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Ben GordonAmerican-British professional basketball player
Date of Birth: 04.04.1983
Country:  USA |
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Biography of Ben Gordon
Ben Gordon is an American-British professional basketball player, currently playing for the National Basketball Association (NBA) team, the Detroit Pistons. He plays as a shooting guard.
Early Life and Education
Gordon was born in London to Jamaican parents. A year after his birth, his family moved to Mount Vernon, New York. In high school, he played for the Mount Vernon Knights and became a state champion. In 2001, he enrolled at the University of Connecticut, where he became a leader for the college basketball team, the Connecticut Huskies. In the 2003/2004 season, Gordon helped the team win the NCAA championship, playing alongside Emeka Okafor, who was the 2nd overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft.
NBA Career
Immediately after winning the championship, Gordon decided to try his luck in the NBA. He was selected as the 3rd overall pick by the Chicago Bulls in the 2004 NBA Draft. He was often compared to NBA legend Michael Jordan, who was also chosen as the 3rd overall pick by the Bulls 20 years earlier and played as a shooting guard. In high school and college, Gordon wore the number 4 jersey, but the Bulls retired the number in honor of Jerry Sloan. As a result, Gordon chose to combine his draft number and his old number, wearing the number 7.
In his rookie season, Gordon did not start in the team's starting lineup but averaged 15.1 points per game, helping the Bulls make the playoffs for the first time since Jordan's departure. He was named the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year and made the NBA All-Rookie First Team. Despite his success, Gordon struggled to secure a permanent starting position in the team's lineup during his first four seasons in the NBA, although he remained one of the Bulls' leading scorers.
In the summer of 2008, Gordon became a free agent and considered leaving the Bulls. He even held negotiations with teams in Europe. The previous year, the Bulls offered him a five-year, $50 million contract, but Gordon refused to sign it, believing that as the team's leading scorer, he deserved the highest salary. However, without receiving the desired offer, Gordon eventually signed another one-year contract with the Bulls on October 2, 2008, earning $6.4 million. In the 2008/2009 season, Gordon replaced Larry Hughes as the team's starting shooting guard and became a full-time starter for the first time in his professional career. On December 27, 2008, Gordon broke Scottie Pippen's club record for the most three-pointers made in Bulls history, with 664 successful shots from behind the arc.
In the summer of 2009, Gordon became a free agent again, rejecting the Bulls' contract extension offer. He signed a five-year, $55 million agreement with the Detroit Pistons. His former college teammate, Charlie Villanueva, also joined the Pistons. During his career, Gordon represented the United States in various international tournaments, including the Albert Schweitzer Tournament in Germany and the 2003 Pan American Games, where the U.S. team finished fourth. He also maintained his British citizenship and was included in the British national basketball team roster in 2008. Gordon and his former Bulls teammate, Luol Deng, aimed to lead the British team to qualify for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Gordon's first tournament with the British national team was supposed to be the 2009 European Championship in Poland.
In his hometown of Mount Vernon, Gordon is honored with an annual "Ben Gordon Day in the Park" sponsored by the municipality and the local youth club. He also oversees the Five Star Camp, a basketball camp. Throughout his college and NBA career, Gordon earned nicknames such as "Gentle Ben" and "Madison Square Gordon." He also has his own energy drink called "BG7," named after his initials and jersey number.
