2017 NBA All-Star, the Charlotte Hornets Gordon Hayward is an outstanding offensive player. He is an integral piece of the team’s aggressive gameplay and he is renowned for his shooting abilities. He uses his main strength, his height, to advance over other players, which makes him a great offensive player and a great defender.
Gordon Hayward – Early Years
Gordon Hayward was born on March 23, 1990, in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is one of the players that experienced a sudden growth spurt in their high school. He attended Brownsburg High School in Brownsburg, Indiana.
As a freshman, he was 5 feet 11 inches tall and he excelled at tennis, even winning two all-state titles. In his senior year, he grew to 6 feet 7 inches and took up basketball seriously, averaging 18 points, 8.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists per game in the 2007-08 season. He helped his school team win the Indiana Class 4A state championship by scoring a buzzer-beater which led to victory over Marion High School 40 to 39. For his accomplishments, he was selected Indianapolis Star Player of the Year and represented Indiana in the 2008 Indiana vs Kentucky Boys All-Star Game. His team won.
Gordon Hayward – College Career
Gordon Hayward enrolled in Butler University, because of the scholarship offer he acquired. His coach was Brad Stevens. His freshman year, Hayward averaged 13.1 game ppg points and 6.5 rebounds per game, for which he was selected to the Horizon League All-Newcomer Team and won the Horizon League Newcomer of the Year title. Butler University’s team, the Bulldogs, won the regular season but lost the championship game to Cleveland State.
In 2009–10, Hayward was nominated for several preseason All-America teams and Player of the Year honors. As a sophomore, Hayward averaged 15.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game for the Bulldogs.
The Butler Bulldogs won both the regular season and tournament titles in the Horizon League in 2010 and Hayward became the Horizon League Player of the Year, a part of the All-Horizon League First Team. The Bulldogs lost the 2010 NCAA Division I championship to Duke, despite Hayward attempting to shoot a buzzer-beater from half-court. His effort was still appreciated as he was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Gordon Hayward – Utah Jazz
After the tournament, Hayward considered entering the 2010 NBA Draft but committed to his decision in May, when he hired Mark Bartelstein as his agent. He was drafted by the Utah Jazz as a ninth overall pick. He was on and off the bench, having many spectacular performances, like the one on April 5, 2011, when he helped the team win over the Los Angeles Lakers with 22 points, six rebounds, and five assists.
He made his then career-high with 34 points, at the conclusion of the season, which secured his place in the starting lineup. He was selected for Team Chuck in the 2012 NBA Rising Stars Challenge where he directly put his hand into the win by scoring 14 points. The Jazz made the playoffs, where they were swept by the San Antonio Spurs 4 to 0. For the 2012-13 season, Hayward took up a role of a Sixth Man and received third place in voting for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award.
The next season was somewhat of a breakout for Hayward, as he started to play the main role in the offensive roster of the Utah Jazz, upon the departure of Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson. On January 7, 2014, he posted a career-high 37 points and led the team to victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. For the 2013-14 season, he became an unrestricted free agent and got a 63 million offer from the Charlotte Hornets. The Utah Jazz matched the offer and Hayward decided to stay with his team.
Gordon Hayward – Career High Points Per Game
2014-15 was an extremely successful season for Gordon Hayward, as he averaged a career-high in points per game and he topped that in the 2015-16 season. In October of 2016, Hayward had his finger injured and started the season at the start of November, scoring 28 points in a win over the New York Knicks. For the sixth consecutive season,
Gordon Hayward – Boston Celtics
For the 2017-18 season, Gordon Hayward signed a four-year deal with the Boston Celtics. In the season opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Hayward suffered an injury after landing awkwardly on the floor in an alley-oop attempt. The fall was so severe that he had to undergo surgery which ruled him out for the rest of the season. He made progress pretty quickly but had to have another one in March of 2018.
He hasn’t played any game until October 16, 2018. He was mainly coming off the bench, still recovering after the surgeries, averaging 25.6 minutes per game. He managed to post a season-high 30 points, on December 1, 2018, in a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves and set a new high by scoring 35, again winning with the Timberwolves. on January 2, 2019.
The next season, Hayward posted 39 points in a win over Cleveland, matching his regular-season high on November 5, 2019. A few days later, he was injured again by fracturing his left hand. He was gone from the game for a whole month. 2020 was another unlucky year, as Hayward suffered a right foot sprain in the 1st round of the playoffs. He got back into the game to help his team battle the Miami Heat, but the Celtics were eliminated in 6 games.
Gordon Hayward – Charlotte Hornets
Despite the Boston Celtics signing a 120 million dollar deal with Hayward, they traded him to the Charlotte Hornets. The trade included exchanging draft picks. Hayward debuted for the Hornets on December 23, 2020, and posted 28 points, seven assists, and four rebounds. In January of 2021, Hayward established his new career-high with 44 points, which helped his team to win over the Atlanta Hawks. He has already proven himself to be one of the greats and we are excited to see what the future holds for him!
Is Gordon Hayward a good basketball player?
Hayward improved his average points per game. He earned his first NBA All-Star honors because of the coaches’ vote. On January 26, 2017, Hayward was selected to the 2017 NBA All-Star Game by the vote of Western Conference coaches. On April 7, 2017, he scored 39 points in a 120–113 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves, establishing a new career-high.
The Utah Jazz went to the playoffs, where Hayward set his playoff-high 40 points, which helped the team beat the Los Angeles Clippers; they were eliminated by the Golden State Warriors in the next round.
