Avery Bradley is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the NBA. He played college basketball for Texas Longhorns before being drafted 19th overall by the Celtics in the 2010 NBA Draft. A longtime starter for the Celtics, he has twice been recognized as an NBA All-Defensive Team member.
Bradley attended the University of Texas at Austin, as a freshman in 2009-2010, Bradley averaged 11.6 points for the Longhorns and established himself as one of the top defensive guards in the country. He subsequently earned Big 12 All-Rookie Team and All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors. In 2010, Bradley declared for the NBA drat, forgoing his final three years of college eligibility.
Bradley joined the Celtics at age 19 as one of the best in the Eastern Conference however, he did not see his first regular season action until the fourteenth game of the season, a win over the Atlanta Hawks. On January, 14 2011 Bradley was assigned to the Maine Red Claws of the NBA Development League, but after a spinal cord injury to Marquis Daniels, was recalled by the Celtics. Bradley did not see too much action during the 2010-2011 campaign but his contract was extended through the 2012-2013 season.
During the 2011-2012 season, Bradley enjoyed more plying time and became a starter following an injury to Ray Allen. His scoring output increased significantly during the season and earned a career-high 28 points playing the Atlanta Hawks on April 20, 2012. Bradley suffered a season ending dislocated shoulder and the Celtics lost to the Heat in Conference Finals.
2013-2014 ended an era for the Celtics when they traded Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, in addition, the Celtics declined to resign Bradley to a contract extension, so he became a restricted free agent in 2014. With the hiring of Brad Stevens as the Celtics new coach in 2014, Bradley became the team starting point guard. When things didn’t work out as point guard, Stevens moved Bradley to his natural position as shooting guard. Bradley sprained his ankle into the 2014 season and missed five games, shortly after returning on February 5, he re-sprained his ankle. Ultimately returning to action on March 14, he was able to score 23 points then followed it up with 28 points. When healthy, Bradley played significant minutes and was a contributor.
Bradley resigned with the Celtics in July 2015 for the 2014-2015 season, a four-year, $32 million contract. While Bradley struggled with offense for the beginning of the season, under guidance from Stevens and playing with Isiah Thomas, the Celtics improved and so did Bradley’s offensive output. The Celtics earned seventh seed spot in the Eastern Conference but was swept by the Cavs. Bradley played 40 out of 48 minutes in the last game of the series, but his 16 points was not enough to beat LeBron and the Cavs.
The 2015-2016 season brought success for Bradley regardless of a couple injuries he sustained starting 224 out of 226 games. He excelled in his new role during the 2015-2016 season. With a 48-34 record, the Celtics finished the regular season in a four-way tie for the third seed in the Eastern Conference. During the first series with the Atlanta Hawks, Bradley sustained a hamstring injury that sideline him for the rest of the series. While the Celtics lost to the Hawks during post-season play, Bradley’s sixth NBA season was both an individual and team success, it was capped off for Bradley when he is included in the NBA All-Defensive First Team.
