José Manuel Calderón Borrallo (Spanish pronunciation:[xoˈsekaldeˈɾon]; born September 28, 1981) is a Spanishbasketball executive and former player who is a special advisor for theCleveland Cavaliers of theNational Basketball Association (NBA). He played professionally for 21 years including 14 seasons in the NBA, primarily with theToronto Raptorswith whom he set an NBA record for the highest free throw percentage in a season (98.1% in 2008-09). With theSpain national team, he won aFIBA World Cup title in2006, twoOlympic silver medals in2008 and2012, as well as a bronze medal at the2016 Summer Olympics. He also won aEuroBasket title in2011, two silver medals in2003 and2007 as well as a bronze in2013. Calderón earned anAll-EuroBasket Team selection in2007.
José Calderón was born and raised in the town ofVillanueva de la Serena, in Spain.[1] His main inspiration for basketball came from his father, who used to play basketball for his hometown's team, Doncel La Serena.[1] Calderón received an offer to play professional basketball after he won a junior team championship.[1]
After playing for Diputación Foral Alava, Calderón joinedLucentum Alicante (Spanish Second Division) in 1999, and he led his team to theACB (Spanish First Division).[1] The team had to return to the second division because of fierce competition.[1] This helped Calderón adapt to the competition, and catalyzed an improvement to his game.[1]
In 2001, Calderón joined ACB teamFuenlabrada.[1] He averaged 9.7 points, and 1.7 assists in 18.6 minutes per game, and shot 83.2% from the free throw line.[2] By the end of the season, he joined the Spain national team.[1] In 2002, he played for the seniorSpain national team in the2002 FIBA World Championship at Indianapolis, where his team ended up in fifth place.[1]
After the summer, Calderón signed withTAU Vitoria.[1] Calderon played three seasons with Tau Vitoria.[1] His team won theSpanish Basketball King's Cup, and were also runners-up in both the Liga ACB (Spanish League) and theEuroLeague.[1] In 2002–03, he averaged 7.5 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 steals in the EuroLeague. In 2003–04, he averaged 7.2 points, 1.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.1 steals in the EuroLeague. In 2004–05, he averaged 11.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.5 steals in the EuroLeague.[3]
Calderón entered the NBA when former Raptors GMRob Babcock persuaded the Spanish guard to sign with theToronto Raptors on August 3, 2005.[4] Known as a talented playmaker, he struggled with his shooting in his first year in the NBA. By the end of the2005–06 season, he was ranked third among all rookies inassists with 4.5 per game.[5] He finished the season with 64 played games, having started in 11 of them.[5] He averaged 5.5points, 4.5 assists, 2.2rebounds and an assists-per-turnover ratio of 2.85.[5]
Throughout the2006–07 season, Calderón played primarily as backup toT. J. Ford, turning in solid numbers from the bench.[6] As acknowledged by coachSam Mitchell as well as his teammates, Calderón's form was instrumental to the Raptors' push for aplayoff spot, and later, theAtlantic Division title.[7] He ended his regular season with improved averages of 8.8 points and 5.1 assists per game and .525 infield goal percentage, even though he had less playing time compared to his rookie season.[5] In the2007 NBA Playoffs, Calderón played in all of Toronto's games in the series against theNew Jersey Nets, but the Raptors were defeated 4–2.[8] Calderón averaged 13.0 points and 5.3 assists per game in his first NBA playoff season.[5]
Toronto continued to deploy Ford and Calderón in tandem for the point guard position to good effect. Ford was injured for several games in November and December and the Spaniard stepped in with impressive performances.[9] In three games against theMemphis Grizzlies,Cleveland Cavaliers andChicago Bulls, Calderón provided 37 assists while committing only threeturnovers.[10] 14 games into the season, he was also leading the league in assist-to-turnover ratio with 5.67 to 1,[11] but even so, he said: "But how I feel about the team right now is that we need T.J. Ford [for the next game]."[12] 35 games into the season, the Spaniard increased the turnover ratio to 6.15 to 1, setting him on course to break an NBA record (he went to end the season as the league-leader with 5.38 to 1).[13][14] He shot at least 50% on field goals, 40% on three-pointers, and 90% on free-throws, and is sometimes listed as a member of theNBA's 50–40–90 Club, even though he was sixteen free-throws shy of attaining theNBA league minimum number of makes in this category. By mid-season, he was touted as a possibility for making the All-Star reserve team.[15] Even after Ford returned from injury for the final third of the campaign, Calderón was able to keep his place in the starting lineup. Ford had initially agreed to playing backup, but reportedly became frustrated at not being able to start.[16] Calderón eventually asked the coaching staff to play Ford as starter instead, leading to widespread praise from the coaching staff, teammates, and fans. Given that he was going to become a free agent by the end of the campaign, there were even calls for Ford to be traded so that the team could be built around Calderón as point guard.[16] By the end of the regular season, Calderón was fifth in the league for assists per game,[14] and in the2008 NBA Playoffs, Ford split the playing time with him about equally, with the two players combining for averages of 23.4 points and 13.6 assists per game.[5][17] However, the Raptors were eliminated by theOrlando Magic in the first round four games to one.[18]
On July 9, 2008, Calderón re-signed with the Raptors to a multi-year deal, reported to be worth $7.5 million to $8.5 million a season.[19][20] With the departure of Ford to theIndiana Pacers, the Spaniard was slated to start the point guard position for the Raptors. At the same time, new acquisitionJermaine O'Neal formed the frontcourt with Bosh. However, 17 games into the season, Toronto fired head coachSam Mitchell and the line-ups were constantly shuffled. By the end of 2008, the Raptors were 12–20, but with Calderón out for almost a month thereafter, the team slipped to 16–28. When Calderón returned to the Raptors lineup, he helped snap a seven-game losing streak with a 114–94 victory over Chicago, recording 23 points on 9-of-10 shooting and 10 assists. Not long after, he set the second-longest streak in NBA history for consecutive free throws made (87).[21] On March 13, 2009, Calderón surpassedAlvin Williams' franchise record for career assists with 1795.[22] On March 29, 2009, in a game against Chicago, he tied the franchise record for most assists in game with 19,[23] and not long after, set an NBA record for highest free-throw percentage in a season. These records, however, were overshadowed by the Raptors rapidly falling out of the playoffs picture soon after the All-Star break, and the criticism Calderón faced for being unable to defend and play an up-tempo game. Toronto eventually finished with a 33–49 record,[24] with the Spaniard leading theEastern Conference in assists per game and the league in free throw percentage and assist-to-turnover ratio.[25][26]
.JPG)
The Raptors underwent a significant roster overhaul in the preseason, such as bringingJarrett Jack from Indiana to play as Calderón's back-up andpoint forwardHedo Türkoğlu to share in ball-handling duties. With a third of the season gone, the Spaniard picked up an injury that put him out for 12 games, resulting in Jack holding on to the starting spot even upon the former's return, paralleling the Ford-Calderón scenario in 2007–08. Still, the pair combined well and helped bring the Raptors to a 21–20 record at the mid-season mark.
During the early stages of the 2010 offseason, the Raptors had a deal in place to send Calderon andReggie Evans to theCharlotte Bobcats forTyson Chandler andBoris Diaw. However,Michael Jordan, the owner of the Bobcats, nixed the deal right before it was finalized, which allowed Calderon to remain with the Raptors.
Calderón was ranked fifth in assists per game (8.9) at the conclusion of the regular season.[27]
On February 12, 2012, Calderón scored a career high 30 points in a 94–92 loss against the Lakers.[28] Calderón led the league in assists per turnover (4.5) for the third time in five years at the conclusion of the regular season.
On January 30, 2013, Calderón was traded to theDetroit Pistons in a three-team trade which sentTayshaun Prince,Austin Daye, andEd Davis to theMemphis Grizzlies andRudy Gay andHamed Haddadi to Toronto.[29] He became the starting point guard for the Pistons, and in just his fourth game for the franchise, he recorded 23 points and 10 assists in the 105–100 win over theMilwaukee Bucks.
Calderón finished the season averaging 11.3 points and 7.1 assists per game. He also led the league in three-point shooting percentage (.461) and was second in assists per turnover (4.1).
On July 11, 2013, Calderón signed with theDallas Mavericks to a reported four-year, $28 million contract.[30] He became the Mavericks lead point guard, starting in 81 games. He had his best game on December 20, 2013, against his former team, the Toronto Raptors, where he recorded 23 points and 9 assists. Calderón finished the season averaging 11.4 points and 4.7 assists per game.
On June 25, 2014, Calderón, along withShane Larkin,Wayne Ellington,Samuel Dalembert and two 2014 second-round picks, was traded to theNew York Knicks in exchange forTyson Chandler andRaymond Felton.[31] In the process, he re-joined former Raptor teammateAndrea Bargnani. After a preseason injury kept him on sidelines for the first 13 games of the season, he made his Knicks debut on November 22, 2014, as he recorded 3 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in the 91–83 win over thePhiladelphia 76ers.
On March 23, 2015, Calderón was ruled out for the rest of the season after undergoing a procedure on his strained left Achilles tendon.[32]
On March 13, 2016, he made a game-winning three-point shot with 0.2 seconds left on the clock to defeat theLos Angeles Lakers.[33]
On June 22, 2016, Calderón was traded, along withJerian Grant andRobin Lopez, to theChicago Bulls in exchange forDerrick Rose,Justin Holiday and a 2017 second-round draft pick.[34] On July 7, he was traded again, this time with two future second-round picks to theLos Angeles Lakers in exchange for the rights toAter Majok.[35] On December 5, 2016, he was ruled out for two to four weeks with a right hamstring strain.[36] On February 27, 2017, he was waived by the Lakers.[37]
After being waived by the Lakers, Calderón was set to join theGolden State Warriors. However, afterKevin Durant suffered a possible season-ending knee injury, the Warriors felt they needed a forward instead of a point guard to fill Durant's role.[38] The Warriors still honored their agreement with Calderón, signing him on March 1, 2017[39] before waiving him later that day.[40] While he was only with the team for two hours, the Warriors agreed to pay Calderón the $415,000 he would have earned if he had been on the team for the rest of the season.[41]
On March 4, 2017, Calderón was claimed off waivers by theAtlanta Hawks.[42]
On July 10, 2017, Calderón signed with theCleveland Cavaliers.[43] On April 3, 2018, Calderón scored a season-high 19 points, and recorded 4 assists and 4 rebounds, during a 112–106 win over theToronto Raptors.[44]
The Cavaliers eventually made it to the2018 NBA Finals, before losing 4–0 to theGolden State Warriors.
On July 7, 2018, Calderón signed with theDetroit Pistons.[45]
On November 4, 2019, theNational Basketball Players Association (NBPA) announced that Calderón had joined them as the special assistant to the executive director for the2019–20 NBA season.[46][47]
On January 14, 2022, Calderón was hired by theCleveland Cavaliers as a special advisor to the front office.[48]
Calderón enjoyed a successful international career. When he played for Spain's national youth team, he won the gold medal at the1998 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship, as well as the bronze medal at the2000 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship.[1] As his career advanced, the point guard began appearing for theSpain national team. Calderón was part of the Spain national team which finished fifth at the2002 FIBA World Championship and second at the2003 EuroBasket.[1] He was later named the teamcaptain during the2004 Summer Olympics,[1] and on September 3, 2006, Calderón and his Spanish squad defeatedGreece, and won the2006 FIBA World Championship, along with future Raptors teammate,Jorge Garbajosa.[1] In2007 EuroBasket, Calderón and Garbajosa again featured for the Spanish team. In the knockout stages, Calderón recorded a game-high 17 points as Spain defeatedGermany 83–55 in the quarterfinals.[49] In the semifinals, Calderón scored 18 points in Spain's defeat ofGreece.[50] The Spaniard led his team in points again in the final, but Spain lost 60–59 toRussia.[51] In the2008 Summer Olympics, Calderón was part of the squad that won the silver medal, but was injured and therefore could not play in the semifinal and the final games. He averaged 7.3 points per game in the tournament.[52] Calderón won another silver medal at the2012 Summer Olympics. He also made Spain's squad for the2016 Summer Olympics, but played only sparingly.
At the end of the Olympics, he announced his retirement from the national team.[53]
Calderón is one of the bestfree throw shooters in the NBA, having set an NBA record for free throw shooting (98.1%) in 2008–09 with 151 of 154 attempts. Known as a highly efficient player, Calderon's 2007–08 season would have made himone of eight players in NBA history to shoot at or over 50% onfield goals, 40% onthree-point field goals, and 90% onfree throws for a full season, but he did not have enough free throws made to qualify.
| 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 | PIR | Performance index rating |
| Bold | Career high |
| * | Led league |
| ‡ | NBA record |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005–06 | Toronto | 64 | 11 | 23.2 | .423 | .163 | .848 | 2.2 | 4.5 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 5.5 |
| 2006–07 | Toronto | 77 | 11 | 21.0 | .521 | .333 | .818 | 1.7 | 5.0 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 8.7 |
| 2007–08 | Toronto | 82* | 56 | 30.3 | .519 | .429 | .908 | 2.9 | 8.3 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 11.2 |
| 2008–09 | Toronto | 68 | 68 | 34.3 | .497 | .406 | .981‡ | 2.9 | 8.9 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 12.8 |
| 2009–10 | Toronto | 68 | 39 | 26.7 | .482 | .398 | .798 | 2.1 | 5.9 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 10.3 |
| 2010–11 | Toronto | 68 | 55 | 30.9 | .440 | .365 | .854 | 3.0 | 8.9 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 9.8 |
| 2011–12 | Toronto | 53 | 53 | 33.9 | .457 | .371 | .882 | 3.0 | 8.8 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 10.5 |
| 2012–13 | Toronto | 45 | 30 | 28.3 | .470 | .429* | .904 | 2.4 | 7.4 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 11.1 |
| Detroit | 28 | 28 | 31.7 | .527 | .520* | .893 | 2.5 | 6.6 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 11.6 | |
| 2013–14 | Dallas | 81 | 81 | 30.5 | .456 | .449 | .825 | 2.4 | 4.7 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 11.4 |
| 2014–15 | New York | 42 | 42 | 30.2 | .415 | .415 | .906 | 3.0 | 4.7 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 9.1 |
| 2015–16 | New York | 72 | 72 | 28.1 | .459 | .414 | .875 | 3.2 | 4.1 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 7.6 |
| 2016–17 | L.A. Lakers | 24 | 11 | 12.2 | .416 | .353 | 1.000 | 1.7 | 2.1 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 3.3 |
| Atlanta | 17 | 2 | 14.5 | .404 | .267 | .875 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 3.6 | |
| 2017–18 | Cleveland | 57 | 32 | 16.0 | .503 | .464 | .800 | 1.5 | 2.1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 4.5 |
| 2018–19 | Detroit | 49 | 0 | 12.9 | .375 | .246 | .818 | 1.2 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 2.3 |
| Career | 895 | 591 | 26.4 | .472 | .407 | .873 | 2.4 | 5.8 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 8.9 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Toronto | 6 | 1 | 24.3 | .507 | .250 | .833 | 1.7 | 5.3 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 13.0 |
| 2008 | Toronto | 5 | 0 | 24.0 | .440 | .476 | 1.000 | 3.6 | 7.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 11.8 |
| 2014 | Dallas | 7 | 7 | 27.3 | .462 | .478 | 1.000 | 1.3 | 4.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 10.3 |
| 2017 | Atlanta | 6 | 0 | 12.5 | .478 | .333 | - | 1.3 | 2.2 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 4.3 |
| 2018 | Cleveland | 13 | 3 | 8.0 | .346 | .222 | 1.000 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 1.8 |
| 2019 | Detroit | 3 | 0 | 3.3 | - | - | - | 0.0 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Career | 40 | 11 | 16.2 | .459 | .372 | .929 | 1.4 | 3.1 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 6.5 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002–03 | Tau Cerámica | 17 | 6 | 21.5 | .477 | .406 | .875 | 2.4 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 0.0 | 7.5 | 8.2 |
| 2003–04 | 19 | 10 | 21.6 | .470 | .405 | .830 | 1.4 | 2.0 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 7.2 | 7.6 | |
| 2004–05 | 22 | 17 | 26.8 | .494 | .421 | .841 | 3.4 | 2.6 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 11.6 | 12.9 | |
| Career | 58 | 33 | 23.5 | .484 | .414 | .844 | 2.5 | 2.1 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 9.0 | 9.8 | |
On March 2, 2007, the Raptors announced that Calderón had been named a Right To Play Athlete Ambassador.[54] Right To Play is an athlete-driven international humanitarian organization that uses sport and play as a tool for the development of children and youth in the most disadvantaged areas of the world.[54] As part of the program, Calderón pledged $1000 for every assist he recorded in a home game against theChicago Bulls on November 26, 2007. He ended the game with 14 assists.[55]
Calderon is a co-owner of an organicpig farm.[56]
He is married to Ana Hurtado. The couple welcomed their first child, Manuel, inVillanueva de la Serena on May 23, 2010.[57]
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