Rodney Christian McGruder (born July 29, 1991) 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 ...

player who last played for the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

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). 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 Kansas State Wildcats.

College career

McGruder, a 6'4" shooting guard from

Landover, Maryland Landover is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 25,998. Landover is contained between Sheriff Road and Central Avenue to the so ...

, was an AAU teammate of

Michael Beasley Michael Paul Beasley Jr. (born January 9, 1989) is an American professional basketball player, who most recently played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for Kansas State Univers ...

's and followed Beasley's path to

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

to play for coach Frank Martin. McGruder started for three seasons for the Wildcats. As a sophomore in

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

, McGruder teamed with backcourt mate

Jacob Pullen Jacob Everse Pullen (born November 10, 1989) is an American-Georgian professional basketball player for Kuwait SC of the Kuwaiti Division I Basketball League. He played for the Kansas State Wildcats. Pullen has both American and Georgian citizens ...

to lead the Wildcats to a third place

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

finish. McGruder averaged 11.1 points and a team-best 5.9 rebounds per game. In his junior season, McGruder upped his scoring to 15.8 per game and made the second team All-Big 12. As a senior in

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, McGruder was a preseason All-Big 12 pick. He was also named a top 30 finalist for the

Naismith College Player of the Year The Naismith College Player of the Year is an annual basketball award given by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to the top men's and women's collegiate basketball players. It is named in honor of Dr. James Naismith, the inventor of basketball. History an ...

on February 27, 2013. During his senior season, McGruder led the Wildcats to a first-place finish in the Big XII.

Professional career

Atomerőmű (2013–2014)

After going undrafted in the 2013 NBA draft, McGruder joined the Orlando Magic for the Orlando Summer League and the Charlotte Bobcats for the Las Vegas Summer League. On September 27, 2013, he signed with the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...

. However, he was later waived by the Thunder on October 25, 2013. In November 2013, McGruder signed with Atomerőmű SE of Hungary for the 2013–14 season. In 29 league games for Atomerőmű, he averaged 14.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.

Maine Red Claws (2014–2015)

In July 2014, McGruder joined the Golden State Warriors for 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 ...

. On September 29, 2014, he signed with the Boston Celtics. However, he was later waived by the Celtics on October 27, 2014. Four days later, he was acquired by the

Maine Red Claws The Maine Celtics (formerly the Maine Red Claws) are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Portland, Maine, and are affiliated with the Boston Celtics. The Maine Celtics play their home games at the Portland Expo B ...

as an affiliate player. On March 26, 2015, he was waived by the Red Claws after appearing in 26 games.

Sioux Falls Skyforce (2015–2016)

On March 29, 2015, McGruder was acquired by the

Sioux Falls Skyforce The Sioux Falls Skyforce are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and are affiliated with the Miami Heat. The team plays their home games in the Sanford Pentagon, a place they have call ...

. In July 2015, McGruder joined the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...

for the

2015 NBA Summer League The 2015 NBA Summer League consisted of three pro basketball leagues organized by the NBA: the Orlando Pro Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas Summer League. Ten teams participated in the week-long Orlando Pro Summer League at ...

. On November 2, 2015, he was reacquired by the Skyforce. He helped the Skyforce finish with a D-League-best 40–10 record in 2015–16, and went on to help the team win the league championship with a 2–1 Finals series win over the Los Angeles D-Fenders.

Miami Heat (2016–2019)

In July 2016, McGruder re-joined the Miami Heat for the

2016 NBA Summer League The 2016 NBA Summer League consisted of three pro basketball leagues organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA): the Orlando Pro Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas Summer League. Ten teams participated in the week- ...

. On July 7, he signed a three-year, partially guaranteed contract with the Heat. He made his NBA debut in the Heat's season opener on October 26, 2016 against the Orlando Magic. In just under 24 minutes off the bench, he recorded six points, three rebounds and two steals in a 108–96 win. On February 6, 2017, he scored a season-high 15 points against the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

. On October 12, 2017, McGruder was ruled out indefinitely with a stress fracture in his left leg. He made his season debut for the Heat on February 27, 2018 against the Philadelphia 76ers after playing two games for the

just days prior. On April 7, 2019, McGruder was waived by the Heat.

Los Angeles Clippers (2019–2020)

On April 9, 2019, McGruder was claimed off waivers by the

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 ...

Detroit Pistons (2020–2023)

On November 19, 2020, McGruder was traded to the

in a three-team trade that sent

Justin Patton Justin Nicholas Patton (born June 14, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for Cholet Basket of the French LNB Pro A. He played college basketball for the Creighton Bluejays. Patton was selected with the 16th overall pick in the 2 ...

and Luke Kennard to the Clippers. On August 6, 2021, McGruder was waived by the Pistons. On August 11, however, he re-signed with the Pistons. On January 10, 2022, McGruder was traded along with a 2022 second-round draft pick via the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The ...

to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Bol Bol. However, the trade was voided on January 13, 2022, after Bol failed his physical, leading to McGruder returning to the Pistons. On August 1, 2022, McGruder re-signed with the Pistons.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

, 78 , , 65 , , 25.2 , , .413 , , .332 , , .620 , , 3.3 , , 1.6 , , .6 , , .2 , , 6.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 18 , , 2 , , 16.6 , , .493 , , .429 , , .500 , , 1.8 , , .9 , , .4 , , .2 , , 5.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 66 , , 45 , , 23.5 , , .403 , , .351 , , .722 , , 3.6 , , 1.7 , , .5 , , .2 , , 7.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Clippers , 56 , , 4 , , 15.6 , , .398 , , .270 , , .559 , , 2.7 , , .6 , , .5 , , .1 , , 3.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, 16 , , 2 , , 12.1 , , .529 , , .458 , , .750 , , 1.4 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , .1 , , 5.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 51 , , 2 , , 14.8 , , .436 , , .397 , , .731 , , 2.2 , , .9 , , .4 , , .1 , , 5.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 33 , , 12 , , 15.9 , , .408 , , .423 , , .818 , , 2.2 , , .8 , , .5 , , .0 , , 5.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 318 , , 132 , , 19.4 , , .420 , , .360 , , .672 , , 2.8 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , .2 , , 5.7

Playoffs

, - , 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 Unit ...

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

, 4 , , 0 , , 4.0 , , .250 , , .000 , , – , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

, style="text-align:left;", L.A. Clippers , 5 , , 0 , , 3.2 , , .600 , , .667 , , – , , .8 , , .4 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 9 , , 0 , , 3.6 , , .444 , , .400 , , – , , .9 , , .2 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.1

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2009–10 , style="text-align:left;",

, 33 , , 0 , , 12.3 , , .495 , , .419 , , .720 , , 2.8 , , .5 , , .3 , , .3 , , 3.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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

, 34 , , 33 , , 30.6 , , .439 , , .408 , , .710 , , 5.9 , , 1.5 , , .7 , , .2 , , 11.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2011–12 , style="text-align:left;",

, 33 , , 33 , , 32.9 , , .463 , , .385 , , .802 , , 5.2 , , 1.4 , , 1.2 , , .3 , , 15.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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

, 35 , , 34 , , 33.5 , , .442 , , .336 , , .752 , , 5.4 , , 2.0 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , 15.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 135 , , 100 , , 27.4 , , .452 , , .381 , , .759 , , 4.8 , , 1.4 , , .9 , , .3 , , 11.7

References

External links

Kansas State Wildcats bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGruder, Rodney 1991 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Hungary American men's basketball players Archbishop Carroll High School (Washington, D.C.) alumni Atomerőmű SE players Detroit Pistons players Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball players Los Angeles Clippers players Maine Red Claws players Miami Heat players People from Landover, Maryland Basketball players from Prince George's County, Maryland People from Seabrook, Maryland Shooting guards Sioux Falls Skyforce players Undrafted National Basketball Association players