Andrew Nicholson (basketball)

Andrew Nicholson

No. 44 – Washington Wizards
Position	Power forward
League	NBA
Personal information
Born	(1989-12-08) December 8, 1989 Mississauga, Ontario
Nationality	Canadian
Listed height	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight	250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
High school	Father Michael Goetz (Mississauga, Ontario)
College	St. Bonaventure (2008–2012)
NBA draft	2012 / Round: 1 / Pick: 19th overall
Selected by the Orlando Magic
Playing career	2012–present
Career history
2012–2016	Orlando Magic
2016–present	Washington Wizards
Career highlights and awards
AP Honorable mention All-American (2012) Atlantic 10 Player of the Year (2012) 2× First-team All-Atlantic 10 (2011, 2012) Second-team All-Atlantic 10 (2010) Atlantic 10 Tournament MVP (2012) Atlantic 10 All-Defensive Team (2012) Atlantic 10 Freshman of the Year (2010) No. 44 retired by St. Bonaventure
Medals Men’s Basketball Representing  Canada FIBA Americas Championship 2015 Mexico City National team Pan American Games 2015 Toronto National team

Andrew Fabian Nicholson (born December 8, 1989) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for St. Bonaventure University before being drafted 19th overall in the 2012 NBA draft by the Orlando Magic.

High school career

Nicholson was a late bloomer when it came to basketball; he did not start playing until he was a high school junior, and due to a broken ankle, he missed the entire summer circuit prior to his senior season. For Nicholson, baseball was his first passion but as he grew in size and athleticism, he chose the game of basketball. Nicholson only gained recognition in his senior and 5th year. He was named to the Toronto Star High School All-Stars in 2007 and 2008, and was also named MVP of five different tournaments.^[1]

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Andrew Nicholson PF	Mississauga, Ontario	Father Michael Goetz Secondary School (ON)	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	250 lb (110 kg)	Oct 17, 2007
	Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 40
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2008 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2012-04-09.

College career

Freshman year

As a freshman at St. Bonaventure in 2008–09, Nicholson earned Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year honors after winning the A-10 Rookie of the Week award a program record six times. He also earned CollegeHoopsNet.com Freshman All-American team honors. He made 25 starts out of 30 games played and led all freshmen nationally in field goal percentage (.602) and blocks (81). He averaged 12.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in 25.1 minutes per game.^[2]

Sophomore year

As a sophomore in 2009–10, Nicholson earned second-team All-Atlantic 10 honors after starting all 30 games and averaging 16.4 points and 7.1 rebounds in 30.2 minutes per game. He ranked 18th nationally, and second in the A-10, in field goal percentage at .564 (198-351), the ninth-best season total in program history. He scored a season-high 29 points on two separate occasions, the first of which came on 11-of-13 shooting from the floor with a career-best 14 rebounds against Norfolk State on November 28; second came at Duquesne on January 23, where he played the full 40 minutes.^[2]

Junior year

As a junior in 2010–11, Nicholson was an Atlantic 10 Preseason and All-Defensive first team selection, and went on to earn first-team All-Atlantic 10 and first-team NABC All-District honors. He also earned Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Week for the week of December 20 with eventual conference Player of the Year Tu Holloway. He became the 38th player in school history to surpass the 1,000-point barrier with a foul-line jumper in the first half of the Niagara game on December 11, 2010.^[3] In 31 games (all starts), he averaged 20.8 points and 7.3 rebounds in 33.8 minutes per game. He scored a career-high 44 points, on 14-of-19 field goals and 16-of-25 from the free throw line, while pulling down 12 rebounds in a four-overtime thriller against Ohio on December 18, the longest game in SBU history.^[2]

Senior year

As a senior in 2011–12, Nicholson earned Atlantic 10 Player of the Year honors in addition to All-American Honorable Mention, and first-team All-Atlantic 10 and All-Defensive team honors. He became the seventh player in the 35-year history of the league to earn both Rookie and Player of the Year honors and the first St. Bonaventure Bonnie to earn the top overall award since Earl Belcher won two in a row in 1980 and 1981. He also became the first Player in the history of the league to earn four straight Player of the Week awards. He scored his 2,000th career point and averaged a double-double in the final week of the season, posting 25.5 points and 11.0 rebounds. In 32 games (all starts), he averaged 18.5 points and 8.4 rebounds in 30.1 minutes per game.^[2] He finished his four-year career at St. Bonaventure with 2,103 points, 887 rebounds and 244 blocks in 123 games (118 starts).

College statistics

Professional career

Orlando Magic (2012–2016)

2012–13 season

On June 28, 2012, Nicholson was selected by the Orlando Magic with the 19th overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft.^[4] On July 3, 2012, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Magic and joined them for the NBA Summer League.^[5] In his first summer league game, he recorded a double-double with 24 points and 12 rebounds in a win over the Brooklyn Nets.^[6] Nicholson made his regular season debut on November 2, 2012, against the Denver Nuggets, coming off the bench to record 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block in a 102–89 win.^[7] He made his first career start on December 21, 2012, against the Toronto Raptors in place of the injured Glen Davis.^[8] He finished with 6 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal in a 93–90 loss.^[9] On December 29, he scored a career-high 22 points in a blowout loss to the Toronto Raptors.^[10] He recorded his first career double-double in a start against the Boston Celtics on February 1, 2013, recording 14 points and 10 rebounds in a 97–84 loss.^[11]

On February 10, 2013, Nicholson was selected to replace the injured Andre Drummond for the Rising Stars Challenge during the 2013 NBA All-Star Weekend on February 17 in Houston, Texas.^[12]

2013–14 season

In July 2013, Nicholson re-joined the Magic for the 2013 NBA Summer League. On October 26, 2013, the Magic exercised their third-year team option on Nicholson's rookie scale contract, extending the contract through the 2014–15 season.^[13] He scored in double-figures in 11 of the first 23 games, including three double-doubles. However, following the December 13 game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Nicholson managed just four more double-figure scoring games and finished the season averaging 5.7 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.^[14]

2014–15 season

On October 26, 2014, the Magic exercised their fourth-year team option on Nicholson's rookie scale contract, extending the contract through the 2015–16 season.^[15] Nicholson spent most of the 2014–15 season out of the team’s playing rotation. He didn't play in 38 of the Magic’s first 56 games even though he was injury free, but playing time increased significantly after the All-Star break. He appeared in 22 of Orlando's final 26 games and averaged 15.1 minutes, 6.3 points and 2.6 rebounds per game over that 22-game stretch.^[16] Overall, he averaged 4.9 points and 2.1 rebounds in 40 games.

2015–16 season

After appearing in just two of the Magic's first 11 games to start the 2015–16 season, Nicholson began to pick up game time and production from November 18 onwards. On November 23, 2015, Nicholson scored a season-high 18 points and 8 rebounds in a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.^[17] On December 8, 2015, he recorded 8 points and a career-high 14 rebounds in an 85–74 win over the Denver Nuggets.^[18] After going scoreless in four straight games in mid-January, Nicholson was dropped from the rotation and did not play against the Philadelphia 76ers on January 20, 2016, his first DNP since November 14, 2015.^[19] On March 20, 2016, Nicholson recorded 15 points and 9 rebounds in a 105–100 loss to the Toronto Raptors.^[20] Five days later, he scored a then season-high 19 points in a 108–97 loss to the Miami Heat.^[21] On March 29, he scored a career-high 24 points on 9-of-9 shooting in a 139–105 win over the Brooklyn Nets.^[22]

Washington Wizards (2016–present)

On July 7, 2016, Nicholson signed a four-year, $26 million contract with the Washington Wizards.^[23][24] He made his debut for the Wizards in their season opener on October 27, recording nine points and seven rebounds off the bench in a 114–99 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.^[25]

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Personal life

A native of Mississauga, Ontario, Nicholson is the son of Fabian and Colmaleen Nicholson, and has an older brother, Gary.^[2] Nicholson's family has Jamaican heritage.^[26]

Nicholson wears size 18 shoes.^[27] He has a 7'4" wingspan and an 8'11" standing reach, with hands 10" in height and 11" in width.^[28]

See also

• List of Canadians in the National Basketball Association

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from NBA.com, or Basketball-Reference.com
• Andrew Nicholson at gobonnies.sbu.edu