Kyle Wiltjer

Kyle Gregory Wiltjer (born October 20, 1992) is a Canadian-American professional basketball player for Reyer Venezia Mestre of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). He spent two seasons of college basketball with the Kentucky Wildcats before transferring to play with the Gonzaga Bulldogs in 2013.[1] A dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada, he has played for the Canada national team.

Kyle Wiltjer
Wiltjer with Unicaja in 2018
No. 33 – Zhejiang Lions
PositionPower forward
LeagueCBA
Personal information
Born (1992-10-20) October 20, 1992
Portland, Oregon, U.S.
NationalityCanadian / American
Listed height6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight240 lb (109 kg)
Career information
High schoolJesuit (Beaverton, Oregon)
College
NBA draft2016: undrafted
Playing career2016–present
Career history
2016–2017Houston Rockets
2016–2017→Rio Grande Valley Vipers
2017–2018Olympiacos Piraeus
2018–2019Unicaja Malaga
2019–2021Türk Telekom
2021–2022Lenovo Tenerife
2022–2023Zhejiang Lions
2023-PresentReyer Venezia
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men's Basketball
Representing  Canada
FIBA Americas U-18 Championship
Bronze medal – third place2010 San Antonio
Pan American Games
Silver medal – second place2015 Toronto

High school career

Born and raised in Portland, Wiltjer attended Jesuit High School in Beaverton, Oregon, where he led the school to three consecutive Oregon state championships.

Wiltjer played in the 2011 McDonald's All-American Game in Chicago. He also played in the 2011 Nike Hoop Summit in his hometown of Portland and in the 2011 Jordan Brand Classic in Charlotte.

College recruiting and career

Wiltjer was ranked as the No. 18 recruit in the class of 2011 in the ESPNU 100, the No. 25 recruit by Rivals.com, and the No. 22 recruit by Scout.com. He chose to play basketball for the University of Kentucky Wildcats and coach John Calipari on August 28, 2010. He had also considered Kansas, California, Texas, Gonzaga, Georgia Tech, and Wake Forest.

Although he was a five-star recruit according to all of the recruiting analysts, Kyle Wiltjer never started a game his freshman season at Kentucky, and did not play as many minutes as fellow freshmen Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and Marquis Teague. He averaged only 11.3 MPG and 4.8 PPG, although his three-point percentage was an impressive 42.5%. The Kentucky Wildcats won the 2012 NCAA championship during Wiltjer's freshman year.

Wiltjer began the 2012–13 season as a starter. In his third game of the season, against Lafayette, he accumulated 23 points, two assists, and four rebounds. However, he would eventually settle into an off-the-bench role, being named the SEC's Sixth Man of the Year.

In April 2013, he had announced he would remain at Kentucky for his junior season. However, he eventually changed his mind, posting a letter on Kentucky's official athletic website on June 23 indicating that he would transfer in order to "compete the way I know I can. ... wherever that may be." A later report indicated that Wiltjer had drawn interest from three of the four Division I programs in his home state of Oregon (Oregon, Oregon State, Portland), Gonzaga, Stanford, and Texas. According to that report, "he left the door open to return to Kentucky if he can't find the right situation."[2] On July 19, multiple media outlets reported that Wiltjer had chosen Gonzaga.[3][4] The transfer became official the next day, when Gonzaga received a signed copy of a financial aid agreement. After sitting out the 2013–14 season due to NCAA transfer rules, he had two remaining seasons of eligibility.[5]

In February 2015 he scored a career-high 45 points against Pacific.[6] Wiltjer led Gonzaga to its second ever Elite Eight appearance and a school record 35–3 record. He was named a Consensus Second-Team All-American, as well as First-Team All-WCC and WCC Newcomer of the Year.[7] In his first season with Gonzaga he appeared in 38 games averaging 16.8 points per game, 6.2 rebounds per game and 1.9 assists per game in 27.6 minutes per game.[8] After contemplating forgoing his remaining eligibility to enter the 2015 NBA draft, Wiltjer decided to return to Gonzaga for his senior year.[9]

Entering his second season with Gonzaga, Wiltjer was named CBS Sports' preseason player of the year.[10] Sports Illustrated projected Wiltjer as the preseason player of the year, scoring champion, and the top-usage player in all of NCAA Division 1 basketball.[11] He was named to the 35-man midseason watchlist for the Naismith Trophy on February 11.[12]

Professional career

Houston Rockets (2016–2017)

After going undrafted in the 2016 NBA draft, Wiltjer joined the Houston Rockets for the 2016 NBA Summer League.[13] On September 23, 2016, he signed with the Rockets.[14] Wiltjer appeared in four of the Rockets' first 25 games of the 2016–17 season, scoring a total of three points. On December 14, 2016, he scored a season-high seven points in a 132–98 win over the Sacramento Kings.[15] During his rookie season, Wiltjer had multiple assignments with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rockets' D-League affiliate.[16]

On June 28, 2017, the Los Angeles Clippers acquired Wiltjer, Patrick Beverley, Sam Dekker, Montrezl Harrell, Darrun Hilliard, DeAndre Liggins, Lou Williams and a 2018 Top 3 Protected first-round pick (which ended up being pick #30) from the Houston Rockets in exchange for Chris Paul.[17] He was later waived by the Clippers on July 15, 2017.[18]

Olympiacos (2017–2018)

On August 15, 2017, Wiltjer signed with the Toronto Raptors.[19] On October 7 he was waived by the Raptors.[20] On October 21, he signed with the Toronto Raptors' NBA G League affiliate, the Raptors 905.[21]

On October 29, 2017, Wiltjer signed with Olympiacos Piraeus of the Greek Basket League and the EuroLeague.[22][23]

Unicaja (2018–2019)

On July 3, 2018, Wiltjer signed a one-year deal with Unicaja of the Spanish Liga ACB.[24]

Türk Telekom (2019–2021)

Wiltjer signed with Türk Telekom in July 2019.[25] He averaged 12.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game in the 2019–20 season,[26] and then averaged 18.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game in the 2020–21 season.[27]

Canarias (2021–2022)

On July 13, 2021, Wiltjer signed a one-year contract with Lenovo Tenerife of the Spanish Liga ACB.[27]

Zhejiang Lions (2022–2023)

On October 2, 2022, Wiltjer signed with the Zhejiang Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).[28]

Reyer Venezia (2023–Present)

On September 21, 2023, Wiltjer signed with Reyer Venezia Mestre of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA).[29]

National team career

Canada junior national team

As a member of the Canadian Under-18 junior national team, Wiltjer won a bronze medal at the 2010 FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship. As a member of the Canadian university national team, he played at the 2013 World University Games.

Canada senior national team

With the senior Canada national basketball team, Wiltjer played at the 2015 Pan American Games, where he won a silver medal.[30]

In 2019, Wiltjer participated in the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup in China. Wiltjer was the team leader in point per game at 16.4. The team finished 21st out of 32 teams.[31][32]

Career statistics
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  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high
Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17 Houston 1403.1.286.308.500.7.1.2.1.9

Playoffs
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17 Houston 105.01.0001.000–.0.0.0.03.0

EuroLeague
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2017–18 Olympiacos 2429.4.476.420.6671.4.1.2.14.53.3
Career 2429.4.476.420.6671.4.1.2.14.53.3

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2011–12 Kentucky 40011.6.438.432.8151.80.40.10.45.0
2012–13 Kentucky 331023.8.421.367.8104.21.50.40.410.2
2014–15 Gonzaga 383727.6.540.466.7896.21.90.50.716.8
2015–16 Gonzaga 363633.6.491.437.8576.31.50.40.820.4
Career 1478323.8.487.425.8144.61.30.30.613.0

Awards and honors

High school

College
  • 2012 NCAA National Champion - Kentucky
  • 2013 SEC Sixth Man of the Year
  • 2015 WCC Newcomer of the year[7]
  • 2015 First-Team All-WCC[7]
  • 2015 USBWA Second-Team All-American[33]

Personal life

Wiltjer's father, Greg, is a former Canadian professional basketball player[34] who was a member of the Canadian national basketball team at the 1984 Summer Olympics.[35] His paternal half-sister and Greg's daughter, Jordan Adams, is also a former professional player.[36] Both Greg and Adams also represented Canada.[37][38] Through Adams, Wiltjer has two nieces.[39]

Wiltjer and his former girlfriend Charday Hunt, who was a Sacramento State Hornets player and later a Nike employee, married in Ios, Greece, in 2019.[40][41]

See also

References
  1. Graves, Gary (June 23, 2013). "Kentucky F Kyle Wiltjer says he is transferring". CollegeBasketball.ap.org. Associated Press. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
  2. "Kyle Wiltjer may transfer from UK". ESPN.com. June 25, 2013. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
  3. Goodman, Jeff (July 19, 2013). "Sources: Kyle Wiltjer to Gonzaga". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
  4. Borzello, Jeff (July 19, 2013). "Kentucky transfer Kyle Wiltjer headed to Gonzaga". CBSSports.com. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
  5. "Kyle Wiltjer Officially Joins Gonzaga Men's Basketball Team". GoZags.com (Press release). Gonzaga Athletics. July 20, 2013. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved July 23, 2013.{{cite press release}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  6. "Wiltjer's has career-high 45, No. 2 Gonzaga beats Pacific". USAToday.com. February 20, 2015. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
  7. "WCC Announces 2015 Men's Basketball All-Conference Team". WCCSports.com. March 3, 2015. Archived from the original on March 5, 2015. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  8. "Kyle Wiltjer player profile". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 29, 2015.
  9. Vecenie, Sam (April 20, 2015). "Gonzaga forward Kyle Wiltjer returning for senior season". CBSSports.com. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  10. Parrish, Gary (October 6, 2015). "Gonzaga senior Kyle Wiltjer is CBS Sports' Preseason Player of Year". CBSSports.com. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  11. Winn, Luke (October 13, 2015). "Player of the Year projections: Wiltjer, Simmons a cut above competition". SI.com. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
  12. Payne, Terrence (February 11, 2016). "Naismith Trophy midseason list announced". FoxSports.com. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
  13. "Rockets to Compete in Samsung NBA Summer League 2016". NBA.com. July 1, 2016. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  14. "Rockets Announce Training Camp Roster". NBA.com. September 23, 2016. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
  15. "Kyle Wiltjer 2016-17 Game Log". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
  16. "2016-17 NBA Assignments". NBA.com. Archived from the original on January 26, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  17. "Press Release: L.A. Clippers Acquire Seven Players and Draft Pick, Including Beverley, Dekker, Harrell and Williams". NBA.com. June 28, 2017. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  18. Charania, Shams (July 15, 2017). "Clippers Waive Kyle Wiltjer". RealGM.com. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  19. "Raptors Sign Kyle Wiltjer". NBA.com. August 15, 2017. Retrieved August 15, 2017.
  20. "Raptors waive Rautins, Meeks, Wiltjer". Toronto Star. October 7, 2017. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
  21. "Raptors' Kyle Wiltjer: Signs with Raptors' G-League affiliate". CBSSports.com. October 21, 2017. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  22. Olympiacos signs big man Wiltjer.
  23. Συμφώνησε με Γουίλτζερ ο Θρύλος. Olympiacos BC (in Greek). October 29, 2017. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  24. "Wiltjer, first singning of Unicaja / Web Oficial del Unicaja Baloncesto". www.unicajabaloncesto.com. July 3, 2018. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
  25. Bourannis, Yiannis (July 19, 2019). "Kyle Wiltjer signed with Turk Telekom". TalkBasket.net. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  26. Varney, Dennis (March 26, 2020). "Catch up with 36 ex-Cats playing pro basketball in leagues outside the NBA". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  27. "El Lenovo Tenerifa Ficha a Kyle Wiltjer". cbcanarias.net (in Spanish). July 13, 2021. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
  28. "Kyle Wiltjer lands in China". Eurohoops. October 3, 2022. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  29. "Reyer completes signing of Kyle Wiltjer". euroleaguebasketball.net. September 21, 2023. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
  30. Kyle Gregory WILTJER (CAN).
  31. "Canada at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019".
  32. "2019 Stats - Canada".
  33. "USBWA names 2014-15 All-Americans". SportsWriters.net. Retrieved March 16, 2015.
  34. "Kyle Wiltjer Bio". GoZags.com. Archived from the original on February 1, 2018. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  35. https://olympic.ca/team-canada/kyle-wiltjer/
  36. "Lobos Center Jordan Adams Selected In 2003 WNBA Draft". Golobos.com. University of New Mexico. April 25, 2003. Archived from the original on September 26, 2017.
  37. "Gregory Hilko WILTJER (CAN)". FIBA.
  38. "Jordan Adams Smith". Golobos.com. University of New Mexico. November 27, 2012. Archived from the original on September 26, 2017.
  39. Adams, Eric (March 16, 2020). "ENMU Graduate Creates New Mexico-Themed Subscription Box" (Interview). Interviewed by Desiree Cooper. Eastern New Mexico University. Retrieved April 6, 2022. We have two daughters, Rylee and Alayna.
  40. Kinsey, Joe (March 24, 2016). "Meet Charday Hunt – Kyle Wiltjer's Girlfriend". Busted Coverage. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  41. "Kyle Wiltjer combines message of equality with his love of fashion". TownAndCountryToday.com. Canadian Press. January 22, 2020. Retrieved April 6, 2022. My wife (the couple was married last summer on the Greek island of Ios) is half white, half African American, and so we're an interracial couple. And we just want to promote a positive message, especially to the youth, that everyone should be equal. This sounds so simple, but that's really where all the ideas came from.
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