Kiwi Gardner
{{Short description|American professional basketball player}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2014}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name = Kiwi Gardner
| image =
| caption =
| position = Point guard
| height_ft = 5
| height_in = 7
| weight_lb = 155
| league =
| team =
| number =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1993|4|7}}
| birth_place = Oakland, California, U.S.
| high_school =
| college = Midland (2012–2013)
| draft_year = 2013
| career_start = 2013
| career_end = 2022
| coach_start = 2024
| years1 = 2013–2015
| team1 = Santa Cruz Warriors
| years2 = 2015
| team2 = Pioneros de Los Mochis
| years3 = 2015–2016
| team3 = Al-Ansar
| years4 = 2017
| team4 = Westports Malaysia Dragons
| years5 = 2020
| team5 = Santa Cruz Warriors
| years6 = 2022
| team6 = Illawarra Hawks
| cyears1 = 2024–present
| cteam1 = New Taipei Kings (assistant)
| highlights =
- NBA D-League champion (2015)
- NBL1 East MVP (2022)
- NBL1 East All-Star Five (2022)
}}
Keyondrei Samuel "Kiwi" Gardner{{Cite web|url=https://www.californiabirthindex.org/birth/keyondrei_samuel_gardner_born_1993_22154147|title=Keyondrei Samuel Gardner was born on April 7, 1993 in Alameda County, California|website=californiabirthindex.org|publisher=California Birth Index|access-date=May 7, 2020}} (born April 7, 1993) is an American former professional basketball player. He became an Internet sensation via YouTube in 2011.{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4elcIgXgCk | title=Kiwi Gardner, The Youtube Sensation... Official Senior Season Mixtape | work=YouTube.com | date=April 15, 2011 | access-date=January 17, 2014}}{{cite interview |last=Gardner |first=Kiwi|interviewer=David Greene |title=Kiwi Gardner Gets A Break, Told To 'Go At The Rim' |url=https://www.npr.org/2013/12/31/258548337/kiwi-gardners-hoop-dreams-alive-and-well |work=Morning Edition|publisher=NPR |date=December 31, 2013 |accessdate=January 1, 2014}} Gardner played one season of college basketball for Midland College before beginning his professional career in 2013. As of 2024, he was a member of the New Taipei Kings coaching staff in the Taiwan Professional Basketball League.
High school career
Gardner was born in Oakland, California.{{Cite web |last=Dunn |first=Geoffrey |title=How Kiwi Gardner Became a Fan Favorite |url=https://www.santacruz.com/news/how_kiwi_gardner_became_a_fan_favorite.html |access-date=December 9, 2023 |website=santacruz.com |date=January 28, 2014}} He was raised by his mother and his extended family in the Maxwell Park neighborhood, and began playing basketball at the age of four. From 2007 to 2010, Gardner attended Manteca High School in Manteca, California.{{Cite web |last=Jacinto |first=Jonamar |title=Back from suspension, Gardner letting game do the talking |url=https://www.mantecabulletin.com/sports/high-school-sports/back-from-suspension-gardner-letting-game-do-the-talking/ |access-date=December 9, 2023 |website=Manteca Bulletin |date=January 21, 2010}} As a sophomore in 2008–09, he averaged 19.8 points, 6.0 assists, 2.1 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game as he helped the Buffaloes finish with a 24–4 record. As a junior in 2009–10, he averaged 24 points, 3.8 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 3.5 steals as he helped the Buffaloes finish a 23–6 record.{{cite web | url=http://www.friars.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/051311aaa.html | title=Kiwi Gardner Signs A NLI To Attend PC | work=Friars.com | date=May 13, 2011 | access-date=January 17, 2014}}
In 2010, Gardner transferred to Westwind Preparatory Academy in Phoenix, Arizona. He did not meet the eligibility requirements of the Arizona Interscholastic Association because of transferring in his senior year, so he did not play on WPA's State Championship High School team that year. Instead, he played on WPA's prep team. Gardner was chosen to participate in the NCAA's High School Slam Dunk contest during the Final Four Tournament, where the crowd watched the same showmanship that has led to hundreds of thousands of hits on his YouTube highlight videos.{{cite web | url=http://www.mantecabulletin.com/archives/21867/ | title=Gardner to be featured in dunk contest | work=MantecaBulletin.com | date=March 17, 2011 | access-date=January 17, 2014}} He averaged 23.7 points, seven assists, four steals and four rebounds per game during the 2010–11 season, leading Westwind to a 30–2 record and a state title.
College career
Gardner committed to Providence College, but he never gained eligibility to play.{{cite web | last=Simmons | first=Rusty | url=http://www.sfgate.com/warriors/article/Oakland-s-Gardner-makes-D-League-tryout-circuit-4910347.php | title=Oakland's Gardner makes D-League tryout circuit | work=SFGate.com | date=October 19, 2013 | access-date=January 17, 2014}} He subsequently sat out the 2011–12 season and transferred to Midland College, where he played nine games during the 2012–13 season.{{cite web | url=http://stats.njcaa.org/sports/mbkb/2012-13/div1/players/kiwigardnerdpix | title=Kiwi Gardner – NJCAA Stats | work=NJCAA.org | access-date=January 17, 2014}} Following the season, he declared for the NBA draft.{{cite web | url=http://www.nba.com/2013/news/06/18/2013-draft-withdrawals/ | title=Eighteen early-entry candidates withdraw from 2013 Draft | work=NBA.com | date=June 18, 2013 | access-date=January 17, 2014 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204005920/http://www.nba.com/2013/news/06/18/2013-draft-withdrawals/ | archive-date=December 4, 2013}}
Professional career
After going undrafted in the 2013 NBA draft, Gardner spent the 2013–14 season in the NBA Development League with the Santa Cruz Warriors.{{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/dleague/draft2013/ |title=2013 NBA Development League Draft |work=NBA.com |access-date=January 17, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140208013013/http://www.nba.com/dleague/draft2013/ |archive-date=February 8, 2014 }}{{cite web | url=http://www.nba.com/dleague/santacruz/warriors_training_camp_roster_1314.html | title=Santa Cruz Warriors Announce Training Camp Roster | work=NBA.com | date=November 6, 2013 | access-date=January 17, 2014 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150408235135/http://www.nba.com/dleague/santacruz/warriors_training_camp_roster_1314.html | archive-date=April 8, 2015 | df=mdy-all }} After a stint with the Golden State Warriors during the 2014 NBA Summer League,{{cite web | url=http://www.nba.com/warriors/news/warriors-announce-2014-summer-league-roster-t.v.-schedule | title=Warriors Announce 2014 Summer League Roster & T.V. Schedule | work=NBA.com | date=July 3, 2014 | access-date=July 3, 2014}} Gardner returned to Santa Cruz for the 2014–15 season and helped the Warriors win the D-League championship.{{cite news|title=Santa Cruz Warriors Announce 2014 Training Camp Roster |url=http://www.nba.com/dleague/santacruz/warriors_training_camp_roster_110314.html |access-date=November 11, 2014 |work=NBA.com |date=November 3, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141109024823/http://www.nba.com/dleague/santacruz/warriors_training_camp_roster_110314.html |archive-date=November 9, 2014 }}{{cite news|title=Title Wave: Santa Cruz Wins NBA D-League Championship|url=http://dleague.nba.com/games/20150426/FWNSCW/|access-date=April 26, 2015|work=NBA.com|date=April 26, 2015}}
In 2015, Gardner played in Mexico for Pioneros de Los Mochis.{{cite news|title=Kiwi Gardner signs with Los Mochis|url=http://www.court-side.com/news/blog/kiwi-gardner-signs-los-mochis/|access-date=June 4, 2015|work=Court-Side.com|date=June 3, 2015}} For the 2015–16 season, he played in Saudi Arabia with Al-Ansar.{{cite news|last=Laird|first=Sam|title=From East Oakland to Saudi Arabia, Kiwi Gardner's hoop dream marches on|url=http://mashable.com/2015/10/20/kiwi-gardner-hoop-dream/#tKDBWwFn1iqy|access-date=December 23, 2015|work=Mashable.com|date=October 20, 2015}} He scored 74 points in a game outside Mecca.{{cite news |last1=Dunn |first1=Geoffrey |title=Kiwi Gardner's internal fire burns strong |url=https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2020/03/10/kiwi-gardner-keeps-stoking-his-internal-fire-g-league-basketball/ |access-date=May 18, 2020 |work=Santa Cruz Sentinel |date=March 10, 2020}}
After a preseason stint with the Windy City Bulls in November 2016,{{cite web|url=http://windycity.dleague.nba.com/news/windy-city-bulls-select-four-players-2016-d-league-draft-complete-training-camp-roster/|title=Windy City Bulls Select Four Players in 2016 D-League Draft to Complete Training Camp Roster|work=NBA.com|date=October 30, 2016|access-date=December 5, 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://windycity.dleague.nba.com/news/windy-city-bulls-waive-five-players/|title=WINDY CITY BULLS WAIVE FIVE PLAYERS|work=NBA.com|date=November 4, 2016|access-date=December 5, 2016}} Gardner joined the Westports Malaysia Dragons of the ASEAN Basketball League in February 2017.{{cite web|url=http://www.kldragons.com/2017/02/game-10-preview-malaysia-dragons-versus-singapore-slingers/|title=Game 10 Preview: Malaysia Dragons versus Singapore Slingers|work=kldragons.com|date=February 7, 2017|access-date=February 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171016225732/http://www.kldragons.com/2017/02/game-10-preview-malaysia-dragons-versus-singapore-slingers/|archive-date=October 16, 2017|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|last=Lee|first=David|url=http://www.tnp.sg/sports/basketball/slingers-coach-we-need-local-players-perform|title=Slingers coach: 'We need local players to perform'|work=tnp.sg|date=February 10, 2017|access-date=February 10, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211080357/http://www.tnp.sg/sports/basketball/slingers-coach-we-need-local-players-perform|archive-date=February 11, 2017}} After one season, Gardner played in lower professional and semi-professional leagues in China, Japan, and Hong Kong.
On February 7, 2020, Gardner was acquired by the Santa Cruz Warriors, returning to the franchise for a second stint.{{cite web|url=https://gleague.nba.com/transactions/|title=NBA G League Transactions|work=gleague.nba.com|access-date=February 9, 2020}} He played 11 games to finish the 2019–20 NBA G League season.{{cite web|url=https://basketball.realgm.com/player/Kiwi-Gardner/Summary/28969|title=Kiwi Gardner|work=realgm.com|access-date=September 6, 2022}}
In March 2022, Gardner moved to Australia to play for the Illawarra Hawks of the NBL1 East.{{cite news |title=Basketball Illawarra is proud to announce our first signing for the NBL1 East season!! |url=https://www.facebook.com/IllawarraBasketball/posts/4689948984438931 |access-date=March 19, 2022 |work=facebook.com/IllawarraBasketball |date=March 16, 2022}} He was named the 2022 NBL1 East MVP.{{cite news |title=2022 COLES EXPRESS NBL1 EAST & SPALDING WARATAH LEAGUE | MVP AWARDS |url=https://www.bnsw.com.au/news/2022-coles-express-nbl1-east-spalding-waratah-league-mvp-awards/ |access-date=September 6, 2022 |work=bnsw.com.au |date=August 26, 2022}}
Coaching career
Gardner joined the coaching staff of the New Taipei Kings in the Taiwan Professional Basketball League for the 2024–25 season.{{cite web |title=球隊介紹 |url=https://www.newtaipeikings.com/roster |website=New Taipei Kings 新北國王 |access-date=13 December 2024}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://nbl1.com.au/player/011446a7-7407-11ec-8d47-7f8380c6f840/7448046b-b172-11ec-8857-e12148933569/kiwi-gardner/east NBL1 profile]
- [http://stats.nbadleague.com/player/#!/203736/ NBA D-League profile]
- {{Facebook|easyki}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Kiwi}}
Category:American expatriate basketball people in Australia
Category:American expatriate basketball people in Malaysia
Category:American expatriate basketball people in Mexico
Category:American expatriate basketball people in Saudi Arabia
Category:American men's basketball players
Category:Basketball players from California
Category:Kuala Lumpur Dragons players
Category:Midland Chaps basketball players
Category:Sportspeople from Manteca, California
Category:Pioneros de Los Mochis players
Category:Santa Cruz Warriors players
Category:Manteca High School alumni