Jonathan Bender

Jonathan Bender
Personal information
Born	(1981-01-30) January 30, 1981 (age 43) Picayune, Mississippi, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight	230 lb (104 kg)
Career information
High school	Picayune Memorial (Picayune, Mississippi)
NBA draft	1999: 1st round, 5th overall pick
Selected by the Toronto Raptors
Playing career	1999–2006, 2009-2010
Position	Small forward
Number	24, 9
Career history
1999–2006	Indiana Pacers
2009–2010	New York Knicks

Career highlights and awards
Mr. Basketball USA (1999) First-team Parade All-American (1999) Fourth-team Parade All-American (1998) McDonald's All-American MVP (1999) Mississippi Mr. Basketball (1999)

Career NBA statistics
Points	1,453 (5.5 ppg)
Rebounds	582 (2.2 rpg)
Assists	170 (0.6 apg)

Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Jonathan Rene Bender (born January 30, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A highly-touted 6’11 prospect who mostly played shooting guard in high school, Bender’s unusual height and potential garnered much attention leading up to the 1999 NBA draft.^[1]^[2] After playing 78 games for the Pacers in 2001, knee injuries limited him to a combined 76 games over the next four seasons. He played 25 games for the Knicks in 2009 before his retirement.

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Professional career

Indiana Pacers (1999–2006)

Bender was selected with the fifth pick by the Toronto Raptors in the 1999 NBA draft out of Picayune Memorial High School in Picayune, Mississippi despite a verbal commitment to Mississippi State University.^[3] The Raptors then traded Bender to the Indiana Pacers for Antonio Davis. Being hyped for his size, athleticism and all around skill, Bender scored 10 points in 13 minutes against Cleveland on December 10, 1999. He became the first high school draftee to score in double figures in his NBA debut.^[4] However, Bender had been plagued by injuries ever since he arrived in Indiana.

Playing in 78 games in the 2001–02 season, he signed a four-year, $28.5 million contract extension. However, the next few years were plagued by injuries. He played in only 46 games the following season, then 21 games in the season after that. A persistent sore right knee limited him to just seven games in 2004–05 and two games in 2005–06. He was waived by the Pacers on June 14, 2006. At that point, he had averaged 5.6 points in 237 career regular season games.^[5] In 2005, Bender was rated by Sports Illustrated as #11 on the list of the 20 biggest busts in modern NBA draft history.^[6]

Highlights of Bender's career as a Pacer included participating in the Slam Dunk competition during 2001’s All-Star weekend, where he executed a Julius Erving-style tomahawk jam from the free throw line, left-handed. In the Pacers' 2004 playoff series with the Celtics, Bender led the Pacers in scoring in game 3, and set personal playoff career bests in rebounds and minutes in game 2. That post season overall, Bender posted a career high 12.5 minutes played per game over 16 games. Despite a lack of personal statistical success given his initial expectations, the Pacers made the postseason every year of Bender’s tenure.^[7]

New York Knicks (2009–2010)

On December 13, 2009, the New York Knicks signed Bender to a minimum contract. "Jonathan has worked extremely hard in preparing himself for a return to the NBA," said Donnie Walsh, Knicks President of Basketball Operations.^[8] In 25 appearances, Bender averaged 4.7 points in 11.7 minutes per game. But especially notably, Knicks coaches believed he showed great improvement in practice as the season progressed. The Knicks wanted him to return the following season on a one year deal, but Bender declined saying “it just felt like I’d be going backwards.” Bender then officially retired to focus on his business career.^[9]

Coaching career

Bender currently coaches in the greater Houston area with the private coaching service, CoachUp.^[10]

NBA career statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Regular season


Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1999–00	Indiana	24	1	5.4	.329	.167	.667	.9	.1	.0	.2	2.7
2000–01	Indiana	59	7	9.7	.355	.268	.735	1.3	.5	.1	.5	3.3
2001–02	Indiana	78	17	21.1	.430	.360	.733	3.1	.8	.2	.6	7.4
2002–03	Indiana	46	2	17.8	.441	.358	.714	2.9	.9	.2	1.2	6.6
2003–04	Indiana	21	0	12.9	.472	.409	.830	1.9	.4	.2	.5	7.0
2004–05	Indiana	7	0	13.3	.400	.200	.500	2.0	.6	.1	.3	5.1
2005–06	Indiana	2	0	10.5	.800	.000	1.000	2.0	1.0	.0	.5	5.0
2009–10	New York	25	1	11.7	.400	.359	.923	2.1	.6	.1	.7	4.7
Career		262	28	14.7	.417	.340	.763	2.2	.6	.2	.6	5.5

Playoffs


Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2000	Indiana	9	2.3	.667	1.000	.500	.3	.0	.1	.0	1.3
2001	Indiana	1	4.0	.000	.000	.000	.0	.0	.0	.0	.0
2002	Indiana	5	9.2	.500	.000	.000	.8	.4	.4	.6	1.2
2003	Indiana	3	11.3	.333	.333	.667	2.3	.0	.0	.7	5.7
2004	Indiana	16	12.6	.406	.360	.750	1.8	.4	.1	.9	4.8
Career		43	7.6	.454	.361	.679	1.0	.2	.1	.4	2.6

Personal life

Bender was known to read while on NBA road trips. He mostly read business books, Andrew Carnegie and J.P. Morgan being two authors he specifically liked.^[1]

Bender invented the JB Intensive Trainer, a resistance training device, that strengthened his knees. Sales of the device began in July 2013.^[11]

Two years after Hurricane Katrina, Bender founded the nonprofit Jonathan Bender Foundation in New Orleans.^[4]