Jonny Flynn
Jonny Flynn | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 6, 1989 Niagara Falls, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Professional basketball player (retired) |
| Years active | 2009–2015 |
| Known for | NBA player for Minnesota Timberwolves, Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers; college basketball at Syracuse Orange |
Jonny William Flynn (born February 6, 1989) is a retired American professional basketball athlete. Over three seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), he last competed with Orlandina Basket in Italy's Lega Basket Serie A and played college basketball for the Syracuse Orange.
High school career
Flynn was instrumental in guiding Niagara Falls High School to victory in both the 2005 New York state public high school championship and the federation championship. As a senior, he earned the title of New York State Mr. Basketball. Rivals.com ranked him as the No. 22 overall recruit and the fourth-best point guard nationally, with Scout.com offering a comparable assessment. He was honored as a 2007 McDonald's All-American and selected to participate in the 2007 USA Basketball Junior National Select Team at the Nike Hoop Summit. Flynn teamed up with Paul Harris, his former high school and college teammate, during summer league play for the Minnesota Timberwolves. In his final high school season, he averaged 26.7 points, 6.0 assists, 3.5 steals, and 3.3 rebounds per game.
In recognition of his achievements during The Buffalo News's 50th anniversary of All-Western New York (WNY) basketball selections in 2009, Flynn—who was twice named to the All-WNY first team—was placed on the third team of the All-time All-WNY roster alongside prominent players such as Gary Bossert and Jason Rowe.
College career
2007–08
Flynn made an immediate impact in his collegiate debut on November 12, 2007, scoring 28 points and surpassing the freshman debut scoring record previously held by Syracuse legend Carmelo Anthony. Later that season, he equaled this scoring output with another 28-point game against Pittsburgh in a losing effort. He shared the Big East Rookie of the Year award while posting averages of 15.7 points and 5.3 assists per contest. Alongside fellow freshman Donté Greene, Flynn formed one of the nation’s highest-scoring freshman duos, combining for an average of 33.4 points per game.
2008–09
Selected for the preseason All Big East team, Flynn began the season with a 27-point effort against Richmond. A week later, he recorded 25 points and nailed a decisive three-pointer to lead Syracuse to an overtime victory over No. 23 Kansas, earning MVP honors at the CBE Classic.
His athletic prowess was exemplified by an electrifying dunk against Rutgers on January 11, 2009, which energized his team during a close contest.
During the 2009 Big East men's basketball tournament, Flynn played a pivotal role in Syracuse’s extraordinary six-overtime quarterfinal win over Connecticut, logging 67 of the game’s 70 minutes while contributing 34 points and 11 assists and converting all 16 free throw attempts. He then played every minute of an overtime semifinal triumph over West Virginia, adding 15 points and nine assists. Despite Syracuse falling to Louisville in the championship match, Flynn was honored as tournament MVP—the fourth player ever to receive this award from a losing finalist.
In the subsequent 2009 NCAA tournament, Flynn led Syracuse’s scoring with 16 points and seven assists in a first-round win against Stephen F. Austin. He followed this with an 11-point, seven-assist performance in a victory over Arizona State that propelled Syracuse to their first Sweet Sixteen appearance since 2004.
On April 9, 2009, Flynn declared for the 2009 NBA draft but maintained his NCAA eligibility by initially refraining from hiring an agent. He later signed with Creative Artists Agency Sports under agent Leon Rose on April 15 and officially relinquished his remaining two years at Syracuse. Flynn was selected sixth overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves in that draft.
Professional career
Minnesota Timberwolves (2009–2011)
Selected sixth overall in the 2009 NBA draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves, Flynn was drafted one spot ahead of future two-time MVP Stephen Curry, both playing at point guard. General Manager David Kahn regarded Flynn as a potential franchise cornerstone at that position. During his rookie campaign, he averaged 13.5 points and 4.4 assists per game.
Flynn’s NBA debut on October 28, 2009 featured a comeback led by him from a nineteen-point deficit; he scored thirteen points in the final quarter to secure victory against the New Jersey Nets. On December 14, he sealed a win over the Utah Jazz with a game-winning layup while finishing with twenty-eight points. On January 18, 2010, he set a personal best by scoring twenty-nine points during an overtime win versus the Philadelphia 76ers. That season earned him All-Rookie second team recognition. On January 31, he grabbed a career-high eight rebounds in triumph over the New York Knicks.
Following hip surgery in summer 2010, Flynn experienced diminished performance levels during his second season; his averages fell to 5.3 points and 3.4 assists per game for the 2010–11 season, prompting questions about his tenure with Minnesota. Nevertheless, on March 2, 2011, he achieved a career-high fourteen assists in a victory against the Detroit Pistons.
Houston Rockets (2011–2012)
At the time of the 2011 NBA draft, Flynn was traded to the Houston Rockets along with Donatas Motiejūnas in exchange for Brad Miller, as well as the twenty-third and thirty-eighth draft picks plus a future first-round selection; those picks were later used to select Nikola Mirotić and Chandler Parsons, respectively.
Portland Trail Blazers (2012)
On March 15, 2012, Flynn was involved in a trade sending him to the Portland Trail Blazers, together with Hasheem Thabeet and a future second-round pick (which became Will Barton) in return for Marcus Camby.
Melbourne Tigers (2012–2013)
Flynn signed with the Detroit Pistons on October 1, 2012 but was released on October 22 before playing any regular-season games. Shortly thereafter, on November 5, he joined Australia’s Melbourne Tigers competing in the National Basketball League (NBL). In his first appearance for Melbourne, Flynn contributed twelve points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and one block as they defeated the Adelaide 36ers by a score of ninety-six to sixty-six.
When Kevin Lisch sustained an injury, Flynn was chosen as starting point guard for the South All-Stars during the NBL All-Star Game of that year; he recorded seven points, five rebounds, and ten assists within less than twenty minutes on court.
Flynn took part in NBA Summer League action in 2013 with both the Indiana Pacers (Orlando) and later with Los Angeles Clippers (Las Vegas), after which he exited from NBA competition permanently.
Orlandina (2014–2015)
In September of 2013, Flynn signed with China’s Sichuan Blue Whales of the Chinese Basketball Association but departed after one month due to injury issues. On August 30, 2014, he agreed to terms with Italy’s Orlandina Basket for their upcoming season in Serie A; however, after only two appearances he parted ways citing injury concerns.
National team career
Flynn represented Team USA at various youth levels: he competed with the USA Men’s U18 National Team at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship held in San Antonio, Texas in 2006 where he averaged 8.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists and recorded1.8 steals per game. Additionally, he participated at the USA Basketball U19 World Championships in 2007 where his squad secured silver medals; across nine games Flynn averaged nearly ten points per contest.
NBA career statistics
Template:NBA player statistics legend
Regular season
Template:NBA player statistics start |- | style="text-align:left;"| Template:Nbay | style="text-align:left;"| Minnesota | 81 || 81 || 28.9 || .417 || .358 || .826 || 2.4 || 4.4 || 1.0 || .0 || 13.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| Template:Nbay | style="text-align:left;"| Minnesota | 53 || 8 || 18.5 || .365 || .310 || .762 || 1.5 || 3.4 || .6 || .1 || 5.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| Template:Nbay | style="text-align:left;"| Houston | 11 || 0 || 12.3 || .293 || .222 || .786 || .7 || 2.5 || .3 || .1 || 3.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| Template:Nbay | style="text-align:left;"| Portland | 18 || 1 || 15.6 || .378 || .320 || .720 || 1.7 || 3.8 || .2 || .1 || 5.2 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 163 || 90 || 22.9 || .400 || .338 || .809 || 1.9 || 3.9 || .7 || .0 ||9.2
External links
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- 1989 births
- Living people
- American basketball players competing professionally in Australia
- American basketball players competing professionally in Italy
- Basketball athletes originating from New York (state)
- Players for the Houston Rockets
- McDonald's High School All-American basketball players
- Melbourne Tigers team members
- Minnesota Timberwolves draft selections
- Minnesota Timberwolves team members
- Parade High School All-American male basketball players
- Athletes from Niagara Falls, New York
- Point guard position players
- Portland Trail Blazers team members
- Sioux Falls Skyforce team players
- Syracuse Orange men's basketball team members
- American male basketball athletes
- 21st-century African-American male athletes
- 21st-century American male athletes
- Sioux Falls Skyforce players