Luke Robert Babbitt (born June 20, 1989) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Nevada Wolf Pack before declaring for the 2010 NBA draft following his sophomore year.Luke Babbitt Bio He was selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the 16th overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft, then traded to the Portland Trail Blazers.

Early life Babbitt was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. At the age of nine his family moved to Reno, Nevada. Babbitt attended Galena High School, where he was a 3-time All-State performer and a two-time Gatorade State Player of the Year in basketball. As a junior, Babbitt averaged 27.8 points and 9.5 rebounds per game while leading Galena to a state championship. Babbitt finished his high school career by scoring 2,941 points, which broke future college teammate Armon Johnson's Nevada state scoring record of 2,616 points.

Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Babbitt was listed as the No. 12 power forward and the No. 31 player in the nation in 2008.

College career After originally verbally committing to Ohio State, Babbitt backed out and decided to attend the University of Nevada.Report: Galena basketball star to play for Wolf Pack in '08 In his first game, Babbitt recorded a 20-point, 12-rebound double-double versus Montana State. He went on to average 16.9 points per game during his freshman year including a season-high 30 points on March 12, 2009, versus San Jose State.Nevada 78, San Jose St. 69 – ESPN.com

In his sophomore season, Babbitt led the team in scoring with 21.9 points per game. He scored a career-high 33 points in the Western Athletic Conference tournament semifinals on March 13, 2010, versus New Mexico State.New Mexico St. 80, Nevada 79 – ESPN.com Despite losing that game and ending their hopes of going to the NCAA Tournament, Nevada was invited to the NIT, where they lost in the second round to the University of Rhode Island.James leads way as Rams hold off Wolf Pack

On April 20, 2010, Babbitt hired an agent and declared for the NBA draft.

Professional career

Portland Trail Blazers (2010–2013) Babbitt was selected with the 16th overall pick by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2010 NBA draft. His rights were later traded, along with Wolves forward Ryan Gomes, to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Martell Webster. On July 9, 2010, Babbitt signed his rookie contract with the Blazers. He then joined the Blazers for the 2010 NBA Summer League.

On December 8, 2010, Babbitt was assigned to the Idaho Stampede of the NBA D-League.Trail Blazers Assign Luke Babbitt To Idaho Stampede On December 18, 2010, he was recalled by the Trail Blazers. On March 3, 2011, he was reassigned to the Idaho Stampede.Trail Blazers' Luke Babbitt heads to NBA Development League On March 28, 2011, he was recalled by the Trail Blazers. On January 4, 2012, he was reassigned to the Idaho Stampede. On January 10, 2012, he was recalled again.Blazers recall Luke Babbitt from D-League

Babbitt joined the Trail Blazers for the 2012 NBA Summer League.

Nizhny Novgorod (2013–2014) In August 2013, Babbitt signed with Nizhny Novgorod of Russia for the 2013–14 season. In January 2014, he left Russia under controversial circumstances.

New Orleans Pelicans (2014–2016) On February 4, 2014, Babbitt signed with the New Orleans Pelicans. On July 20, 2015, he re-signed with the Pelicans.

Miami Heat (2016–2017) On July 10, 2016, Babbitt was traded to the Miami Heat in exchange for a 2018 second-round draft pick and cash considerations.

Atlanta Hawks (2017–2018) Babbitt signed with the Atlanta Hawks on August 9, 2017.

Return to Miami (2018) Babbitt was traded back to the Heat on February 8, 2018, in exchange for Okaro White.

Career statistics

NBA Regular season

| style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Portland | 24 || 0 || 5.7 || .273 || .188 || .333 || 1.3 || .3 || .1 || .1 || 1.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Portland | 40 || 4 || 13.4 || .410 || .430 || .850 || 2.4 || .4 || .3 || .1 || 5.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Portland | 62 || 0 || 11.8 || .368 || .348 || .769 || 2.2 || .5 || .2 || .1 || 3.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| New Orleans | 27 || 2 || 17.5 || .390 || .379 || .778 || 3.3 || 1.1 || .3 || .4 || 6.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| New Orleans | 63 || 19 || 13.2 || .479 || .513 || .684 || 1.8 || .4 || .3 || .2 || 4.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| New Orleans | 47 || 13 || 18.0 || .422 || .404 || .780 || 3.1 || 1.1 || .2 || .1 || 7.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Miami | 68 || 55 || 15.7 || .402 || .414 || .733 || 2.1 || .5 || .3 || .2 || 4.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Atlanta | 37 || 9 || 15.4 || .476 || .441 || .773 || 2.2 || .7 || .2 || .1 || 6.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Miami | 13 || 5 || 11.2 || .234 || .244 || .000 || 1.2 || .4 || .1 || .2 || 2.5 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 381 || 107 || 14.0 || .408 || .402 || .747 || 2.2 || .6 || .2 || .2 || 4.8

Playoffs

| style="text-align:left;"| 2018 | style="text-align:left;"| Miami | 2 || 0 || 1.5 || .000 || – || – || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 2 || 0 || 1.5 || .000 || – || – || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0

College

| style="text-align:left;"| 2008–09 | style="text-align:left;"| Nevada | 34 || 34 || 32.6 || .456 || .429 || .864 || 7.4 || 1.4 || .7 || .7 || 16.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2009–10 | style="text-align:left;"| Nevada | 34 || 34 || 37.1 || .500 || .416 || .917 || 8.9 || 2.1 || 1.0 || .8 || 21.9 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 68 || 68 || 34.9 || .480 || .421 || .893 || 8.1 || 1.8 || .9 || .8 || 19.4

Awards and recognition 2008–09 WAC Freshman of the Year 2008–09 WAC 1st Team All- Conference 2008–09 WAC Newcomer of the Year 2009–10 WAC All-Decade Team 2009–10 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-AmericanLuke Babbitt named ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American 2009–10 AP All American Honorable Mention 2009–10 Naismith Award mid-season finalistLuke Babbitt Named National Finalist 2009–10 WAC Player of the Year 2009–10 WAC 1st Team All- Conference 2008–2010 2× WAC All-Tournament Team 2023 Galena High School Athletic Hall of Fame Award

See also List of National Basketball Association career 3-point field goal percentage leaders

References

External links

Luke Babbitt at nevadawolfpack.com