Caleb Sylvester Swanigan (April 18, 1997 – June 20, 2022) was an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Purdue Boilermakers The Purdue Boilermakers are the official college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana. As is common with athletic nicknames, the Boilermakers nickname ...

. He was ranked among the top prep players in the national class of 2015 by Rivals.com, Scout.com and

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

. He completed his senior season in the 2014–15 academic year for Homestead High School in

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 census ...

, who went on to win the first state championship in the school's history. Swanigan was named

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

's Mr. Basketball and a

McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American multinational fast food chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese chain Mixue Ice Cream & Tea. Brothers ...

. Swanigan originally committed to

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

, but later decommitted and committed to

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

. He was named

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

Freshman of the Week three times, a record at Purdue. He was also named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team and also received a National Freshman of the Week award. Swanigan finished the season with 10.2 points per game and 8.3 rebounds per game. During his sophomore year, Swanigan was named the Big Ten Player of the Year and first-team All-Big Ten, and was a unanimous first-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

. He was a finalist for the 2017

Karl Malone Award The Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award is an annual basketball award given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the top men's collegiate power forward. Following the success of the Bob Cousy Award which had been awarded s ...

, given to the nation's top

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

. He was selected 26th overall in the first round of the

2017 NBA draft The 2017 NBA draft was held on June 22, 2017, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. ...

by the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

. Over his three-year NBA career, Swanigan had two stints with the Trail Blazers; he also played for the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

Early life

Swanigan grew up in an unstable home due to his father, Carl Swanigan Sr., who had a

crack cocaine Crack cocaine, commonly known simply as crack, and also known as rock, is a free base form of the stimulant cocaine that can be Smoking, smoked. Crack offers a short, intense Euphoria (emotion), high to smokers. The ''Manual of Adolescent Sub ...

addiction. Swanigan's mother, Tanya, had six children. Swanigan moved between

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

and

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

during his youth, spending time in homeless shelters. Swanigan inherited two key features from his biological father—height and a tendency to obesity. The elder Swanigan, who died in 2014 from complications from

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

, was and weighed nearly at his death. By the time Swanigan was entering eighth grade, he was and . His father had many brushes with the law, battled drug addiction for most of his adult life, and physically assaulted his wife. According to a story in

Bleacher Report ''Bleacher Report'' (often abbreviated as B/R) is a website that focuses on sports and sports culture. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and London. ''Bleacher Report'' was acquired by Time Warner's Turner B ...

, Swanigan was accidentally dropped by his mother as an infant, leaving a bruise on his face; this incident led her to move with her children to

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

. For the next decade, the family bounced between Indianapolis and Utah; he recalled that he lived in five different homeless shelters and attended 13 different schools by the time he was 13. When his mother decided to move the family to

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, his older brother Carl Jr., concerned that Caleb would keep gaining weight if he moved with his mother, called his former AAU basketball coach, Roosevelt Barnes, a former three-sport star at Purdue who played on the school's 1980 Final Four

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to in ...

and now a successful

sports agent A sports agent is a legal representative (hence agent (law), agent) for professional sports figures such as athletes and coaches. They procure and negotiate employment and Testimonial, endorsement contracts for the principal (commercial law), at ...

. Barnes, living in

, agreed to take Caleb in if he could

adopt Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...

him and raise him as his own son. Barnes adopted Swanigan prior to his 8th-grade year. Barnes addressed Swanigan's eating habits and, after receiving clearance from a cardiologist, began putting him through workouts similar to those Barnes himself went through in college. By the time Swanigan finished high school, he had slimmed down to .

High school career

In the fall of 2011, Swanigan attended a basketball camp led by NBA former coach John Lucas after Roosevelt Barnes convinced Lucas to let him into the invite-only camp in

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

. When it came to selecting his high school, Swanigan's guardian Barnes said, "When he chose his high school, his high school had never really done much in the tournament, and his goal was to win a state championship at a school where that had never been done before." Swanigan attended Homestead High School and wore the same number as Barnes, number 44. As a senior, he was named Indiana Mr. Basketball and led Homestead to a first-ever state title. He was ranked as a top-20 national prospect in his class. He was named a

. Swanigan averaged 22.6 points and 13.7 rebounds as a senior. Academically, Swanigan maintained a 3.1

GPA Grading in education is the application of standardized measurements to evaluate different levels of student achievement in a course. Grades can be expressed as letters (usually A to F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), percentages, or as num ...

and graduated in three years instead of the usual four. Swanigan finished his career at Homestead with records for career points (1,649) and rebounds (1,048), as well as the single-season points (704) and rebounding records (424). He was also second all time for career blocks (106) and assists (204).

National team career

Swanigan qualified for the 2014 U17 World Championship Team, beating out twenty other players vying for a spot to make the 12-man squad. Swanigan played in the U17 World Championship Game. The team finished with a 7–0 record and earned a gold medal in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, extending the USA's total record at the U17 World Championship Game to 23–0. He finished the series with 8.0 points per game and 5.7 rebounds per game, and was the most efficient player on the U17 team, with a 69.6 shooting percentage. Before starting his freshman season at Purdue, on June 18, 2015, Swanigan was announced as a member of the 12-man 2015 USA Basketball Men's U19 World Championship Team for the

2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship The 2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship (Greek: Παγκόσμιο Πρωτάθλημα FIBA Under-19 2015) was the 12th edition of the FIBA U19 World Championship, the biennial international men's youth basketball championship contested by t ...

that won a gold medal in Heraklion, Crete. On making the team, Swanigan said, "I always set goals for myself. I set goals for this spring. One of my goals is to make this team to end my high school career." To prepare for the games, Swanigan played in the Nike Hoop Summit, the McDonald's All American Game, and the Jordan Brand Classic. Swanigan did not take part in the Indiana-Kentucky All Star Game so he could attend the U19 training camp. He was one of five players returning from the gold medal-winning U17 squad. Swanigan's teammate

Vince Edwards Vince Edwards (born Vincent Edward Zoine; July 9, 1928 – March 11, 1996) was an American actor, director, and singer. He was best known for his TV role as Dr. Ben Casey and as Major Cliff Bricker in the 1968 war film '' The Devil's Brigade' ...

was also in the running to make the team, but was cut at the round of 16. The team finished 7–0, and Swanigan averaged 6.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.

College career

Recruiting

Swanigan had several teams recruit him and offer scholarships;

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

Cal Cal or CAL may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Cal'' (novel), a 1983 novel by Bernard MacLaverty * "Cal" (short story), a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov * ''Cal'' (1984 film), an Irish drama starring John Lynch and Helen Mir ...

and

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

were among the schools that gave Swanigan an offer. Caleb Swanigan verbally committed to

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...

on April 10, 2015, but decommitted on May 7. He said, "I just felt like it was better basketball-wise for me." Similar to his high school decision, Roosevelt Barnes said, "He wants to win a national championship and said he wants to do it in the state of Indiana and wanted to do it at a place he's never done it before." Some people believe Barnes had ulterior motives in adopting Swanigan, to which Barnes said, "Maybe if I wanted to develop the next hot dog-eating champion, the next Joey Chestnut, people would have a legitimate gripe." Swanigan had not consulted Barnes before he committed to Michigan State, and some believe that since Barnes played sports at Purdue he was a major influence in Swanigan decommitting from Michigan State. Barnes said that was not the reason Swanigan switched, and the primary reason for Swanigan choosing Purdue was the presence of two centers that were taller than 7 feet, Isaac Haas and

A. J. Hammons Aaron Jarrell Hammons (born August 27, 1992) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball, Purdue before being drafted by the Dallas Mavericks with the 46th overall p ...

, which allowed Swanigan to play the 4 spot. He decided to stay in-state and chose

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

on May 19. Swanigan announced his decision by tweeting "#BoilerUp". Swanigan was Purdue's first Indiana's Mr. Basketball recruit since

Glenn Robinson Glenn Alan Robinson Jr. (born January 10, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Big Dog" and "the Chosen One", he played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1994 to 2005 for the Milwaukee Bucks, Atl ...

in 1991, and was the first

for Purdue since 1996. Swanigan joined Ryan Cline and Grant Weatherford in Purdue's 2015 recruiting class.

2015–16 season

Swanigan chose to major in general education/educational studies. Swanigan chose the number 50 to honor his father who had died at 50 years old. Swanigan started every game his freshman year. His highest-scoring game was in a win against Wisconsin in Purdue's last regular-season game, where he scored 27 points and missed only one shot from the field. He scored six points and grabbed 10 rebounds in #4 Purdue's loss to #13 Arkansas–Little Rock in the

2016 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 2016 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the men's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 20 ...

, and did not play at all during the overtime period. After his freshman season, Swanigan was one out of 162 underclassmen to enter their names for the

2016 NBA draft The 2016 NBA draft was held on June 23, 2016, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. It was televised nationally in the U.S. by ESPN, and was live streamed for the first time in NBA draft history by The Vertical. National Basketball Association (NBA) ...

. However, despite being one of 63 invitees for the NBA draft combine that year, he ultimately decided to return to college on May 25, which was also the new date set for players to withdraw their names from the draft and try again for another year. An NBA scout said, "I think he has a chance if he can improve his jump shot and help defense. Big-time rebounder, works hard on his own. He's still more undersized

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

than

, though." Swanigan set several records as a freshman. He was ranked as a top-10 freshman nationally. He set Purdue program records for most rebounds by a freshman (282), games started (34), double-doubles (8) and rebounds per game (8.3). He was also the first major-college player in 25 years that had 600 points, 400 rebounds and 100 assists in a season.

2016–17 season

Similar to his freshman year, Swanigan started every game as a sophomore. Swanigan set his personal record for points against Norfolk State with 32, while shooting 83% from the field. Swanigan also managed to grab 20 rebounds, making it one of his four games with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds that year. As of March 6, 2017, Swanigan was second in the nation in rebounds per game (12.6) and led the nation in double doubles (25) for the 2016–17 season. He was rated first in CBS National Player of the Year voting. In his sophomore season, Swanigan broke several Purdue records, including rebounds in a season, double-doubles in a season, and an NCAA record with four 20–20 performances. Purdue finished as the regular season Big Ten Champions, but were knocked out in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament by Michigan, the eventual tournament champions. Purdue entered the 2017 NCAA men's basketball tournament as the 4th seed in the Midwest bracket and played

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

in the first round. Purdue came away with an 80–70 win for their first tournament win in five years, with Swanigan posting a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Purdue continued its tournament run against

Iowa State Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State be ...

in the second round. Swanigan flirted with a triple-double with 20 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists in Purdue's 80–76 win. In the Sweet Sixteen, Purdue squared off against

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

. Swanigan was 3-for-4 from the three-point line, finishing with 18 points and seven rebounds. Purdue ended their tournament run in a loss to the Jayhawks, 98–66. At the conclusion of the season, Swanigan announced he would declare for the NBA draft and not hire an agent, therefore maintaining his college eligibility for at least one more year, if necessary. Swanigan was expected to go in the late first or early second round of the NBA draft. Swanigan finished his academic career with a 3.60 GPA during his last semester, and maintained a cumulative GPA of 3.34. As a sophomore, Swanigan continued to set records at Purdue. He broke the school single-season record for rebounds, surpassing

Joe Barry Carroll Joe Barry Carroll (born July 24, 1958) is an American former professional basketball player and author who spent ten seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). After retiring from basketball, he became a wealth advisor, philanthropist ...

's record that was set in 1979 by recording a rebound against

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

in their February 21, 2017, matchup. Swanigan broke the single-season record for double-doubles at Purdue against #25 Northwestern by recording his 19th double-double. All Big Ten players combined for the last twenty years have two 20–20 games, and Swanigan had four in a single season. On June 22, 2020, the

Big Ten Network Big Ten Network (BTN) is an American sports network based in Chicago, Illinois. The channel is dedicated to coverage of College athletics, collegiate sports sanctioned by the Big Ten Conference, including live and recorded event telecasts, news ...

named Swanigan to the "All-Decade Basketball Team", placing him on their Third Team. Swanigan was one of 16 players honored by the Network for accomplishments between 2010 and 2019.

Professional career

Portland Trail Blazers (2017–2019)

On June 22, 2017, Swanigan was drafted in the first round (26th overall) by the

. On July 3, 2017, Swanigan signed with the Trail Blazers. On being drafted, Swanigan said: "Being selected tonight in the NBA draft is a dream come true. I have been thinking of this moment for a long time. I know this is only the first step in my professional career, but I am extremely excited for to begin this journey." Boilermakers coach

Matt Painter Matthew Curtis Painter (born August 27, 1970) is an American basketball coach and former player, who is the current and 19th head coach of the Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball, Purdue Boilermakers, serving in that role since 2005. He played ...

said, "We are thrilled that Biggie has achieved his lifelong dream of being selected in the NBA draft. It's been an incredibly tough road for him to get to this point and no one deserves it more than he does." Swanigan was the first Purdue basketball player to be drafted at the sophomore level or lower. During the 2017 NBA Summer League, Swanigan earned All-Summer League First Team honors for leading the Trail Blazers into the Summer League Finals, despite not winning the final. Swanigan received his first

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

assignment, starting December 22, 2017, with the

Canton Charge The Cleveland Charge are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Cleveland, and are affiliated with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Since 2024, the team plays its home games at Public Auditorium in downtown Cleveland, thoug ...

. On February 4, 2018, Portland recalled Swanigan back to the Trail Blazers. On December 30, he was assigned again to the G League, this time with the

Texas Legends The Texas Legends are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Frisco, Texas, and are affiliated with the Dallas Mavericks. The Legends play their home games at the Comerica Center. The team began as the Colorado 14 ...

Sacramento Kings (2019–2020)

On February 7, 2019, Swanigan was traded to the

in exchange for Skal Labissière. He was assigned to the G League franchise the

Stockton Kings The Stockton Kings are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Stockton, California, and are affiliated with the Sacramento Kings. The Kings play their home games at the Adventist Health Arena and compete in the G ...

on December 16.

Return to the Trail Blazers (2020)

On January 20, 2020, Swanigan was traded back to the

along with

Trevor Ariza Trevor Anthony Ariza (born June 30, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player who spent 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A small forward, Ariza played college basketball for one season with the UCLA Bruins ...

and

Wenyen Gabriel Wenyen Gabriel (born March 26, 1997) is a South Sudanese-American professional basketball player who last played for Panathinaikos of the Greek Basketball League (GBL) and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats, a ...

in exchange for Kent Bazemore, Anthony Tolliver and two future second-round picks. He opted out of playing with the Trail Blazers in the

2020 NBA Bubble The 2020 NBA Bubble was the bio-secure bubble at Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, that was created by the National Basketball Association (NBA) to protect its players from the COVID-19 pandemic during the final eight games ...

for personal reasons.

Post-basketball career and death

Following his departure from the NBA, Swanigan was charged with misdemeanor drug possession in 2021. A photo went viral around that time which showed he had regained significant weight. The photo and

Damian Lillard Damian Lamonte Ollie Lillard Sr. (born July 15, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Dame Time", he played college basketball for the Weber State Wi ...

's defense of Swanigan against online criticism received significant media coverage. On June 20, 2022, Swanigan died in a

hospital at age 25. The Allen County Coroner's Office reported that Swanigan "died of natural causes".

Career statistics

Sources:

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

, 34 , , 34 , , 25.7 , , .461 , , .292 , , .713 , , 8.3 , , 1.8 , , .4 , , .2 , , 10.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

, 35 , , 35 , , 32.5 , , .527 , , .447 , , .781 , , 12.5 , , 3.1 , , .4 , , .8 , , 18.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 69 , , 69 , , 29.2 , , .501 , , .376 , , .760 , , 10.4 , , 2.4 , , .4 , , .5 , , 14.4

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

, 27 , , 3 , , 7.0 , , .400 , , .125 , , .667 , , 2.0 , , .5 , , .2 , , .1 , , 2.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 18 , , 0 , , 8.1 , , .318 , , .200 , , .857 , , 2.9 , , .4 , , .2 , , .0 , , 1.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

, 3 , , 0 , , 11.0 , , .444 , , .000 , , .000 , , 4.0 , , 1.3 , , .7 , , .3 , , 2.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 7 , , 0 , , 3.3 , , .500 , , , , .500 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , .1 , , .3 , , .7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 20 , , 1 , , 13.3 , , .605 , , .000 , , .605 , , 4.7 , , 1.5 , , .1 , , .3 , , 3.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 75 , , 4 , , 8.7 , , .438 , , .118 , , .614 , , 2.9 , , .7 , , .2 , , .1 , , 2.4

NBA G League

Regular season

, - , align="left", 2017–18 , align="left" , Canton , 14 , , 12 , , 30.3 , , .500 , , .308 , , .673 , , 11.9 , , 2.6 , , 1.1 , , .9 , , 14.2 , - , align="left" , 2018–19 , align="left" , Stockton , 8 , , 3 , , 29.5 , , .462 , , .111 , , .714 , , 12.9 , , 2.4 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , 15.3 , - , align="left" , 2018–19 , align="left" ,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, 4 , , 3 , , 22.5 , , .500 , , .286 , , .667 , , 7.0 , , 1.8 , , .5 , , 1.0 , , 8.5 , - , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 26 , , 18 , , 28.8 , , .486 , , .262 , , .688 , , 11.4 , , 2.4 , , 1.0 , , .8 , , 13.7 , -

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, style="text-align:left;", Stockton , 1 , , 1 , , 36.0 , , .545 , , – , , .667 , , 17.0 , , 5.0 , , .0 , , 1.0 , , 14.0

Awards and honors

High school

Swanigan was named Indiana's Mr. Basketball and also was selected as a McDonald's All-American. He was selected as the

Gatorade Player of the Year The Gatorade Player of the Year awards are given annually to up and coming high school student-athletes in the United States. They are given for boys baseball, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls cross country, boys football, boys and girl ...

and the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association Underclass All-State first team. He was the All-USA Today Indiana Player of the year, and was selected to the Associated Press All-State Third Team.

College

In his freshman year, Swanigan earned the Big Ten Freshman of the week three times, a school record. He was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. Swanigan was also named the National Freshman of the Week on March 8, 2016. During his sophomore season, Swanigan was selected to the Preseason All-Big Ten Team. Swanigan received the Big Ten Player of the Week award six times, the second most in a season in conference history. Swanigan also was selected unanimously for the Big Ten Player of the Year in the coaches poll, the fourth in Purdue's history, and the AP Big Ten Player of the Year. He was named the Basketball Times National Player of the Year and to five All-America teams: USBWA, Sporting News, USA Today, Sports Illustrated and NBC Sports. Swanigan was named the Lute Olsen National Player of the Week two times. He was also the

Naismith Trophy The Naismith Trophy is a trophy awarded to the men's champion of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, and is named in honor of basketball's inventor, James Naismith. The trophy was first awarded to the winner of the 1967 FIBA World Championship. The ...

Player of the Week and Academic All-District. Swanigan was a top-four finalist for the

Naismith Award Naismith Award is a basketball award named after James Naismith, and awarded by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. Naismith Awards include: * Naismith College Player of the Year (men's and women's; NCAA Division I basketball) * Naismith College Coach of th ...

, the player of the year award, joining

Lonzo Ball Lonzo Anderson Ball (born October 27, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A point guard, he played college basketball for one season with the UCLA Bruins, earni ...

, Frank Mason and Josh Hart. Swanigan was also an Academic All-American for maintaining a 3.3 GPA. Swanigan was a unanimous selection for First Team All-Big Ten in both the coaches and media polls.

References

External links

Purdue Boilermakers bio

– college basketball player statistics at

Sports Reference Sports Reference, LLC is an American sports statistics company that operates databases of several sports. They include Pro Football Reference for American football, Baseball Reference for baseball, Basketball Reference for basketball, Hockey ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swanigan, Caleb 1997 births 2022 deaths 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Fort Wayne, Indiana Basketball players from Indianapolis Canton Charge players Centers (basketball) McDonald's High School All-Americans Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Portland Trail Blazers draft picks Portland Trail Blazers players Power forwards Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball players Sacramento Kings players Stockton Kings players Texas Legends players