Trajan Langdon
Trajan Shaka Langdon is an American basketball executive and former professional player. He is the current general manager of the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association. A and shooting guard, he first gained fame in the U.S. while playing college basketball at Duke University.
Following a three-year NBA stint, Langdon had a very successful career in Europe. A three-time All-EuroLeague Team member and the EuroLeague Final Four MVP in 2008, he won two EuroLeague titles with CSKA Moscow in 2006 and 2008.
In March 2016, he was named the assistant general manager of the Brooklyn Nets, serving in the role until May 2019, when he was named the general manager of the Pelicans.
Early career
Born in Palo Alto, California, Langdon moved to Anchorage, Alaska soon after. During his high school career, Langdon attended Steller Secondary School, and played with East Anchorage High School. He set the Alaska 4A state record of 2,200 career points scored, and was a 3-time Alaskan State Player of the Year.He led East Anchorage to the 1994 Alaskan State Championship, and he played in the prestigious McDonald's All-American Game, where he won the 3-point shooting contest.
College career
After high school, Langdon moved on to play NCAA Division I college basketball with the highly regarded Duke University basketball team, where he set the school record for the most career 3-point field goals made, earning him the nickname, "The Alaskan Assassin". A major knee injury kept him sidelined for his entire sophomore year, so he finished his college career as a fifth year guard.In the 1999 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament championship game, with Duke down 1 point to the UConn Huskies, with 5.4 seconds to go in the game, Langdon attempted to drive the ball into the lane, and committed a traveling violation that turned the ball over to UConn. Analysts, as well as Langdon himself, credited the defense of Ricky Moore, who was considered the top defensive player in the tournament, for forcing the travel.
Professional career
Langdon was selected by the San Diego Padres in the 6th round of the 1994 Major League Baseball draft, and was also drafted by the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1999 NBA Draft. Langdon made his professional debut with the Cavaliers on November 2, 1999, when he became the first Alaskan to play in the NBA. Following a three-year career with the Cavaliers, Langdon moved to Europe to play for the Italian League club Benetton Treviso for the 2002–03 season.The following season, after being waived by the Los Angeles Clippers in the preseason, he originally signed with and briefly played for the Long Beach Jam before he moved to the Turkish League powerhouse Efes Pilsen. For the 2004–05 season, he moved on to the Russian League club Dynamo Moscow, before moving across town to CSKA Moscow for the 2005–06 season. Langdon was named to the All-EuroLeague Second Team for the 2005–06 season. CSKA won the EuroLeague championship that same season.
The following season, he helped CSKA return to the EuroLeague championship game, where they lost to Greek power Panathinaikos, on the Greek team's home court. In the process, he was named to the All-EuroLeague First Team for the 2006–07 season, a feat that he repeated in the 2007–08 season. On May 4, 2008, he was named the EuroLeague Final Four MVP, after again winning the EuroLeague title with CSKA.
On October 7, 2006, Langdon led his CSKA Moscow team to a 94–75 win over the Clippers, in an NBA Europe Live Tour exhibition game. Coincidentally, he played against his former Duke University teammate Elton Brand, who was playing for the Clippers at that time. He led all scorers in the game with 17 points.
In June 2011, he announced his retirement from playing professional basketball. He made his announcement two days after helping CSKA to its ninth consecutive Russian championship.
National team career
After graduating from Duke, with degrees in mathematics and history, Langdon played for the USA national basketball team at the 1998 FIBA World Championship, winning the bronze medal.Post-playing career
After his playing days ended, Langdon was a scout for the San Antonio Spurs, from 2012 to 2015. On March 8, 2016, he was named the assistant general manager of the Brooklyn Nets. On May 19, 2019, Langdon was named the general manager of the New Orleans Pelicans.Career statistics
| † | Denotes seasons in which Langdon's team won the EuroLeague |
| Led the league |