Trajan Langdon facts for kids
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Langdon with CSKA Moscow in 2011
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| Detroit Pistons | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| President of basketball operations | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | May 13, 1976 Palo Alto, California, U.S. |
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| High school | East Anchorage (Anchorage, Alaska) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 211 lb (96 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||||||||
| College | Duke (1994–1999) | |||||||||||||||||||
| NBA Draft | 1999 / Round: 1 / Pick: 11th overall | |||||||||||||||||||
| Selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Pro career | 1999–2011 | |||||||||||||||||||
| League | NBA | |||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2002 | Cleveland Cavaliers | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2003 | Benetton Treviso | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2003 | Long Beach Jam | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2004 | Efes Pilsen | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2005 | Dynamo Moscow | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2011 | CSKA Moscow | |||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||||||||
As player
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Medals
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Trajan Shaka Langdon (born May 13, 1976) is an American basketball expert and former player. He is currently the President of Basketball Operations for the Detroit Pistons in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Trajan is 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 211 pounds. He played as a shooting guard. He first became well-known in the U.S. for playing college basketball at Duke University.
After playing for three years in the NBA, Langdon had a very successful career in Europe. He was named to the All-EuroLeague Team three times. In 2008, he was the EuroLeague Final Four MVP. He also won two EuroLeague championships with CSKA Moscow in 2006 and 2008.
In March 2016, he became the assistant general manager for the Brooklyn Nets. He stayed in that role until May 2019. Then, he was named the general manager of the New Orleans Pelicans. On May 31, 2024, he was hired by the Detroit Pistons as their President of Basketball Operations.
Contents
Early Life and High School Basketball
Trajan Langdon was born in Palo Alto, California. Soon after, his family moved to Anchorage, Alaska. During his high school years, Trajan went to Steller Secondary School. He played basketball for East Anchorage High School.
He set a state record in Alaska for scoring 2,200 points in his high school career. He was also named the Alaskan State Player of the Year three times. In 1994, he led East Anchorage to win the Alaskan State Championship. He also played in the McDonald's All-American Game, where he won the 3-point shooting contest.
Playing Baseball in High School
Besides basketball, Langdon also played high school baseball. Even though his baseball seasons were short, he was a good player. In his senior year, he hit .333, which means he got a hit in one-third of his turns at bat. He also hit four home runs and had 12 RBI (runs batted in). In one championship game, he only allowed four hits and struck out eleven batters.
College Basketball Career at Duke
After high school, Langdon went to Duke University to play NCAA Division I college basketball. He became known as "The Alaskan Assassin" because he set a school record for the most 3-point shots made. This record was later broken in 2006.
He missed his entire second year of college due to a serious knee injury. Because of this, he finished his college career as a fifth-year player.
The 1999 NCAA Championship Game
In the 1999 NCAA Championship game, Duke was playing against the UConn Huskies. With only 5.4 seconds left, Duke was down by one point. Langdon tried to drive the ball towards the basket but made a traveling mistake. This meant UConn got the ball, and Duke lost the game. Many experts, and Langdon himself, said that UConn's top defensive player, Ricky Moore, forced the mistake.
Playing Baseball While at Duke
A baseball scout noticed Langdon playing catch with his dad during a visit to Duke. The scout was very impressed. In 1994, the San Diego Padres baseball team chose Langdon in the 6th round of the 1994 Major League Baseball draft. This was before many other players who later became All-Stars. At the time, he was the highest-drafted player ever from Alaska.
He signed with the Padres and received a $230,000 bonus. Back then, college rules meant a player couldn't get a scholarship for one sport if they played another sport professionally. So, Langdon played basketball at Duke without a scholarship. He played Minor League Baseball during the summers. Over three seasons, he played 50 games for two minor league teams.
Professional Basketball Career
The NBA team Cleveland Cavaliers picked Langdon in the 1999 NBA draft. On November 2, 1999, Langdon played his first professional game with the Cavaliers. He became the first person from Alaska to play in the NBA.
After three years with the Cavaliers, Langdon moved to Europe. He played for the Italian team Benetton Treviso for the 2002–03 season.
Playing in Turkey and Russia
The next season, after a brief time with the Long Beach Jam, he moved to Turkey. He played for the strong Turkish team Efes Pilsen. For the 2004–05 season, he joined the Russian team Dynamo Moscow. Then, in 2005, he moved to another Moscow team, CSKA Moscow.
Langdon was named to the All-EuroLeague Second Team for the 2005–06 season. That same season, CSKA won the EuroLeague championship.
The next year, he helped CSKA reach the EuroLeague championship game again. They lost to a Greek team on their home court. Langdon was named to the All-EuroLeague First Team for both the 2006–07 and 2007–08 seasons. On May 4, 2008, he was named the EuroLeague Final Four MVP after winning another EuroLeague title with CSKA.
On October 7, 2006, Langdon led CSKA Moscow to a 94–75 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. This was an NBA Europe Live Tour exhibition game. He played against his former Duke teammate Elton Brand, who was on the Clippers. Langdon scored 17 points, the most in the game.
In June 2011, Langdon announced he was retiring from playing professional basketball. He made this announcement two days after helping CSKA win its ninth Russian championship in a row.
Playing for the USA National Team
After graduating from Duke with degrees in mathematics and history, Langdon played for the USA national basketball team. He played in the 1998 FIBA World Championship and helped the team win a bronze medal.
Life After Playing Basketball
After he stopped playing, Langdon worked as a scout for the San Antonio Spurs from 2012 to 2015. On March 8, 2016, he became the assistant general manager of the Brooklyn Nets. On May 19, 2019, Langdon was named the general manager of the New Orleans Pelicans.
Most recently, on May 31, 2024, Langdon was named President of Basketball Operations for the Detroit Pistons.
Personal Life
Trajan Langdon's mother, Gladys, is a social worker. His father, Dr. Steve Langdon, is a professor of anthropology at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Trajan often traveled with his father on trips to southeastern Alaska. His father studied the Tlingit Nation, an Indigenous group in that area.
See also
In Spanish: Trajan Langdon para niños
