Matt Bonner facts for kids
Bonner with the Spurs in 2010
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 5, 1980 Concord, New Hampshire, U.S. |
| High school | Concord (Concord, New Hampshire) |
| Listed height | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) |
| Listed weight | 235 lb (107 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College | Florida (1999–2003) |
| NBA Draft | 2003 / Round: 2 / Pick: 45th overall |
| Selected by the Chicago Bulls | |
| Pro career | 2003–2016 |
| Career history | |
| 2003–2004 | Pallacanestro Messina |
| 2004–2006 | Toronto Raptors |
| 2006–2016 | San Antonio Spurs |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Career statistics | |
| Points | 4,632 (5.8 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 1,749 (3.0 rpg) |
| Assists | 552 (0.7 apg) |
Matthew Robert Bonner (born April 5, 1980) is a former professional basketball player from the United States. People often called him the Red Rocket or Red Mamba. Matt played college basketball at the University of Florida. He was picked by the Chicago Bulls in the 2003 NBA draft. During his career, Matt played for the Toronto Raptors and the San Antonio Spurs. He won two NBA championships with the Spurs. Matt Bonner is the only NBA player ever born in New Hampshire.
Contents
Growing Up: Matt Bonner's Early Life
Matt Bonner was born in Concord, New Hampshire. He went to Concord High School. There, he helped his team win three state championships. Matt was also the best student in his graduating class, known as the Valedictorian.
College Basketball Career
Matt Bonner earned a scholarship to play basketball at the University of Florida. He played for the Florida Gators team from 1999 to 2003. His coach was Billy Donovan.
During his four years, Matt scored 1,570 points. He also grabbed 778 rebounds and made 165 three-point shots. In his last year (2003), he was chosen for the first-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC). He was also an honorable mention All-American by the Associated Press.
Matt was a great student too. He earned a degree in business administration with high honors. His grade point average (GPA) was 3.96. He was named Academic All-American of the Year for basketball in both 2002 and 2003.
Playing Professional Basketball
Starting in Italy: Sicilia Messina (2003–2004)
The Chicago Bulls picked Matt Bonner 45th overall in the 2003 NBA draft. But they soon traded him to the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors did not have a spot for him right away. So, they asked Matt to play overseas to improve his skills. They promised him a spot on their team the next season.
Matt signed with Sicilia Messina in the Italian league. This team was in Messina, Sicily. In the middle of the season, Sicilia Messina went bankrupt. They stopped paying their players. Many players left, but Matt kept playing. He finished the year averaging 19.2 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.
Playing in Canada: Toronto Raptors (2004–2006)
In September 2004, Matt Bonner signed a one-year deal with the Toronto Raptors. On December 15, 2004, he was sent out of a game. This happened after he tried to block a shot by Kevin Garnett. Raptors fans cheered for him as he left the court.
During the 2004–05 season, Matt played in all 82 regular season games. He averaged 7.2 points per game. He is the only rookie for the Raptors to ever play in all 82 games in a season. In August 2005, Matt signed another two-year deal with the Raptors.
Winning Championships: San Antonio Spurs (2006–2016)
On June 21, 2006, Matt Bonner was traded to the San Antonio Spurs. He joined the Spurs with Eric Williams. In his first season with the Spurs, he averaged 4.9 points in just 11.7 minutes per game. These were his lowest numbers at that time. However, the team went on to win the NBA championship that season!
In July 2007, Matt signed a new three-year deal with the Spurs. On December 11, 2007, he had a great game against the Golden State Warriors. He scored 25 points and grabbed 17 rebounds, both season highs.
On December 7, 2009, Matt scored a career-high 28 points. He also had 8 rebounds in a close game against the Utah Jazz.
In July 2010, Matt signed another multi-year deal with the Spurs. He led the entire NBA in three-point shooting percentage for the 2010–11 season. He made 45.7% of his three-point shots.
In 2011, Matt Bonner starred in a funny web series. It was called Fundamentals of the Game with Coach B. You could watch it on the Spurs' official website.
Matt's brother, Luke, started a social media campaign. Because of this, Matt got to be in the 2013 NBA Three-Point Shootout. This event happened during All-Star Weekend. He scored 19 points in the first round. This was enough to beat Ryan Anderson (18) and Stephen Curry (17). He moved to the final round but lost to Kyrie Irving (20–23). Later that year, Matt and the Spurs reached the NBA Finals. They lost to the Miami Heat in seven games.
On June 15, 2014, Matt Bonner won his second NBA championship! The Spurs beat the Miami Heat 4–1 in the 2014 NBA Finals. On July 21, 2014, Matt signed with the Spurs again.
He signed with the Spurs one more time on July 15, 2015. Matt's last NBA game was on April 13, 2016. The Spurs won 96–91 against the Dallas Mavericks. In that game, he scored 6 points, had 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 1 block.
Matt announced his retirement on January 6, 2017. A few days later, on January 12, 2017, the Spurs had a funny ceremony. They "retired" Matt's famous flannel shirt in the locker room.
Matt Bonner's NBA Stats
Here are some of Matt Bonner's statistics from his time in the NBA:
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Bold | Career high |
Regular Season Stats
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004–05 | Toronto | 82 | 0 | 18.9 | .533 | .424 | .789 | 3.5 | .6 | .5 | .2 | 7.2 |
| 2005–06 | Toronto | 78 | 6 | 21.9 | .448 | .420 | .829 | 3.6 | .7 | .6 | .4 | 7.5 |
| 2006–07† | San Antonio | 56 | 0 | 11.7 | .447 | .383 | .711 | 2.8 | .4 | .3 | .2 | 4.9 |
| 2007–08 | San Antonio | 68 | 3 | 12.5 | .416 | .336 | .864 | 2.8 | .5 | .2 | .3 | 4.8 |
| 2008–09 | San Antonio | 81 | 67 | 23.8 | .496 | .440 | .739 | 4.8 | 1.0 | .6 | .3 | 8.2 |
| 2009–10 | San Antonio | 65 | 8 | 17.9 | .446 | .390 | .729 | 3.3 | 1.0 | .5 | .4 | 7.0 |
| 2010–11 | San Antonio | 66 | 1 | 21.7 | .464 | .457* | .744 | 3.6 | .9 | .4 | .3 | 7.3 |
| 2011–12 | San Antonio | 65 | 2 | 20.4 | .440 | .420 | .762 | 3.3 | .9 | .2 | .3 | 6.6 |
| 2012–13 | San Antonio | 68 | 4 | 13.4 | .487 | .442 | .733 | 1.9 | .5 | .3 | .3 | 4.2 |
| 2013–14† | San Antonio | 61 | 0 | 11.3 | .445 | .429 | .750 | 2.1 | .5 | .2 | .2 | 3.2 |
| 2014–15 | San Antonio | 72 | 19 | 13.0 | .409 | .365 | .811 | 1.6 | .7 | .1 | .2 | 3.7 |
| 2015–16 | San Antonio | 30 | 2 | 6.9 | .509 | .441 | .750 | .9 | .3 | .2 | .0 | 2.5 |
| Career | 792 | 112 | 16.9 | .464 | .414 | .780 | 3.0 | .7 | .4 | .3 | 5.8 | |
Playoff Stats
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007† | San Antonio | 9 | 0 | 2.8 | .286 | .250 | 1.000 | .3 | .0 | .2 | .0 | .8 |
| 2008 | San Antonio | 2 | 0 | 4.5 | .667 | .000 | .000 | 1.0 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | 2.0 |
| 2009 | San Antonio | 5 | 5 | 20.0 | .217 | .231 | 1.000 | 3.2 | .0 | .6 | .4 | 3.0 |
| 2010 | San Antonio | 10 | 0 | 17.3 | .432 | .370 | 1.000 | 3.2 | .4 | .1 | .3 | 5.0 |
| 2011 | San Antonio | 6 | 0 | 20.5 | .480 | .333 | .800 | 3.2 | .3 | .2 | .2 | 6.3 |
| 2012 | San Antonio | 13 | 0 | 12.7 | .313 | .348 | .600 | 1.9 | .7 | .2 | .3 | 2.4 |
| 2013 | San Antonio | 20 | 1 | 13.4 | .475 | .469 | .833 | 2.0 | .3 | .3 | .3 | 4.1 |
| 2014† | San Antonio | 22 | 2 | 6.1 | .476 | .333 | .750 | .7 | .5 | .1 | .0 | 1.3 |
| 2015 | San Antonio | 7 | 0 | 5.1 | .200 | .222 | .000 | .9 | .1 | .1 | .1 | .9 |
| Career | 94 | 8 | 11.0 | .402 | .355 | .811 | 1.7 | .4 | .2 | .2 | 2.8 | |
Awards and Achievements
Matt Bonner achieved many great things in his basketball career:
- 2013–14 NBA champion
- 2006–07 NBA champion
- 2010–11 NBA three-point field-goal percentage leader
- 2002–03 Honorable Mention All-American
- 2001–02 Honorable Mention All-American
- 2002–03 Academic All-American of the Year
- 2001–02 Academic All-American of the Year
- 2002–03 All-SEC First Team
- 2001–02 All-SEC Second Team
- 2000–01 All-SEC Third Team
- 2002–03 SEC three-point field-goal percentage leader
- 2002–03 All-SEC Academic
- 2001–02 All-SEC Academic
- 2000–01 All-SEC Academic
- 1998–99 NHIAA Champions – Concord HS
- 1997–98 NHIAA Champions – Concord HS
- 1996–97 NHIAA Champions – Concord HS
Life After Basketball
After retiring from playing basketball, Matt Bonner became a TV analyst. He now works for the San Antonio Spurs TV Broadcast. He helps explain the games from the studio.
Matt Bonner's Personal Life
Matt Bonner is married to Nadia. They have a daughter named Evangeline-Vesper Lynne Bonner, born in 2009. They also have a son named August Bonner, born in 2012.
Matt has a younger brother, Luke. Luke was also a professional basketball player. Luke was Matt's best man at his wedding.
In February 2009, Matt tried to become a Canadian citizen. However, he did not qualify because he spent too much time outside of Canada.
Matt Bonner really loves sandwiches! He even has a blog called "The Sandwich Hunter: The Quest for the Hoagie Grail." On his blog, he writes about his search for the "world's best sandwich." He also enjoys the sport of curling. He discovered it on Canadian television when he played for the Toronto Raptors.
When he played for the Toronto Raptors, he got the nickname "Red Rocket." This was because of his red hair. Also, he often used Toronto's public transit, the Toronto Transit Commission. Their slogan is "Ride the Rocket."
Kobe Bryant gave Matt his other nickname, the "Red Mamba." This happened on Twitter in 2013. Kobe was live-tweeting during a TV replay of his 81-point game against Matt and the Toronto Raptors.
Matt was known for being the only NBA player to wear New Balance shoes. He didn't even have a sponsorship deal with the brand at first. He said a friend who worked for New Balance gave him many pairs of shoes. Years later, after wearing out all those shoes, New Balance stopped making basketball sneakers. So, Matt finally signed his first basketball shoe deal with Adidas in January 2014. This was announced on the Nice Kicks Twitter account.
Matt and his brother Luke run a nonprofit organization called the Rock On Foundation. They work to support community involvement in arts and athletics.
In March 2016, Matt Bonner and his wife Nadia were on a TV show called Tiny House Nation. They had a custom-built house that was only 276 square feet.
Bonner now works as an analyst for Raptors games on Sportsnet.
See Also
- List of National Basketball Association career 3-point field goal percentage leaders
- List of Florida Gators in the NBA
- List of University of Florida alumni
