Rodney McGruder

Rodney McGruder
Born	(1991-07-29) July 29, 1991 Landover, Maryland, U.S.
Occupation	Professional basketball player
Years active	2013–present
Known for	Playing for Miami Heat, Los Angeles Clippers, Detroit Pistons, Olimpia Milano, Reyer Venezia

Rodney Christian McGruder (born July 29, 1991) is a professional basketball athlete from the United States currently playing for Reyer Venezia in Italy's top-tier league, the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). His collegiate basketball tenure was spent with the Kansas State Wildcats.

College career

Standing 6 feet 4 inches tall and playing as a shooting guard, McGruder hails from Landover, Maryland. He was an AAU teammate of Michael Beasley and followed him to Kansas State, where he competed under head coach Frank Martin. Over three seasons, he secured a starting position for the Wildcats. During his sophomore year in the 2010–11 season, McGruder, alongside backcourt partner Jacob Pullen, propelled Kansas State to a third-place finish in the Big 12 Conference, averaging 11.1 points and leading the team with 5.9 rebounds per game.

In his junior campaign, McGruder elevated his scoring average to 15.8 points per game and earned second-team All-Big 12 recognition.

As a senior in the 2012–13 season, he was selected as a preseason All-Big 12 player and named among the top 30 finalists for the prestigious Naismith College Player of the Year award. That year, McGruder guided the Wildcats to clinch first place in the Big 12 Conference.

Atomerőmű (2013–2014)

Following the 2013 NBA draft where he went undrafted, McGruder participated with the Orlando Magic during the Orlando Summer League and later joined the Charlotte Bobcats for the Las Vegas Summer League. He signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder on September 27, 2013, but was released on October 25 of the same year.

In November 2013, McGruder inked a deal with Hungary’s Atomerőmű SE for the 2013–14 campaign. Across 29 league appearances, he averaged 14.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per contest.

Maine Red Claws (2014–2015)

In July 2014, McGruder competed for the Golden State Warriors during the 2014 NBA Summer League. He signed with the Boston Celtics on September 29 but was waived by October 27. Shortly after, on October 31, he was acquired by the Maine Red Claws as an affiliate player. He took part in 26 games before being waived on March 26, 2015.

Sioux Falls Skyforce (2015–2016)

McGruder joined the Sioux Falls Skyforce on March 29, 2015. The following July, he represented the Miami Heat in the 2015 NBA Summer League. He returned to Sioux Falls on November 2, 2015, contributing to their league-best regular season record of 40–10 and ultimately aiding them in securing the D-League championship by defeating the Los Angeles D-Fenders in a three-game Finals series.

Miami Heat (2016–2019)

In July 2016, McGruder rejoined the Miami Heat for summer league action and subsequently signed a three-year contract with partial guarantees on July 7. He made his NBA debut on October 26, 2016, against the Orlando Magic, recording six points, three rebounds, and two steals over nearly 24 minutes off the bench. On February 6, 2017, he achieved a season-high of 15 points facing off against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

On October 12, 2017, McGruder was placed on indefinite injury leave due to a stress fracture in his left leg. After a brief assignment back with the Sioux Falls Skyforce, he returned to NBA action on February 27, 2018. The Miami Heat waived him on April 7, 2019, as part of adjustments to their roster and salary structure.

Los Angeles Clippers (2019–2020)

Following his release from Miami, McGruder was claimed off waivers by the Los Angeles Clippers on April 9, 2019, just two days later, bolstering their forward lineup.

Detroit Pistons (2020–2023)

McGruder was involved in a three-team trade on November 19, 2020, that sent him to the Detroit Pistons, while Justin Patton and Luke Kennard moved to the Clippers.

The Pistons waived McGruder on August 6, 2021, but he rejoined the team after signing again five days afterward.

On January 10, 2022, McGruder was traded together with a 2022 second-round draft pick through the Brooklyn Nets to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Bol Bol. However, the deal was nullified on January 13 when Bol did not pass his physical examination, resulting in McGruder returning to Detroit.

He secured a new contract with the Pistons on August 1, 2022.

On September 28, 2023, McGruder signed with the Golden State Warriors, but was released on October 20.

Olimpia Milano (2024)

McGruder inked a deal with EA7 Emporio Armani Milan of the Lega Basket Serie A and EuroLeague on January 10, 2024. He parted ways with the club on March 13 due to personal reasons abroad. Over seven EuroLeague appearances, he posted averages of 7.6 points and 2.6 rebounds while playing approximately 18 minutes per game.

Reyer Venezia (2024–present)

On October 4, 2024, McGruder signed with Reyer Venezia competing in Italy's Lega Basket Serie A (LBA).

Regular season

|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Miami | 78 || 65 || 25.2 || .413 || .332 || .620 || 3.3 || 1.6 || .6 || .2 || 6.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Miami | 18 || 2 || 16.6 || .493 || .429 || .500 || 1.8 || .9 || .4 || .2 || 5.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Miami | 66 || 45 || 23.5 || .403 || .351 || .722 || 3.6 || 1.7 || .5 || .2 || 7.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Clippers | 56 || 4 || 15.6 || .398 || .270 || .559 || 2.7 || .6 || .5 || .1 || 3.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Detroit | 16 || 2 || 12.1 || .529 || .458 || .750 || 1.4 || 1.0 || .5 || .1 || 5.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Detroit | 51 || 2 || 14.8 || .436 || .397 || .731 || 2.2 || .9 || .4 || .1 || 5.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Detroit | 33 || 12 || 15.9 || .408 || .423 || .818 || 2.2 || .8 || .5 || .0||5.5 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career |318||132||19.4||.420||.360||.672||2.8||1.2||.5||.2||5.7

Playoffs

|- | style="text-align:left;" | 2018 | style="text-align:left;" | Miami |4||0||4.0||.250||.000||—||1.0||||||0.5 |- | style="text-align:left;" | 2020 | style="text-align:left;" | L.A. Clippers |5||0||3.2||.600||.667||—||0.8||.4||||.1 |- class="sortbottom"

|style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career
|9||0||3.6||.444||.400||—||0.9||0.2||||1.1

EuroLeague

2023–24 EuroLeague	Olimpia Milano	7	2	18.1	.444	.300	.636	2.6	.9	.6		7.6	6.3
Career		7	2	18.1	.444	.300	.636	2.6	.9	.6		7.6	6.3

FIBA EuroChallenge

2013–14	Atomerőmű SE	6	6	28.5	.387	.286	.600	4.5	2.0	1.2		12.7
Career		6	6	28.5	.387	.286	.600	4.5	2.0	1.2		12.7

Domestic leagues

Season	Team	Competition	GP	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2013–14	Atomerőmű SE	NB I/A	29	27.8	.496	.216	.724	5.3	2.3	1.6	.3	14.4
2014–15	Maine Red Claws	D-League	26	22.9	.466	.333	.581	4.0	1.3	.5	.1	9.6
	Sioux Falls Skyforce	D-League	3	24.8	.529	.429	1.000	3.7	2.0	.3		7.3
2015–16	Sioux Falls Skyforce	D-League	48	37.5	.513	.384	.739	5.3	2.3	1.4	.3	15.8
2017–18	Sioux Falls Skyforce	G League	2	22.5	.433	.091	.000	5.0	1.0	.5		13.5
Olimpia Milano	Lega Basket Serie A	7	18.1	.444	.300	.636	2.6	.9	.6		7.6

College

Season	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball team	33	0	12.3	.495	.419	.720	2.8	0.5	0.3	0.3	3.9
Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball team	34	33	30.6	0.439	0.408	0.710	5.9	1.5	0.7	0.2	11.1
Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball team	33	33	32.9	0.463	0.385	0.802	5.2	1.4	1.2	0..3	15..8
Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball team	35	34	33..5	0..442	0..336	0..752	5..4	2..0	1..3	0..3	15..6
135	100	27..4	0..452	0..381	0..759	4..8	1..4	0..9	0..3	11..7

External links

• Profile at Kansas State Wildcats