the University of Minnesota. The university fields a total of 25 (12 men's, 13 women's) teams in both men's and women's sports and com ...

and began his professional career in the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

basketball league. He played for the

Charlotte Bobcats Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populou ...

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 St ...

(NBA) in 2005–06.

Early life

Burleson was born in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

. He was born to a prolific sporting family: his father,

Al Burleson Alvin "Al" Burleson (born September 25, 1954) is a former American gridiron football player. He played professionally in the Canadian Football League (CFL) for the Calgary Stampeders, from 1976 to 1981, and in the United States Football League ( ...

, played defensive back in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL) and the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL). His older brother Alvin Jr. played college football for the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

Huskies Husky is a general term for a dog used in the polar regions, primarily and specifically for work as sled dogs. It refers to a traditional northern type, notable for its cold-weather tolerance and overall hardiness. Modern racing huskies that mai ...

and the

Western Illinois University Western Illinois University (WIU) is a public university in Macomb, Illinois. It was founded in 1899 as Western Illinois State Normal School. As the normal school grew, it became Western Illinois State Teachers College. History Western Illin ...

Leathernecks. His younger brother Nate was a wide receiver in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL), while younger brother Lyndale played

for the

University of Nevada The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded on October 12 ...

Wolf Pack. Kevin and Nate Burleson are one of only two sets of siblings in which one played in the NBA and one in the NFL. Like his brothers he played several sports early on, but gave up baseball as he found it too slow, and gave up football for fear of an injury that would prevent him from playing basketball. Burleson graduated from O'Dea High School after transferring from Garfield High School after his freshman year. At O'Dea, Burleson earned three letters in basketball and one in track and field and played basketball under coach Phil Lumpkin. In his junior year, Burleson helped O'Dea go undefeated through a 29-game season and win the state title.

College career

Burleson was offered a basketball scholarship to the

, but opted instead to attend the

for a chance to play in the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

. He played for the

Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball The Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represents the University of Minnesota in NCAA Division I college basketball competition. The Golden Gophers competes in the Big Ten Conference and play their home games at the Williams Arena. ...

team from 1999 to 2003 after redshirting the 1998–99 season. Minnesota made the 2001 National Invitation Tournament (NIT), and Burleson scored a season-high 21 points in Minnesota's win over Villanova in the first round. As a junior, Burleson led Minnesota with 146 assists and had an assist/turnover ratio 146–58.

Professional career

Burleson began his professional career in Germany. He played for the

USC Heidelberg USC Heidelberg, for sponsorship reasons named MLP Academics Heidelberg, is a professional basketball club from Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The club's men's senior team currently plays in the German first division Basketball Bundeslig ...

in the 2003–2004 season and for the Walter Tigers Tübingen of Basketball Bundesliga in the 2004–2005 season. He was then signed by the

of the NBA on August 31, 2005. He played with the Bobcats for the 2005–2006 season, but was subsequently cut. In the 2006 NBA Development League draft, the Fort Worth Flyers picked Burleson as the fourth overall pick in the first round. Burleson played for the Flyers for the season, then signed with the

Turkish Basketball League Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and ...

team Mersin Büyükşehir Belediye for the 2007–2008 season. In January 2009 he signed with the

Idaho Stampede Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

of the NBA Development League the day after being traded from the

Iowa Energy Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

. Burleson finished his career with the Egyptian team

Al-Ittihad Alexandria Al Ittihad Alexandria, also known as Al Ittihad Elsakandry, is a basketball club based in the city of Alexandria, Egypt. The team plays in the Egyptian Basketball Premier League. The team is widely considered one of the basketball powerhouse of Eg ...

References

External links

NBA.com Profile – Kevin BurlesonMinnesota Golden Gophers bio (archived)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Burleson, Kevin 1979 births Living people African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Romania American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Washington (state) Basketball players from Seattle Charlotte Bobcats players CSU Asesoft Ploiești players Fort Worth Flyers players Idaho Stampede players Iowa Wolves coaches Memphis Grizzlies assistant coaches Mersin Büyükşehir Belediyesi S.K. players Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball players Minnesota Timberwolves assistant coaches Point guards Rio Grande Valley Vipers coaches Tigers Tübingen players Undrafted National Basketball Association players USC Heidelberg players 21st-century African-American sportspeople Al Ittihad Alexandria Club basketball players 20th-century African-American sportspeople