Marcin Janusz Gortat (; born February 17, 1984) is a Polish former 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. The ,

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

is the son of

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

Janusz Gortat Janusz Kazimierz Gortat (born November 5, 1948) is a retired boxer from Poland, who represented his native country at two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1972. In both tournaments he won the bronze medal in the light heavywei ...

. He was drafted in the second round by the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

in the 2005 NBA draft and played for the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

, Phoenix Suns,

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast D ...

, and

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

. He retired from professional basketball in 2020.

Early life and career

As a child, Gortat participated in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

and

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

, where he competed in the

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

. His father,

, was a Polish boxer and a bronze medalist in the

light heavyweight Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruise ...

class during the

Munich 1972 The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

and

Montreal 1976 Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

, and his mother, Alicja Gortat, was a representative of the Polish national team in

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

. He has an older brother, Robert, who is also a boxer. Gortat grew up in

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...

, Poland together with his brother Filip. He graduated from

Technical School In the United States, a technical school is a type of two-year college that covers specialized fields such as business, finance, hospitality, tourism, construction, engineering, visual arts, information technology and community work. Associa ...

in Łódź. Apart from Polish, he is fluent in English, German, and Serbian. He is also a big

Motorcycle Speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that use only ...

supporter, often seen supporting Polish club

Motor Lublin Motor Lublin () is a Polish professional football team based in Lublin. The club was founded in December 1950 with their nickname ''The Yellow, White and Blues'' reflecting their official colours. They compete in II liga in the 2021–22 season. ...

. He is also seen regularly at

Speedway Grand Prix Speedway Grand Prix are a series of stand-alone motorcycle speedway events over the course of a season used to determine the Speedway World Champion. The series started in 1995 replacing the previous format of a single event final. The first win ...

events, supporting his good friend, 2x World Champion Bartosz Zmarzlik. Gortat started his career with

ŁKS Łódź ŁKS Łódź (''Łódzki Klub Sportowy Łódź''; ) is a Polish sports club based in Łódź. They are best known for their football club but are represented in many sports such as basketball, volleyball, tennis, athletics and in the past ice ...

, then played three seasons for RheinEnergie Cologne in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Basketball Bundesliga The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the highest level league of professional club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 18 teams. A BBL season ...

, with whom he won the domestic championship in 2006 and played in the

2006–07 Euroleague The 2006–07 Euroleague was the 7th season of the professional basketball competition for elite clubs throughout Europe, organised by Euroleague Basketball Company, and it was the 50th season of the premier competition for European men's clubs ov ...

season for the first time in the team's history. After being drafted 57th overall in the 2005 NBA draft by the

(with his rights later traded to the

), Gortat elected to keep playing with Cologne in Germany until 2007. Gortat identifies as a Roman Catholic and has said that his faith gives him hope and inspires him.

NBA career

Orlando Magic (2007–2010)

On August 2, 2007, Gortat signed with the

. On November 20, 2007, he was assigned to the

Anaheim Arsenal The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...

of 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 ...

.Magic Assign Marcin Gortat to NBA D-League
/ref> He was recalled from the D-League on December 2, and he made his debut for the Magic on March 1, 2008 against the New York Knicks. On April 16, 2008, in the Magic's last game of the 2007–08 season, little-used Gortat played 28 minutes and registered 12 points and 11 rebounds in a 103–83 Magic win over the

. On December 15, 2008, starting in place of the injured

Dwight Howard Dwight David Howard II (born December 8, 1985) is an American professional basketball player for the Taoyuan Leopards of the T1 League. He is an NBA champion, eight-time All-Star, eight-time All-NBA Team honoree, five-time All-Defensive Team m ...

, Gortat played 28 minutes and recorded 16 points and 13 rebounds in a 108–98 win over 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 ...

. On April 13, 2009, again starting in place of Howard, Gortat played almost 43 minutes and topped his career high in rebounding with 18 rebounds and had 10 points. On April 30, 2009, Gortat made his first playoff start in Game 6 against 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 ...

, replacing Howard, who was suspended because of his actions in game 5. He had 11 points and 15 rebounds as the Magic eliminated the 76ers 4–2. That Magic playoff run continued all the way to the

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

, making Gortat the first Polish-born player to ever appear in the championship series. On July 8, 2009, Gortat, a restricted free agent, signed an offer sheet for five years and $34 million with 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 ...

. However, Orlando prevented Gortat from going to Dallas by matching the offer sheet on July 13, 2009. Gortat was said to be "very disappointed" to stay with the Magic, since continuing as backup to Dwight Howard would mean limited playing time, whereas playing for Dallas would likely have meant being the starting center.

Phoenix Suns (2010–2013)

Al Thornton, Marcin Gortat and Kevin Seraphin

On December 18, 2010, Gortat was traded to the

along with

Vince Carter Vincent Lamar Carter Jr. (born January 26, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who serves as a basketball analyst for ESPN. He primarily played the shooting guard and small forward positions, but occasionally played Powe ...

Mickaël Piétrus Mickaël Marvin Soriano Piétrus (; born February 7, 1982) is a French former professional basketball player. Listed at 6'6", 215 pounds, he played both the small forward and shooting guard positions. Piétrus was drafted by the Golden State Warr ...

, a 2011 first-round draft pick (which would become Nikola Mirotić), and $3 million, in exchange for

Jason Richardson Jason Anthoney Richardson (born January 20, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player who played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Richardson was taken by the Golden State Warriors as the fifth overall pic ...

Earl Clark Earl Rashad Clark (born January 17, 1988) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the NLEX Road Warriors of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He played college basketball for the University of Louisville and w ...

, and then-former Magic player and former teammate

Hedo Türkoğlu Hidayet "Hedo" Türkoğlu (; born March 19, 1979) is a Turkish basketball executive and former professional player. A forward, Türkoğlu played for six teams in his 15-season career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He won the NBA ...

. Due to Steve Nash wearing the #13 jersey, which was the number that Gortat had worn in Orlando and Poland, he decided to wear #4 for his tenure with the Suns. During his first season with the Suns, his numbers increased as his minutes grew, initially coming off the bench, then starting at center in place of

Robin Lopez Robin Byron Lopez (born April 1, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected with the 15th pick in the 2008 NBA draft by the Phoenix Suns, was trad ...

. During his time in Phoenix, Gortat continued to be known as "The Polish Hammer" a nickname originally given to him during his time with the Orlando Magic. During the lockout-shortened 2011–12 season, Gortat averaged 15.4 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. He was the only Suns player to start and play every game of the regular season. Gortat also joined the likes of former Magic teammate

Andrew Bynum Andrew Bynum (born October 27, 1987) is an American former professional basketball player. He played the majority of his career with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After they selected him in the first roun ...

, and

DeMarcus Cousins DeMarcus Amir Cousins (born August 13, 1990) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Boogie", he played college basketball for the Kentucky Wil ...

as the only centers to average a double-double that season. After the season ended, he was named to the

Polish national basketball team The Poland men's national basketball team ( pl, Reprezentacja Polski w koszykówce) represents Poland in international basketball competitions. They are controlled by the Polish Basketball Federation (PZKosz). Poland has competed at the EuroB ...

for the FIBA EuroBasket 2013 qualification round. In the second game against

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, he scored 27 points and grabbed 21 rebounds to help Poland qualify for 2013's FIBA Eurobasket tournament. On November 7, 2012, he scored 23 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and had a career-best 7 blocks in a 117–110 victory against 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 populous ...

. In late February, Gortat suffered a knee injury, and was left off the team for the rest of the season.

Washington Wizards (2013–2018)

On October 25, 2013, Gortat was traded, along with

Shannon Brown Shannon Brown (born November 29, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. He attended Proviso East High School in Maywood, Illinois, was named Illinois Mr. Basketball in 2003, and played college basketball for Michigan State ...

, Malcolm Lee, and

Kendall Marshall Kendall Dewan Marshall (born August 19, 1991) is an American basketball coach and former professional player. He was born in Dumfries, Virginia, and attended Bishop O'Connell High School in Arlington, Virginia. He played college basketball for t ...

, to the

in exchange for

Emeka Okafor Chukwuemeka Ndubuisi "Emeka" Okafor (born September 28, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. Okafor attended Bellaire High School in Bellaire, Texas and the University of Connecticut, where in 2004 he won a national champ ...

and a 2014 protected first-round draft pick. On February 27, 2014, Gortat recorded a career-high 31 points and 12 rebounds in a 134–129 triple overtime win over the Toronto Raptors. On May 13, he recorded 31 points (his playoff career high) and 16 rebounds to help the Wizards avoid elimination in Game 5 of their second-round series with the Indiana Pacers. He became the first Wizards player with at least 30 points and 15 rebounds in a playoff game since

Moses Malone Moses Eugene Malone (March 23, 1955 – September 13, 2015) was an American professional basketball player who played in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1974 through 1995. A cen ...

in 1987. The Wizards went on to lose Game 6 of the series, falling 4–2 to the Pacers. On July 10, 2014, Gortat re-signed with the Wizards to a reported five-year, $60 million contract. On December 28, 2015, Gortat was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played December 21–27, earning the honor for the first time in his career. On February 29, 2016, he scored 13 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter and grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds in the Wizards' 116–108 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Los Angeles Clippers (2018–2019)

On June 26, 2018, Gortat was traded to the

in exchange for

Austin Rivers Austin James Rivers (born August 1, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Rivers led Winter Park High School to back-to-back Florida 6A state championship ...

. On February 7, 2019, he was waived by the Clippers. On February 16, 2020, Gortat officially announced his retirement from basketball.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

, 6 , , 0 , , 6.8 , , .471 , , , , .667 , , 2.7 , , .3 , , .2 , , .2 , , 3.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 63 , , 3 , , 12.6 , , .569 , , 1.000 , , .578 , , 4.6 , , .2 , , .3 , , .8 , , 3.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , 0 , , 13.4 , , .533 , , .000 , , .680 , , 4.2 , , .2 , , .2 , , .9 , , 3.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 25 , , 2 , , 15.8 , , .543 , , , , .667 , , 4.7 , , .7 , , .3 , , .8 , , 4.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

, 55 , , 12 , , 29.7 , , .563 , , .250 , , .731 , , 9.3 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , 1.3 , , 13.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 66 , , 66 , , 32.0 , , .555 , , .000 , , .649 , , 10.0 , , .9 , , .7 , , 1.5 , , 15.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 61 , , 61 , , 30.8 , , .521 , , .000 , , .652 , , 8.5 , , 1.2 , , .7 , , 1.6 , , 11.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, 81 , , 80 , , 32.8 , , .542 , , 1.000 , , .686 , , 9.5 , , 1.7 , , .5 , , 1.5 , , 13.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 82 , , 29.9 , , .566 , , .000 , , .703 , , 8.7 , , 1.2 , , .6 , , 1.3 , , 12.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 75 , , 74 , , 30.1 , , .567 , , .000 , , .705 , , 9.9 , , 1.4 , , .6 , , 1.3 , , 13.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 82 , , 31.2 , , .579 , , .000 , , .648 , , 10.3 , , 1.5 , , .5 , , .7 , , 10.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 82 , , 25.3 , , .518 , , , , .675 , , 7.6 , , 1.8 , , .5 , , .7 , , 8.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Clippers , 47 , , 43 , , 16.0 , , .532 , , , , .729 , , 5.6 , , 1.4 , , .1 , , .5 , , 5.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 806 , , 587 , , 25.7 , , .551 , , .150 , , .680 , , 8.0 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , 1.1 , , 9.9

Playoffs

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

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

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

, 8 , , 0 , , 6.0 , , .833 , , , , .000 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .5 , , 1.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

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

, 24 , , 1 , , 11.3 , , .654 , , , , .625 , , 3.2 , , .1 , , .4 , , .6 , , 3.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

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

, 14 , , 0 , , 15.1 , , .654 , , , , .727 , , 4.4 , , .6 , , .2 , , .3 , , 3.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

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

, 11 , , 11 , , 34.7 , , .429 , , , , .659 , , 9.9 , , 1.5 , , .5 , , 1.4 , , 13.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

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

, 10 , , 10 , , 30.7 , , .628 , , , , .667 , , 8.8 , , 2.2 , , .6 , , 1.1 , , 12.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

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, 13 , , 13 , , 31.5 , , .505 , , , , .611 , , 11.0 , , 1.8 , , .4 , , 1.5 , , 8.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

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

, 6 , , 6 , , 26.7 , , .558 , , , , .571 , , 6.3 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .3 , , 8.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 86 , , 41 , , 20.8 , , .564 , , , , .650 , , 6.1 , , .9 , , .3 , , .8 , , 6.4

Euroleague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2006–07 , style="text-align:left;", RheinEnergie Cologne , 14 , , 14 , , 27.7 , , .594 , , .500 , , .667 , , 5.6 , , 1.2 , , 1.1 , , 1.1 , , 10.4 , , 12.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 14 , , 14 , , 27.7 , , .594 , , .500 , , .667 , , 5.6 , , 1.2 , , 1.1 , , 1.1 , , 10.4 , , 12.6

References

External links

Euroleague.net profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gortat, Marcin 1984 births Living people Anaheim Arsenal players Centers (basketball) Köln 99ers players Los Angeles Clippers players National Basketball Association players from Poland Phoenix Suns draft picks Phoenix Suns players Polish expatriate basketball people in Germany Polish expatriate basketball people in the United States Polish men's basketball players Polish Roman Catholics Orlando Magic players Sportspeople from Łódź Washington Wizards players

Early life and career

NBA career

Orlando Magic (2007–2010)

Phoenix Suns (2010–2013)

Washington Wizards (2013–2018)

Los Angeles Clippers (2018–2019)

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

Playoffs

Euroleague

See also

References

External links