José Calderón (basketball) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
José Calderón

Calderón with the Atlanta Hawks in 2017
Cleveland Cavaliers
Special advisor
Personal information
Born	(1981-09-28) September 28, 1981 (age 43) Villanueva de la Serena, Spain
Listed height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight	200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
NBA Draft	2003 / Undrafted
Pro career	1998–2019
League	NBA
Career history
1998–1999	Diputación Foral Alava
1999–2001	Lucentum Alicante
2001–2002	Fuenlabrada
2002–2005	Tau Cerámica
2005–2013	Toronto Raptors
2013	Detroit Pistons
2013–2014	Dallas Mavericks
2014–2016	New York Knicks
2016–2017	Los Angeles Lakers
2017	Atlanta Hawks
2017–2018	Cleveland Cavaliers
2018–2019	Detroit Pistons
Career highlights and awards
Spanish King's Cup winner (2004) All-Spanish League Team (2005) LEB Oro champion (2000)
Career NBA statistics
Points	7,921 (8.9 ppg)
Rebounds	2,148 (2.4 rpg)
Assists	5,148 (5.8 apg)
Medals Men's basketball Representing  Spain Olympic Games Silver 2008 Beijing Team Silver 2012 London Team Bronze 2016 Rio de Janeiro Team FIBA World Cup Gold 2006 Japan EuroBasket Gold 2011 Lithuania Silver 2003 Sweden Silver 2007 Spain Bronze 2013 Slovenia FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup Gold 1999 Portugal U19 Team FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship Bronze 2000 Macedonia U20 Team FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship Gold 1998 Bulgaria U18 Team

José Manuel Calderón Borrallo (born September 28, 1981) is a Spanish basketball expert. He used to be a professional player for 21 years. This included 14 seasons in the NBA. He mostly played for the Toronto Raptors.

With the Raptors, he set an NBA record. He had the highest free throw percentage in a season. This was 98.1% in 2008-09. José also played for the Spanish national team. He won a FIBA World Cup title in 2006. He also earned two Olympic silver medals in 2008 and 2012. He won a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He also won a EuroBasket title in 2011. He got two silver medals in 2003 and 2007, and a bronze in 2013. Calderón was chosen for the EuroBasket All-Tournament Team in 2007. Today, he is a special advisor for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA.

José Calderón's Early Life and European Career

José Calderón was born and grew up in Villanueva de la Serena, Spain. His dad played basketball for his hometown team. This inspired José to play too. He got an offer to play professionally after winning a junior championship.

Playing in Spain's Second Division

After playing for Diputación Foral Alava, Calderón joined Lucentum Alicante in 1999. This team was in the Spanish Second Division. He helped his team move up to the ACB, which is the Spanish First Division. The team later went back to the second division. This helped Calderón get better at the game.

Moving to the First Division

In 2001, Calderón joined the ACB team Fuenlabrada. He scored about 9.7 points per game. He also made 1.7 assists in 18.6 minutes per game. He was very good at free throws, making 83.2% of them. After this season, he joined the Spanish national team. In 2002, he played for the senior national team. They finished fifth in the 2002 FIBA World Championship.

Success with TAU Vitoria

After the summer of 2002, Calderón signed with TAU Vitoria. He played three seasons with this team. His team won the Spanish Basketball King's Cup. They also finished second in the Spanish League and the EuroLeague. In the EuroLeague, he averaged 7.5 points in 2002–03. He averaged 7.2 points in 2003–04. In 2004–05, he averaged 11.6 points.

José Calderón's NBA Career Highlights

Calderón played mostly off the bench in his first season (2005–06) with the Raptors.

José Calderón joined the NBA when the Toronto Raptors signed him on August 3, 2005. He was known for being a great playmaker.

Toronto Raptors: First Seasons (2005–2007)

In his first year (2005–06), he had trouble with his shooting. But he was third among all new players in assists. He played 64 games and started 11 of them. He averaged 5.5 points and 4.5 assists per game.

In the 2006–07 season, Calderón was a backup player for T. J. Ford. He played very well from the bench. His good play helped the Raptors reach the NBA Playoffs and win the Atlantic Division title. He averaged 8.8 points and 5.1 assists per game. In the 2007 NBA Playoffs, the Raptors lost to the New Jersey Nets. Calderón averaged 13.0 points and 5.3 assists in those games.

Calderón taking a jump shot in a 2006–07 game against the Washington Wizards.

Toronto Raptors: Key Years (2007–2012)

For the 2007–08 season, Ford and Calderón shared the point guard role. When Ford was injured, Calderón played amazingly. In three games, he made 37 assists with only three turnovers. He led the league in assist-to-turnover ratio. He also shot very well: over 50% on field goals, 40% on three-pointers, and 90% on free throws. This is known as the 50–40–90 Club. He almost qualified for it, but he needed a few more free throws made. The Raptors lost in the first round of the 2008 playoffs.

On July 9, 2008, Calderón signed a new deal with the Raptors. He became the main point guard. He set the second-longest streak in NBA history for consecutive free throws made (87). On March 13, 2009, he broke the Raptors' record for career assists. On March 29, 2009, he tied the team record for most assists in a game with 19. He also set an NBA record for the highest free-throw percentage in a season (98.1%). He led the Eastern Conference in assists per game. He also led the league in free throw percentage and assist-to-turnover ratio.

Going for a layup against the Orlando Magic, November 22, 2009.

In the 2009–10 season, Calderón got injured. This meant Jarrett Jack started playing more. They both played well together. In the 2010–11 season, Calderón was fifth in the league for assists per game. On February 12, 2012, he scored a career-high 30 points against the Lakers. He led the league in assists per turnover for the third time in five years.

Detroit Pistons (2013)

On January 30, 2013, Calderón was traded to the Detroit Pistons. He became their starting point guard. In his fourth game, he scored 23 points and made 10 assists. He finished the season averaging 11.3 points and 7.1 assists per game. He also led the league in three-point shooting percentage (46.1%).

Dallas Mavericks (2013–2014)

On July 11, 2013, Calderón signed with the Dallas Mavericks. He was their main point guard, starting in 81 games. He had a great game against his old team, the Raptors, scoring 23 points and making 9 assists. He averaged 11.4 points and 4.7 assists per game that season.

New York Knicks (2014–2016)

On June 25, 2014, Calderón was traded to the New York Knicks. He joined his former Raptors teammate Andrea Bargnani. He missed the first 13 games due to injury. On March 13, 2016, he made a game-winning three-point shot with 0.2 seconds left. This helped the Knicks beat the Los Angeles Lakers.

Los Angeles Lakers (2016–2017)

On June 22, 2016, Calderón was traded to the Chicago Bulls. Then, on July 7, he was traded again to the Los Angeles Lakers. He was waived by the Lakers on February 27, 2017. He was almost going to join the Golden State Warriors. But after Kevin Durant got injured, the Warriors needed a different player. They still paid Calderón the money he would have earned.

Atlanta Hawks (2017)

Calderón defending Bradley Beal during Game 1 of the Hawks' 2017 first-round playoff match-up with the Washington Wizards.

On March 4, 2017, the Atlanta Hawks picked up Calderón.

Cleveland Cavaliers (2017–2018)

On July 10, 2017, Calderón signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers. On April 3, 2018, he scored a season-high 19 points. The Cavaliers reached the 2018 NBA Finals but lost to the Golden State Warriors.

Return to Detroit (2018–2019)

On July 7, 2018, Calderón signed again with the Detroit Pistons. This was his last season playing professionally.

José Calderón's Executive Career

After retiring from playing, José Calderón started a new career. On November 4, 2019, he joined the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA). He worked as a special assistant to the executive director.

On January 14, 2022, the Cleveland Cavaliers hired Calderón. He became a special advisor to their front office.

José Calderón's National Team Career

Calderón had a very successful career playing for Spain's national teams.

Youth Team Success

With Spain's national youth team, he won a gold medal in 1998. This was at the 1998 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship. He also won a bronze medal in 2000 at the 2000 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship.

Senior Team Achievements

Later, he played for the Spanish senior national team. He was part of the team that finished fifth at the 2002 FIBA World Championship. They also finished second at the 2003 EuroBasket. He became the team captain during the 2004 Summer Olympics.

On September 3, 2006, Calderón and his Spanish team won the 2006 FIBA World Championship. They beat Greece in the final. In 2007 EuroBasket, Calderón played a big role. He scored 17 points in the quarterfinals against Germany. In the semifinals, he scored 18 points against Greece. Spain lost a close final game to Russia.

At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Calderón's team won the silver medal. He got injured and could not play in the final games. He won another silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He also played for Spain at the 2016 Summer Olympics. After these Olympics, he announced he was retiring from the national team.

José Calderón's Player Profile

Calderón is known as one of the best free throw shooters in the NBA. He set an NBA record in 2008–09 by making 98.1% of his free throws. He was a very efficient player. His 2007–08 season was almost good enough to join the 50–40–90 club. This club is for players who shoot at least 50% on field goals, 40% on three-point field goals, and 90% on free throws in a season.

Career Statistics

*	Led league
	NBA record

NBA Regular Season Stats

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

NBA Playoff Stats

EuroLeague Stats

José Calderón's Personal Life

On March 2, 2007, Calderón became a "Right To Play Athlete Ambassador." Right To Play is a group that uses sports to help children in need around the world. Calderón promised to donate $1000 for every assist he made in a game against the Chicago Bulls on November 26, 2007. He made 14 assists in that game.

Calderón is also a co-owner of an organic pig farm. He is married to Ana Hurtado. They welcomed their first child, Manuel, on May 23, 2010.

See also

In Spanish: José Manuel Calderón para niños

• List of National Basketball Association career 3-point field goal percentage leaders
• Toronto Raptors accomplishments and records
• List of European basketball players in the United States