Michael Kidd-Gilchrist


Michael Anthony Edward Kidd-Gilchrist is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association. Kidd-Gilchrist was drafted with the second overall by the Charlotte Bobcats in the 2012 NBA draft.

High school career

Kidd-Gilchrist was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and grew up in Somerdale, New Jersey. He was raised by his mother, Cindy Richardson, and his stepfather, Vincent Richardson, after Kidd-Gilchrist's father died before Michael's third birthday. While attending basketball powerhouse St. Patrick High School in Elizabeth, New Jersey, he was considered one of the best basketball players in the United States. He was ranked as the #3 player by ESPN.com, and Rivals.com; while Scout.com ranked him as the #1 player at his position. In July 2010, Gilchrist, along with former Kentucky teammate Marquis Teague, were a part of the gold medal winning team in the FIBA U-17 World Championships in Hamburg, Germany. Gilchrist's senior year at St. Patrick High School was a pivotal storyline in the HBO documentary Prayer for a Perfect Season.

High school awards and honors

Kidd-Gilchrist committed to attend the University of Kentucky on April 14, 2010.
In the first game of the 2011–12 season and his career as a Wildcat, Kidd-Gilchrist was a starter and scored 15 points on 5 of 9 shooting against the Marist Red Foxes. In his second game against the 11th ranked Kansas Jayhawks, Kidd-Gilchrist scored 12 points and pulled down nine rebounds in a 75–65 victory in Madison Square Garden. In a rivalry game against the 5th ranked North Carolina Tar Heels in Rupp Arena, Kidd-Gilchrist led Kentucky in scoring with 17 points and had 11 rebounds, giving him his first double double as a Wildcat. Against the 4th ranked Louisville Cardinals, Kidd-Gilchrist turned in his most dominating performance of the season with 24 points and 19 rebounds, shooting a career high 13 free throws and having his first zero-turnover game at Kentucky. This was enough to lead Kentucky to a 69–62 victory in Lexington.

College awards and honors

Charlotte Bobcats / Hornets (2012–2020)

2012–13 season

In April 2012, Kidd-Gilchrist declared for the 2012 NBA draft. On June 28, he was drafted second overall by the Charlotte Bobcats. On July 7, 2012, the Bobcats signed Kidd-Gilchrist to a rookie scale contract.
On November 10, 2012, in just his fifth NBA game, Kidd-Gilchrist had 25 points and 12 rebounds in a 101–97 win over the Dallas Mavericks, marking Charlotte's first ever win over Dallas in the franchise's nine-year history, ending a 16-game losing streak against the Mavericks. He had a second 25-point, 12-rebound effort on December 19, 2012 against the Phoenix Suns. He became only the second player in NBA history to post two games with at least 25 points and at least 12 rebounds before his 20th birthday and became just the fourth player in 20 years to record two such games in the first 25 games of his career. On April 5, 2013, he had a season-high 14 rebounds against the Miami Heat. On May 14, 2013, he was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.

2013–14 season

In 2013–14, Kidd-Gilchrist missed 19 games mid-season due to injury. He scored a season-high 16 points three times, all in November, and had a season-high 12 rebounds twice during the second half of the season.

2014–15 season

Over the 2014 offseason, Kidd-Gilchrist worked with Hornets' assistant coach Mark Price to help re-develop his jump shot.
Kidd-Gilchrist's season started slow as he missed 14 of Charlotte's first 20 games because of rib and foot injuries. During this stretch, the Hornets were just 3–11 without Kidd-Gilchrist on the court, who returned on December 10 against the Boston Celtics. Kidd-Gilchrist's best play came in January when he averaged 11.4 points and 9.4 rebounds leading the way for a Hornets team that went 10–4 during the month. Kidd-Gilchrist scored in double figures in 10 January 14 games and also recorded five double-doubles, which was just one shy of matching his career best for an entire season. He later missed a pair of games right before the All-Star Break with a hamstring strain and sat out Charlotte's final 11 games because of a sprained left ankle he suffered against the Washington Wizards on March 27. Despite a career-low 55 games, Kidd-Gilchrist averaged personal bests in points and rebounds.

2015–16 season

On August 26, 2015, Kidd-Gilchrist signed a four-year, $52 million contract extension with the Hornets. On October 3, 2015, he suffered a separated right shoulder in a preseason contest against the Orlando Magic. He subsequently missed four months of action, making his season debut on January 29, 2016 against the Portland Trail Blazers. On February 11, he was deemed unlikely to play again in 2015–16 due to another right shoulder injury. He was ruled out for the rest of the season five days later after his torn labrum required another round of surgery.

2016–17 season

In the Hornets' season opener on October 26, 2016, Kidd-Gilchrist recorded 23 points and 14 rebounds in a 107–96 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. Both were season-high marks. On the year, Kidd-Gilchrist finished with 9.2 points on 47.7 percent shooting, a team-high 7.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists to go along with career-best marks in free-throw percentage, steals, blocks and turnovers. He was one of just 13 players in the league to start at least 81 games, marking the third such season by a Hornets player since the conclusion of the 2012–13 season.

2017–18 season

Kidd-Gilchrist made his season debut on October 25, 2017 against the Denver Nuggets after missing the first three games for personal reasons. He started and played 10:37, scoring two points on 1-of-6 shooting. On November 15, 2017, he scored a season-high 22 points in a 115–107 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

2018–19 season

Kidd-Gilchrist missed six games in November 2018 with an ankle injury. He later missed a handful of games in March 2019. Having started all but four of 357 career games for the Hornets heading into the season, Kidd-Gilchrist came off the bench for 61 of his 64 contests in 2018–19. He subsequently averaged 6.7 points and 3.8 rebounds in a career-low 18.4 minutes per contest.

2019–20 season

In June 2019, Kidd-Gilchrist underwent a surgical procedure to address a chronic groin strain, and picked up his $13 million player option for the 2019–20 season. On February 8, 2020, the Charlotte Hornets announced that they had waived Kidd-Gilchrist.

Dallas Mavericks

He joined the Dallas Mavericks on February 11, 2020. He made his debut on February 21, 2020, in a 122–106 win over the Orlando Magic.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

Playoffs

College

Personal life

Gilchrist's father died August 11, 1996 from multiple gunshot wounds. He watches the movie The Lion King once a week because he watched it almost every day with his father until he was three years old. Gilchrist committed to Kentucky on April 14, 2010, which would have been his father's 44th birthday.
Gilchrist's father played alongside Milt Wagner on a state championship team at Camden High in 1981. Wagner's son, former NBA player Dajuan Wagner, is Gilchrist's cousin.
On July 7, 2011, Gilchrist announced via Twitter that he had legally changed his last name to Kidd-Gilchrist, in order to honor the other important man in his life, his uncle Darrin Kidd. Kidd died on the day Gilchrist was set to sign his letter of intent to play at the University of Kentucky.
Kidd-Gilchrist has a stutter. Due to this, he developed an anxiety in front of media, although he has made tremendous strides in managing this as well as his stutter.