Marcin Gortat

Marcin Gortat (Polish pronunciation: ['mar.t͡ɕiŋ 'ɡɔr.tat]; born February 17, 1984) is a Polish professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The 6 ft 11 in, 240-pound center is the son of boxer Janusz Gortat. He was a second-round draft choice of the Phoenix Suns in the 2005 NBA draft and has also played for the Orlando Magic.

Early life and career

As a child, Gortat participated in soccer and track and field, where he competed in the high jump. His father, Janusz Gortat, was a Polish boxer and a bronze medalist in the light heavyweight class during the Munich 1972 and Montreal 1976 Olympics, and his mother Alicja Gortat was a representative of the Polish national team in volleyball. He has an older brother Robert, who is also a boxer.

Gortat grew up in Łódź, Poland together with his brother Filip. He graduated from Technical School in Łódź. Apart from Polish, he is fluent in English, German and Serbian. He was also a professional swimmer for the national team of Poland.

Gortat started his career with ŁKS Łódź, then played three seasons for RheinEnergie Cologne in Germany's Basketball Bundesliga, with whom he won the domestic championship in 2006 and played in the 2006–07 Euroleague season for the first time in the team's history. After being drafted 57th overall in the 2005 NBA draft by the Phoenix Suns (with his rights later traded to the Orlando Magic), Gortat elected to keep playing with Cologne in Germany until 2007.

NBA career

Orlando Magic (2007–2010)

On August 2, 2007, Gortat signed with the Orlando Magic. On November 20, 2007, he was assigned to the Anaheim Arsenal of the NBA Development League.^[1][2] He was recalled from the D-League on December 2,^[3] and he made his debut for the Magic on March 1, 2008 against the New York Knicks. On April 16, 2008, in the Magic's last game of the 2007–08 NBA season, little-used Gortat played 28 minutes^[4] and registered 12 points and 11 rebounds in a 103–83 Magic win over the Washington Wizards.^[5] On December 15, 2008, starting in place of the injured Dwight Howard, Gortat played 28 minutes^[6] and recorded 16 points and 13 rebounds.^[7] On April 13, 2009, again starting in place of Howard, Gortat played almost 43 minutes and topped his career high in rebounding with 18 rebounds and had 10 points. On April 30, 2009, Gortat made his first playoff start in Game 6 against the Philadelphia 76ers, replacing Howard, who was suspended because of his actions in game 5. He had 11 points and 15 rebounds as the Magic eliminated their opponent 4–2. Later that year, the Magic made a run all the way to the NBA Finals, making Gortat the first Polish-born player to ever appear in the championship series.

On July 8, 2009, Gortat, a restricted free agent, signed an offer sheet for five years and $34 million with the Dallas Mavericks. However, Orlando prevented Gortat from going to Dallas by matching the offer sheet on July 13, 2009. Gortat was said to be "very disappointed" to stay with the Magic, since continuing as backup to Dwight Howard would mean limited playing time, whereas playing for Dallas would likely have meant being the starting center.^[8]

Phoenix Suns (2010–2013)

Gortat battling for a rebound during his tenure with the Suns.

On December 18, 2010, Gortat was traded to the Phoenix Suns along with Vince Carter, Mickaël Piétrus, a 2011 first-round draft pick (which would become Nikola Mirotić), and $3 million, in exchange for Jason Richardson, Earl Clark, and then-former Magic player and former teammate Hedo Türkoğlu.^[9] Due to Steve Nash wearing the #13 jersey, which was the number that Gortat had worn in Orlando and Poland, he decided to wear #4 for his tenure with the Suns. During his first season with the Suns, his numbers increased immediately due to gaining more minutes off the bench, and then eventually starting at center in place of Robin Lopez. During his time in Phoenix, Gortat also acquired the nickname "The Polish Hammer." "The Polish Hammer" nickname had been given to him during his time with the Orlando Magic.

During the lockout-shortened 2011–12 NBA season, Gortat averaged 15.4 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. He was the only Suns player to start and play every game of the regular season. Gortat also joined the likes of former Magic teammate Dwight Howard, Andrew Bynum, and DeMarcus Cousins as the only centers to average a double-double in that season. After the season ended, he was named to the Polish national basketball team for the FIBA EuroBasket 2013 qualification round. In the second game against Finland, he scored 27 points and grabbed 21 rebounds to help Poland qualify for 2013's FIBA Eurobasket tournament.

On November 7, 2012, he scored 23 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and had a career-best 7 blocks in a 117–110 victory against the Charlotte Bobcats. During the end of February, Gortat had an injury towards his knee that left him off the team for the rest of the season.

Washington Wizards (2013–Present)

Gortat in 2013.

On October 25, 2013, Gortat was traded, along with Shannon Brown, Malcolm Lee, and Kendall Marshall, to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Emeka Okafor and a 2014 protected first-round draft pick.^[10]

On February 27, 2014, Gortat recorded a career-high 31 points, 12 rebounds, and 1 assist in a 134–129 triple overtime win over the Toronto Raptors.^[11] On May 13, he recorded 31 points (playoff career high), 16 rebounds, and 2 assists to help the Wizards avoid elimination in Game 5 of their second round series with the Indiana Pacers.^[12] He became the first Wizards player with at least 30 points and 15 rebounds in a playoff game since Moses Malone in 1987.^[13] The Wizards went on to lose Game 6 of the series, falling 4–2 to the Pacers.

On July 10, 2014, Gortat re-signed with the Wizards to a reported five-year, $60 million contract.^[14][15]

On December 28, 2015, Gortat was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played December 21–27, earning the honor for the first time in his career.^[16] On February 29, 2016, he scored 13 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter and grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds in the Wizards' 116–108 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.^[17]

Career statistics

Note: The EuroLeague is not the only competition in which the player participated for the team during the season. He also played in domestic competition, and regional competition if applicable.

NBA regular season

NBA Playoffs

Euroleague

See also

• National Basketball Association portal
• List of European basketball players in the United States

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from NBA.com, or Basketball-Reference.com
• Euroleague.net profile