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Gary Forbes

From Alfawiki
Gary Forbes
Born (1985-02-25) February 25, 1985 (age 41)
Panama
OccupationProfessional basketball player (retired)
Years active2003–2018 (approximate, based on college start and last known team)

Gary Orlando Forbes (born February 25, 1985) is a retired professional basketball player from Panama. He launched his collegiate basketball journey at the University of Virginia before transferring to the University of Massachusetts following his sophomore season.

High school career

During his childhood, Forbes relocated with his mother to Brooklyn, New York, where he attended Benjamin Banneker Academy. There, he set school records in points, rebounds, and blocks. Over his high school career, he accumulated 1,512 points and 766 rebounds. Forbes received local acclaim as the Newsday Player of the Year for Brooklyn, earned a nomination for City Player of the Year, and was named to both the first-team All-City and All-Tri-State squads. Additionally, he was among the finalists for the prestigious McDonald's All-American team.

In his junior season, Forbes averaged 27 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists per contest. His senior year saw improvements to averages of 31 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, and three blocks per game. A standout performance included scoring 30 points alongside 10 rebounds during Benjamin Banneker's close defeat in the Public School Athletic League "A" Championship held at Madison Square Garden.

College career

Forbes entered college ranked as the #4 shooting guard and #20 overall prospect in ESPN’s Top 100 for the class of 2003. He chose to attend the University of Virginia, selecting it over offers from Georgia Tech and Mississippi State. The 2003 recruiting class under coach Pete Gillen was ranked #17 by Rivals.com.

In his freshman year (2003–04), Forbes participated in all 31 games with 17 starts, averaging 7.6 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. He ranked second on the team in both blocks (28) and steals (30). His season-best scoring effort was 22 points against Minnesota during the ACC – Big Ten Challenge. During his sophomore campaign (2004–05), he appeared in 29 games with four starts, posting averages of 9.4 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. Highlights included a 23-point performance versus #4 ranked North Carolina and a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds against Duke.

Following Coach Gillen’s resignation after the 2004–05 season, Forbes transferred to the University of Massachusetts, sitting out the 2005–06 season in compliance with NCAA transfer regulations.

In the 2006–07 season at UMass, Forbes started in 23 out of 33 contests, averaging 13.0 points and 5.8 rebounds while playing behind seniors Rashaun Freeman and Stéphane Lasme. He achieved a personal best with a 31-point, 14-rebound game at Temple, recorded several games exceeding 20 points, and contributed significantly to UMass securing its first Atlantic 10 championship since the mid-1990s. The team advanced to the second round of the NIT, marking their first postseason appearance since the 1999–2000 season.

Entering his senior year (2007–08), Forbes was named to the Preseason Atlantic 10 Third Team. He led the conference in scoring with an average of 20.3 points per game, tied with Temple’s Dionte Christmas. Throughout the season, he recorded six games scoring over 25 points, including a high of 29 against Northern Iowa. Forbes earned Atlantic 10 Player of the Year honors and secured a position on the all-conference First Team. His leadership helped UMass reach the NIT final after defeating teams such as Syracuse and two-time reigning NCAA champions Florida. He was named to the NIT All-Tournament team before their loss to Ohio State.

Forbes concluded his collegiate career with a total of 1,639 points scored—698 while at Virginia and an additional 1,128 at UMass.

Professional career

Following his tenure at UMass, Forbes took part in the 2008 NBA Pre-Draft Camp held in Orlando but was not chosen during the NBA draft. Subsequently, he received an invitation from the Washington Wizards to attend their summer mini-camp, where he appeared in five games, posting averages of 3.8 points and 0.6 rebounds per contest.

In August 2008, Forbes signed with Basket Napoli in Italy; however, the club soon ceased operations. Shortly thereafter, he was selected fourth overall in the 2008 NBA Development League draft by the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Throughout the 2008–09 season, he played 22 games for Sioux Falls before being traded to the Tulsa 66ers. Across both teams, he participated in 30 games and averaged 17.4 points alongside 5.3 rebounds per game. Additionally, Forbes took part in the D-League All-Star weekend, securing third place in the Three-Point Shootout competition.

Forbes's career includes multiple international engagements:

  • In May 2009, he competed in two games for Talk N Text Tropang Texters in the Philippines, averaging 27.5 points.
  • During May and June 2009, he played five games with Venezuela’s Carabobo Globetrotters.
  • In July 2009, he joined the Philadelphia 76ers for the NBA Summer League.
  • Between July and August 2009, Forbes signed contracts with Italian teams Soresina and Gruppo Triboldi.
  • Over the 2009–10 season, he appeared in 15 games for Vanoli Cremona in Italy, averaging 13.3 points per game.
  • In 2010, he competed in Israel’s Basketball Super League with Ironi Kfar Hamaccabia Ramat Gan, leading the league with an average of 20.3 points per game despite his team's difficulties.

In July 2010, Forbes participated in the Houston Rockets’ summer league squad, playing four games and averaging 3.8 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. By September of that year, he attended Denver Nuggets training camp; following a preseason where he averaged 10.1 points and 2.9 rebounds per game, he earned a spot on their roster.

On December 10, 2011, Forbes signed an offer sheet with the Toronto Raptors and officially joined them three days later. On July 11, 2012, he was traded to the Houston Rockets along with a future first-round draft pick in exchange for Kyle Lowry but was released on October 29, 2012.

In December of that year, Forbes signed with the Zhejiang Lions of China’s Basketball Association as a replacement for Al Thornton.

In September 2013, Forbes agreed to terms with the Brooklyn Nets but was waived a month later. He then joined the Springfield Armor on November 1, 2013; however, he was waived in January 2014 due to a season-ending injury.

On December 21, 2015, Forbes inked a deal with Atenienses de Manatí of Puerto Rico’s Baloncesto Superior Nacional league. By March 2016, he departed from Atenienses and signed with the Grand Rapids Drive of the NBA Development League.

Forbes was acquired by the Long Island Nets on November 1, 2016; after appearing in twenty games, he was waived on January 17, 2017.

On February 19, 2017, Forbes signed with Boca Juniors competing in Argentina’s Liga Nacional de Básquet. Later that year on September 21, he agreed to join Faros Larissas for the Greek Basket League’s 2017–18 season. In February 2018, Forbes moved to Al-Ittihad Jeddah of Saudi Arabia’s Premier League.

National team career

In 2007, Forbes represented the Panama men's national basketball team at the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship held in Las Vegas, where over four games he averaged 17.8 points and grabbed an average of 4.5 rebounds per contest; this included a standout performance of scoring 29 points against Argentina. He also competed for Panama during the 2011 FIBA Americas Championship as well as at the 2017 FIBA AmeriCup.

The Basketball Tournament (TBT)

During the summer of 2017, Forbes participated in The Basketball Tournament broadcast on ESPN, representing the Talladega Knights. In the opening round, he contributed 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds, though the team was narrowly defeated 78–74 by Paul's Champions, led by ex-NBA point guard Earl Boykins. The previous year, Forbes also suited up for Talladega, posting averages of 16.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists across two contests before being eliminated by City of Gods in the second round.

In the 2018 edition of TBT, Forbes played for Gael Nation, where he averaged 6.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, and one assist over two games. Gael Nation advanced to the second round but was ultimately ousted by Armored Athlete.

Personal life

Forbes was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 19, a condition that runs in his family. Initially, he chose to keep this diagnosis confidential due to concerns about its potential impact on his professional career. He is one of six siblings, having five older brothers and sisters.

Regular season

|- |align="left"| |align="left"| Denver | 63 || 11 || 12.6 || .454 || .328 || .678 || 1.8 || .8 || .4 || .1 || 5.2 |- |align="left"| |align="left"| Toronto | 48 || 2 || 14.9 || .413 || .349 || .725 || 2.1 || 1.1 || .5 || .1 || 6.6 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 111 || 13 || 13.5 || .434 || .340 || .702 || 2.0 || .9 || .4 || .1 || 5.8


Playoffs

|- |align="left"| 2011 |align="left"| Denver | 1 || 0 || 2.0 || .000 || – || – || 1.0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0


External links

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