Grant Gondrezick Biography

American basketball player (1963–2021)

Grant Gondrezick Sr. (January 19, 1963 – January 7, 2021) was an American shooting guard who played professional basketball in the NBA and a number of other leagues.

Basketball career

After attending high school in his hometown, 6'5" Gondrezick played college basketball at Pepperdine University in the mid-1980s. He led the team in scoring during the 1983–84 season with a 13.7 points per game average, and was redshirted in the following year.

In 1986, Gondrezick was drafted by the Phoenix Suns with the 77th pick of the NBA draft. During his rookie season with the Suns in April 1987, Gondrezick was indicted on drug charges along nine others including two teammates and two former Suns players. The league announced the players would face lifetime bans if they were found guilty of the charges. Gondrezick proclaimed his innocence and claimed he was shocked by the indictments. In September 1987, he pled guilty to a charge of witness tampering and received a $100 fine and three years probation. The drug charges were dismissed.

After spending a season in France, Gondrezick returned to the NBA for the 1988-89 season with the Los Angeles Clippers. After appearing in 27 games for the Clippers, he checked into a substance abuse clinic in January 1989 and never played in the NBA again.

He spent a total of two seasons in the National Basketball *ociation, one apiece with the Suns and the Clippers, averaging five points, two rebounds and one *ist per game.

Personal life

Gondrezick was married to Lisa Harvey and had three children, WNBA player Kysre Gondrezick, Kalabrya Gondrezick, and Grant Gondrezick Jr.

Gondrezick's older brother, Glen, was also a professional basketball player, and a shooting guard. He played six years in the NBA, dying in 2009 at the age of 53 due to heart failure.

On January 8, 2021, it was announced that Gondrezick had died suddenly the night before at the age of 57.

References

    • Stats at Basketball-Reference