Robert Christen Swift (born December 3, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player who last played for Spanish club Círculo Gijón Baloncesto y Conocimiento of the

LEB Plata The LEB Plata is the third basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system and the second basketball division organized by the Spanish Basketball Federation. Since 2019, three teams are promoted to LEB Oro and six teams are relegated t ...

league. He played in the National Basketball Association for the Seattle SuperSonics / Oklahoma City Thunder from 2004 through 2009, for the Seattle Aviators and

Snohomish County Explosion The Snohomish County Explosion was a semi-professional basketball team that last played in the National Athletic Basketball League (NABL) in 2010. The team was based in Everett, Washington, in 2007 in Monroe, Washington, from 2008 to 2010. The Ex ...

of the

National Athletic Basketball League The National Athletic Basketball League (NABL) was a men's semi-professional basketball league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States. The league was founded by Nathan Mumm and Joe Becerra. The NABL was an owner controlled leagu ...

in 2010, and for the Tokyo Apache of the

bj League The was a professional basketball league in Japan that began in November 2005 as a six-team league. The league was operated as a competitor to the established Japan Super League which was run by the Japan Basketball Association, the official go ...

in 2010–11. He stands at and played the center position.

High school

Swift caught the attention of NBA and college scouts while playing for

Garces Memorial High School Garces Memorial High School, commonly shortened to Garces High School, is a Catholic high school in Bakersfield, California. The school offers college prep, honors, and Advanced Placement (AP) courses in many subjects. As a Catholic institution, ...

, and then later as the centerpiece of the

Bakersfield High School Bakersfield High School (BHS) is a public four-year high school located in Bakersfield, California, United States. Opened in 1893, Bakersfield High School serves grades ninth through twelfth within the Kern High School District. Notable alumni * ...

team. During his time at Garces, the small Catholic high school broke into the '' USA Today'' top-25 high school basketball team rankings. Between his junior and senior years, Swift transferred from Garces to Highland High School, and then just before his senior year, he transferred to Bakersfield High School. This move provoked a hearing by the California Interscholastic Federation that initially declared Swift ineligible for the 2003–04 season; however, this ruling was later overturned and he played his senior season. He committed to attend the University of Southern California (USC) to play for the USC Trojans men's basketball team on a scholarship.

National Basketball Association

Swift was selected by the Seattle SuperSonics in the first round with the twelfth overall pick in the

2004 NBA draft The 2004 NBA draft was held on June 24, 2004, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, and was broadcast live on ESPN at 7:00 pm ( EDT). In this draft, National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur colle ...

. Swift bypassed college and opted for the NBA, turning down his commitment to play for USC. In his first season with the Sonics, Swift played in 16 games, averaging 4.5 minutes, 0.9 points, 0.4 rebounds, and 0.4 blocks per game. In his second season, under the direction of coach Bob Hill, he started 20 out of 47 games, averaging 21 minutes, 6.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game. In 2006, the Sonics anticipated that Swift would become their starting center. Swift was awarded the starting job at center but he ruptured the

anterior crucial ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...

in his right knee after playing just over one minute in a preseason game vs the Sacramento Kings. The resulting injury occurred when he twisted his right knee when he fell and went out of bounds awkwardly in front of the Seattle bench. Swift suffered another injury to his right knee in February 2008, a torn

lateral meniscus The lateral meniscus (external semilunar fibrocartilage) is a fibrocartilaginous band that spans the lateral side of the interior of the knee joint. It is one of two meniscus (anatomy), menisci of the knee, the other being the medial meniscus. It ...

. Swift's final NBA game was played on April 13, 2009, in a 83–113 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers where he recorded 2 points, 3 rebounds and 2 blocks. On December 22, 2009, the Oklahoma City Thunder renounced the rights to Swift.

D-League and Japan

In 2009, Swift joined the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA D-League. However, he left the team for personal reasons after appearing in two games. He was overweight and experienced a decrease in mobility. During the 2010–11 season, Swift played for Tokyo Apache with his former head coach in Seattle, Bob Hill. Swift played well, receiving interest from the NBA's

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

and

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

. Following the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami The occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region, and lasted approximately six minutes ...

, the Apache ended their season prematurely and disbanded. Swift tried out for the Portland Trail Blazers in April 2011, but was not offered a contract.

Spain

On 12 February 2018, Swift returned to play basketball after agreeing a two-year contract with Spanish fifth tier club

Círculo Gijón Círculo Gijón Baloncesto y Conocimiento () is a professional basketball club based in Gijón, Asturias that currently plays in LEB Plata, the third tier of Spanish basketball. History Círculo Gijón Baloncesto y Conocimiento was founded in 20 ...

. In his second season in Spain, the club achieved a vacant place in the professional third-tier league,

. He left the team after the end of the season averaging 9.1 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. However, Swift came back to Círculo Gijón on 29 December 2019.

Personal life

Robert's father, Bruce, was unable to work for two years due to a car accident that occurred while Robert was a child. He filed for

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

twice: in 1999 and 2003. Robert's mother, Rhonda, was diagnosed with cancer and had multiple surgeries to remove it. The Swifts dealt with

food insecurity Food security speaks to the availability of food in a country (or geography) and the ability of individuals within that country (geography) to access, afford, and source adequate foodstuffs. According to the United Nations' Committee on World F ...

. In 2009, Swift's girlfriend became pregnant. In June 2011, Swift was arrested for

driving under the influence Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...

. He was found guilty of

reckless driving In United States law, reckless driving is a major moving traffic violation that generally consists in driving a vehicle with willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property. It is usually a more serious offense than careless ...

. In 2013, Swift refused to vacate his foreclosed home, which had been bought by a new owner. The new owner bought the house in Sammamish, Washington, in January 2013 for half the price Swift paid in 2006. Swift eventually left the home, which was reportedly riddled with animal feces, guns, bullets, beer bottles, and garbage. Observers also noted old letters from some of the top college basketball programs in the country trying to recruit Swift, before he went straight to the NBA from high school. In October 2014, police raided the house of Trygve Bjorkstam, an alleged heroin and methamphetamine dealer, who had a collection of 18 guns. They found Swift living in the home, and in possession of a sawed-off shotgun. In November 2014, police charged Swift with unlawful possession of a short-barreled shotgun. On January 8, 2015, Swift was arrested by police for involvement in an armed home invasion attempt. Swift claimed he was high on drugs at the time of the incident.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Seattle , 16 , , 0 , , 4.5 , , .455 , , .000 , , .556 , , .3 , , .1 , , .1 , , .4 , , 1.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Seattle , 47 , , 20 , , 21.0 , , .515 , , .000 , , .582 , , 5.6 , , .2 , , .3 , , 1.2 , , 6.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Seattle , 8 , , 4 , , 12.3 , , .353 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 2.3 , , .1 , , .6 , , .8 , , 2.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Oklahoma City , 26 , , 10 , , 13.2 , , .521 , , .000 , , .750 , , 3.4 , , .3 , , .2 , , .7 , , 3.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 97 , , 34 , , 15.5 , , .506 , , .000 , , .610 , , 4.0 , , .2 , , .3 , , .9 , , 4.3

References

External links

Chris Ballard Chris Ballard may refer to: * Chris Ballard (American football), American football general manager for the Indianapolis Colts * Chris Ballard (journalist), American sports writer for ''Sports Illustrated'' * Chris Ballard (politician), Canadian ...

''Out From The Darkness: Robert Swift's road from NBA lottery pick to drug addict to...''
'' Sports Illustrated'', 21 September 2016. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Swift, Robert 1985 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Japan American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players American people of Okinawan descent American sportspeople of Japanese descent Bakersfield Jam players Basketball players from Bakersfield, California Centers (basketball) Círculo Gijón players McDonald's High School All-Americans NBA high school draftees Oklahoma City Thunder players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Seattle SuperSonics draft picks Seattle SuperSonics players Tokyo Apache players Garces Memorial High School alumni Bakersfield High School alumni