 Gortat at theWashington Wizards Open Practice in 2022 | |
| Washington Wizards | |
|---|---|
| Position | Player development and assistant coach |
| League | NBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1984-02-17)February 17, 1984 (age 41) Łódź, Poland |
| Nationality | Polish, American (since 2021[1]) |
| Listed height | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) |
| Listed weight | 240 lb (109 kg) |
| Career information | |
| NBA draft | 2005: 2nd round, 57th overall pick |
| Selected by thePhoenix Suns | |
| Playing career | 2002–2020 |
| Position | Center |
| Number | 13, 4 |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 2002–2003 | ŁKS Łódź |
| 2003–2007 | RheinEnergie Cologne |
| 2007–2010 | Orlando Magic |
| 2007–2008 | →Anaheim Arsenal |
| 2010–2013 | Phoenix Suns |
| 2013–2018 | Washington Wizards |
| 2018–2019 | Los Angeles Clippers |
| As coach: | |
| 2022–present | Washington Wizards (player development and assistant coach) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Career statistics | |
| Points | 7,951 (9.9 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 6,407 (7.9 rpg) |
| Assists | 915 (1.1 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Marcin Janusz Gortat (Polish pronunciation:[ˈmart͡ɕiŋˈɡɔrtat]; born February 17, 1984) also known as"The Polish Hammer" is a Polish former professionalbasketball player, and current player development and assistant coach at theWashington Wizards[2] of theNational Basketball Association (NBA). The 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m), 240 pounds (110 kg)center is the son ofboxerJanusz Gortat. He was drafted in the second round by thePhoenix Suns in the2005 NBA draft and played for theOrlando Magic, Phoenix Suns,Washington Wizards, andLos Angeles Clippers. He retired from professional basketball in 2020.
As a child, Gortat participated infootball andtrack and field, where he competed in thehigh jump.[3] His father,Janusz, was a Polish boxer and a bronze medalist in thelight heavyweight class during theMunich 1972 andMontreal 1976Olympics, and his mother,Alicja, was a representative of the Poland national team involleyball. He has an older brother,Robert, who is also a boxer.[4]
Gortat grew up inŁódź, Poland, together with his brotherFilip. He graduated fromTechnical School in Łódź. Apart from Polish, he is fluent in English, German, and Serbian.[5] Gortat is also a bigMotorcycle Speedway supporter, often seen supporting Polish clubMotor Lublin. He is also seen regularly atSpeedway Grand Prix events, supporting his good friend, four-time World ChampionBartosz Zmarzlik.[6]
Gortat started his career withŁKS Łódź, then played three seasons forRheinEnergie Cologne inGermany'sBasketball Bundesliga, with whom he won the domestic championship in 2006 as well as the national cup three times.[7] He also played in the2006–07 Euroleague season for the first time in the team's history. After being drafted 57th overall in the2005 NBA draft by thePhoenix Suns (with his rights later traded to theOrlando Magic),[8] Gortat elected to keep playing with Cologne in Germany until 2007.
Gortat identifies as aCatholic and has said that his faith gives him hope and inspires him.[9]
On August 2, 2007, Gortat signed with theOrlando Magic. On November 20, he was assigned to theAnaheim Arsenal of theNBA Development League.[10][11] He was recalled from the D-League on December 2,[12] and debuted for the Magic on March 1, 2008, against the New York Knicks.
On April 16, 2008, in the Magic's last game of the2007–08 season, little-used Gortat played 28 minutes[13] and registered 12 points and 11 rebounds in a 103–83 Magic win over theWashington Wizards.[14] On December 15, 2008, starting in place of the injuredDwight Howard, Gortat played 28 minutes[15] and recorded 16 points and 13 rebounds in a 108–98 win over theGolden State Warriors.[16] 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 thePhiladelphia 76ers, replacing Howard, who was suspended because of his actions in game 5. He had 11 points and 15 rebounds as the Magic eliminated the 76ers 4–2. That Magic playoff run continued all the way to theNBA 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 theDallas 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.[17]
On December 18, 2010, Gortat was traded to thePhoenix Suns along withVince Carter,Mickaël Piétrus, a 2011 first-round draft pick (which would becomeNikola Mirotić), and $3 million, in exchange forJason Richardson,Earl Clark, and then-former Magic player and former teammateHedo Türkoğlu.[18] Due toSteve 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 as his minutes grew, initially coming off the bench, then starting at center in place ofRobin Lopez. During his time in Phoenix, Gortat continued to be known as "The Polish Hammer" a nickname originally given to him during his time with the Orlando Magic.
During thelockout-shortened2011–12 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 teammateDwight Howard,Andrew Bynum, andDeMarcus Cousins as the only centers to average a double-double that season. After the season ended, he was named to thePolish national basketball team for theFIBA EuroBasket 2013 qualification round. In the second game againstFinland, he scored 27 points and grabbed 21 rebounds to help Poland qualify for2013'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 theCharlotte Bobcats. In late February, Gortat suffered a knee injury, and was left off the team for the rest of the season.
On October 25, 2013, Gortat was traded, along withShannon Brown,Malcolm Lee, andKendall Marshall, to theWashington Wizards in exchange forEmeka Okafor and a 2014 protected first-round draft pick.[19]
On February 27, 2014, Gortat recorded a career-high 31 points and 12 rebounds in a 134–129 triple overtime win over the Toronto Raptors.[20] On May 13, he recorded 31 points (his playoff career high) and 16 rebounds to help the Wizards avoid elimination in Game 5 of their second-round series with the Indiana Pacers.[21] He became the first Wizards player with at least 30 points and 15 rebounds in a playoff game sinceMoses Malone in 1987.[citation needed]
On July 10, 2014, Gortat re-signed with the Wizards to a reported five-year, $60 million contract.[22][23]
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.[24] 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.[25]
On June 26, 2018, Gortat was traded to theLos Angeles Clippers in exchange forAustin Rivers.[26] On January 5, 2019, Gortat recorded adouble-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds during a 121–111 win over the Suns.[27] On February 7, he was waived by the Clippers.[28]
On February 16, 2020, Gortat officially announced his retirement from basketball.[29]
In October 2022, he joined the Wizards as temporary assistant coach.[30]
Thanks to the Wizards, Gortat can bringPolish Heritage Night (Polish:Polska Noc w NBA) back to theNBA for the first time since retiring. The 9th edition of this event will celebrate Polish heritage when Washington hosts theSan Antonio Spurs with another Pole,Jeremy Sochan on the roster on March 24, 2023.[31][32]
| 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 the league |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007–08 | Orlando | 6 | 0 | 6.8 | .471 | — | .667 | 2.7 | .3 | .2 | .2 | 3.0 |
| 2008–09 | Orlando | 63 | 3 | 12.6 | .569 | 1.000 | .578 | 4.6 | .2 | .3 | .8 | 3.8 |
| 2009–10 | Orlando | 81 | 0 | 13.4 | .533 | .000 | .680 | 4.2 | .2 | .2 | .9 | 3.6 |
| 2010–11 | Orlando | 25 | 2 | 15.8 | .543 | — | .667 | 4.7 | .7 | .3 | .8 | 4.0 |
| 2010–11 | Phoenix | 55 | 12 | 29.7 | .563 | .250 | .731 | 9.3 | 1.0 | .5 | 1.3 | 13.0 |
| 2011–12 | Phoenix | 66* | 66* | 32.0 | .555 | .000 | .649 | 10.0 | .9 | .7 | 1.5 | 15.4 |
| 2012–13 | Phoenix | 61 | 61 | 30.8 | .521 | .000 | .652 | 8.5 | 1.2 | .7 | 1.6 | 11.1 |
| 2013–14 | Washington | 81 | 80 | 32.8 | .542 | 1.000 | .686 | 9.5 | 1.7 | .5 | 1.5 | 13.2 |
| 2014–15 | Washington | 82 | 82* | 29.9 | .566 | .000 | .703 | 8.7 | 1.2 | .6 | 1.3 | 12.2 |
| 2015–16 | Washington | 75 | 74 | 30.1 | .567 | .000 | .705 | 9.9 | 1.4 | .6 | 1.3 | 13.5 |
| 2016–17 | Washington | 82* | 82* | 31.2 | .579 | .000 | .648 | 10.3 | 1.5 | .5 | .7 | 10.8 |
| 2017–18 | Washington | 82* | 82* | 25.3 | .518 | — | .675 | 7.6 | 1.8 | .5 | .7 | 8.4 |
| 2018–19 | L.A. Clippers | 47 | 43 | 16.0 | .532 | — | .729 | 5.6 | 1.4 | .1 | .5 | 5.0 |
| Career | 806 | 587 | 25.7 | .551 | .150 | .680 | 8.0 | 1.1 | .5 | 1.1 | 9.9 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Orlando | 8 | 0 | 6.0 | .833 | — | .000 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | .5 | 1.3 |
| 2009 | Orlando | 24 | 1 | 11.3 | .654 | — | .625 | 3.2 | .1 | .4 | .6 | 3.3 |
| 2010 | Orlando | 14 | 0 | 15.1 | .654 | — | .727 | 4.4 | .6 | .2 | .3 | 3.0 |
| 2014 | Washington | 11 | 11 | 34.7 | .429 | — | .659 | 9.9 | 1.5 | .5 | 1.4 | 13.0 |
| 2015 | Washington | 10 | 10 | 30.7 | .628 | — | .667 | 8.8 | 2.2 | .6 | 1.1 | 12.4 |
| 2017 | Washington | 13 | 13 | 31.5 | .505 | — | .611 | 11.0 | 1.8 | .4 | 1.5 | 8.1 |
| 2018 | Washington | 6 | 6 | 26.7 | .558 | — | .571 | 6.3 | 1.0 | .0 | .3 | 8.7 |
| Career | 86 | 41 | 20.8 | .564 | — | .650 | 6.1 | .9 | .3 | .8 | 6.4 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–07 | RheinEnergie Cologne | 14 | 14 | 27.7 | .594 | .500 | .667 | 5.6 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 10.4 | 12.6 |
| Career | 14 | 14 | 27.7 | .594 | .500 | .667 | 5.6 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 10.4 | 12.6 | |
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| International | |
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| National | |