Meyers Leonard
 |
|
| No. 11 – Portland Trail Blazers | |
|---|---|
| Position | Power forward / Center |
| League | NBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born |
February 27, 1992 Woodbridge, Virginia |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) |
| Listed weight | 245 lb (111 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Robinson (Robinson, Illinois) |
| College | Illinois (2010–2012) |
| NBA draft | 2012 / Round: 1 / Pick: 11th overall |
| Selected by the Portland Trail Blazers | |
| Playing career | 2012–present |
| Career history | |
| 2012–present | Portland Trail Blazers |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Meyers Patrick Leonard (born February 27, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the University of Illinois before being selected by the Trail Blazers with the 11th overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft.
Leonard, born in Woodbridge, Virginia, grew up in Robinson, Illinois, a small town in southeastern Illinois. When he was six years old, his father James, a golf pro, was killed in a freak bicycle accident. His mother Tracie, once an athlete who would run upwards of 10 miles a day, had been largely housebound since her husband's death, victimized by an old horseback injury and subsequent disc surgery that left her with crippling pain.
When he was in second grade, the young Leonard gained a surrogate family. Brian Siler, an insurance agent in Robinson who had a son of the same age, was aware of Leonard's family situation, and eventually became a father figure. Leonard regularly attended the Silers' church and went on family vacations. According to ESPN.com writer Dana O'Neil,
"Looking to shoehorn the relationship into a convenient box, outsiders have called this Meyers' version of The Blind Side, but the comparison is inaccurate. The book and subsequent movie tell the story of Michael Oher, a boy who was homeless and didn't have much of a family life. Meyers Leonard has a family. It has not abandoned him. On the contrary, Tracie loves her son, loves him so much that she was willing to accept help."
Leonard entered high school as a guard, but was converted to center after a six-inch (15 cm) growth spurt between his freshman and sophomore years. O'Neil called him "something of a basketball anomaly", adding that Leonard "gained all that height without losing his coordination or his fast-twitch muscles."
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