Jarred Vanderbilt

Jarred Vanderbilt
Born	(1999-04-03) April 3, 1999 Houston, Texas, U.S.
Occupation	Professional basketball player
Years active	2018–present
Known for	Playing in the NBA for the Los Angeles Lakers

Jarred Jakobi Vanderbilt (born April 3, 1999) is a professional basketball athlete from the United States who currently plays for the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Recognized as a former McDonald's All-American, Vanderbilt competed at the collegiate level with the Kentucky Wildcats before being chosen by the Denver Nuggets in the second round of the 2018 NBA draft.

Early life

Hailing from Houston, Texas, Vanderbilt is the son of Gwendolyn and Robert Vanderbilt, both of whom played college basketball. His brothers and sisters also participated in collegiate basketball programs. During his senior year at Victory Prep Academy in Houston, he averaged 28.5 points, 13.4 rebounds, and 8.8 assists per game.

Ranked among the elite recruits in the 2017 class by Scout.com, Rivals.com, and ESPN, Vanderbilt committed to play for Kentucky on December 23, 2016.

College career

Although expectations were high, injuries restricted Vanderbilt to just 14 games at Kentucky, where he posted averages of 5.9 points and 7.9 rebounds over 17 minutes per contest. Following that season, he entered the 2018 NBA draft.

Denver Nuggets (2018–2020)

In the 2018 NBA draft, Vanderbilt was picked 41st overall by the Orlando Magic but was immediately traded to the Denver Nuggets. He officially signed with Denver on July 11, 2018. Vanderbilt made his NBA debut on January 25, 2019, contributing modestly in a victory against the Phoenix Suns. On November 20, 2019, he was assigned to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the G League.

Minnesota Timberwolves (2020–2022)

Vanderbilt was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves on February 5, 2020. He made his first appearance for Minnesota on December 27, 2020, delivering a well-rounded performance. On January 23, 2021, he achieved a personal best with 16 points and 11 rebounds versus the New Orleans Pelicans.

He secured a new contract with the Timberwolves on September 15, 2021. Throughout the 2021–22 season, Vanderbilt started in 67 games and set career highs by averaging 6.9 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game. In April 2022, he played a key role in Minnesota’s play-in tournament win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Utah Jazz (2022–2023)

On July 6, 2022, Vanderbilt was part of a trade sending him to the Utah Jazz along with Malik Beasley, Patrick Beverley, Leandro Bolmaro, draft rights to Walker Kessler, four future first-round selections, and a pick swap in exchange for Rudy Gobert.

Los Angeles Lakers (2023–present)

Vanderbilt joined the Los Angeles Lakers on February 9, 2023, via a three-team trade involving the Minnesota Timberwolves. He made his debut two days later by contributing 12 points, eight rebounds, and four assists in a 109–103 victory over the Golden State Warriors.

On September 18, 2023, Vanderbilt agreed to a four-year contract extension worth $48 million with the Lakers. The fully guaranteed agreement includes a player option for its fourth year. On December 9, 2023, he played an instrumental role in helping the Lakers secure triumph in the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament.

National team experience

Vanderbilt secured a gold medal as part of the 2015 USA U16 National Team during the 2015 FIBA Americas Under-16 Championship. At the 2017 Nike Hoop Summit, he contributed 19 points in 19 minutes, aiding Team USA in their 98–87 victory against the World Select Team.

Regular season

|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Denver | 17 || 0 || 4.1 || .474 || .000 || .600 || 1.4 || .2 || .4 || .1 || 1.4 |- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2| | style="text-align:left;"|Denver | 9 || 0 || 4.6 || .714 || — || — || .9 || .2 || .3 || .1 || 1.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"|Minnesota | 2 || 0 || 2.6 || .000 || .000 || 1.000 || .5 || .0 || .0 || .0 || 1.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Minnesota | 64 || 30 || 17.8 || .606 || .200 || .559 || 5.8 || 1.2 || 1.0 || .7 || 5.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Minnesota | 74 || 67 || 25.4 || .587 || .143 || .656 || 8.4 || 1.3 || 1.3 || .6 || 6.9 |- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2| | style="text-align:left;"|Utah | 52 || 41 || 24.1 || .556 || .333 || .657 || 7.9 || 2.7 || 1.0 || .3 || 8.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"|L.A. Lakers | 26 || 24 || 24.1 || .529 || .303 || .784 || 6.7 || 1.6 || 1.2|| .2||7.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|L.A. Lakers |29||6||20.0||.518||.296||.667||4.8||1.2||1.2||.2||5.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|L.A. Lakers |36||2||16.1||.488||.281||.556||5.1||1.1||1.0||.3||4.1 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career |309||170||20.0||.560||.288||.638||6.2||1.4||1.1||.4||5.9

Playoffs

|- | style="text-align:left;" |2019 | style="text-align:left;" |Denver |3||0||1.7||—||—||—||0.3||0.0||0.0||0.3||0 |- | style="text-align:left;" |2022 | style="text-align:left;" |Minnesota |6||6||21.5||.481|||—|||'.700|||7.2|||'.7|||1.2|||'.3|||5.5 |- |- | style="text-align:left;" |2023 |- | style="text-align:left;" |L.A.Lakers |- |15|||13|||16,5|||400|||241|||700|||32|||08|||07|||08|||46 |- |- |style=text-align-left; | 2025 |- |style=text-align-left; | L.A.Lakers |- |5|||0|||12,0|||333|||000|||750|||38|||10|||06|||02|||14 |- class=sortbottom |- |style=text-align-center colspan=2 | Career |- |29|||19|||15,2|||419|||233|||706|||38|||07|||07|||06|||38

College

|- | style="text-align:left;"|2017–18 | style="text-align:left;"|Kentucky | 14 || 0 || 17.0 || .426 || .000 || .632 || 7.9 || 1.0 || .4 || .8 || 5.9

Personal life

Since 2020, Vanderbilt has maintained a vegan lifestyle, which he originally embraced as a short-term, one-month experiment.

External links

• Kentucky Wildcats profile