Gary Neal (born October 3, 1984) is an American former

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 ...

professional player and coach. 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 La Salle Explorers and

Towson Tigers The Towson Tigers, formerly the ''Towson College Knights'', are the athletics teams of Towson University. All of the major athletic teams compete in the Coastal Athletic Association with 19 Division I athletic teams (13 in women's sports, 6 in me ...

. Neal began his professional career abroad with teams in Turkey, Spain and Italy before signing with the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

in 2010. He mostly played the

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game ...

position.

High school career

Born in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, Neal attended Aberdeen High School for three years. At Aberdeen, he was teammates with future George Mason standout, forward-center Jai Lewis. As a junior, Neal led Aberdeen to a 21–4 record and won their state championship, while averaging a triple double per game. For his senior year, he enrolled at Calvert Hall College High School, to play in the Baltimore Catholic League. He played alongside Jack McClinton, who was drafted by the

in the

2009 NBA draft The 2009 NBA draft was held on June 25, 2009, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In this draft, the National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball p ...

College career

As a freshman, Neal was the Atlantic Ten Rookie of the Year. He led the La Salle Explorers in scoring with an 18.6 average during his two seasons for the Explorers. Before the 2004–05 season, Neal was dismissed from the team due to a rape allegation by a

University of New Haven The University of New Haven (UNH) is a private university in West Haven, Connecticut, United States. History The University of New Haven was founded in 1920 as the New Haven YMCA Junior College, a division of Northeastern University, which sha ...

women's basketball player who was working at La Salle camp. Neal was later acquitted after prosecutors failed to convince a jury that the woman was too drunk to consent to sex. Neal sat out the 2004–05 season to transfer to

Towson University Towson University (TU or Towson) is a public university in Towson, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1866 as Maryland's first training school for teachers, Towson University is a part of the University System of Maryland. Since its foundin ...

. He initially joined Towson with no athletic aspirations, but was given a walk-on spot on their basketball team in 2005–06 conditional on the result of his rape case. Neal was activated as soon as he was acquitted, and received a scholarship for his senior year in 2006–07. That year, he returned to high-scoring numbers averaging 25.3 points per game, 3.5 assists per game, 4.2 rebounds per game, and he led the Tigers to the second round of the 2007 CAA conference tournament, before losing to

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (ODU) is a Public university, public research university in Norfolk, Virginia, United States. Established in 1930 as the two-year Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary, it began by educating people with fewer ...

. He became the fourth basketball player in NCAA history to score at least 1,000 points with two different schools.

Professional career

Pinar Karsiyaka (2007–2008)

Neal was eligible in the

2007 NBA draft The 2007 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2007, at the WaMu Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It was broadcast on television in 115 countries. In this draft, National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amate ...

in June and was projected to be on the bubble to get drafted. Neal went

undrafted In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

. When playing for

Pınar Karşıyaka Pınar is a common feminine Turkish given name A Turkish name consists of an ''ad'' or an ''isim'' (given name; plural ''adlar'' and ''isimler'') and a ''soyadı'' or ''soyisim'' (surname). Turkish names exist in a "full name" format. While th ...

, Neal led the Turkish

Basketball Super League 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 ...

in scoring, averaging 23.6 points per game.

FC Barcelona, Benetton Treviso, and Unicaja Málaga (2008–2010)

Eventually,

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...

bought out Neal's Pınar Karşıyaka contract. He was signed by FC Barcelona in January 2008. In Barcelona he averaged 2.3 points per game in the

Euroleague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

and 3.3 points per game in the ACB with Barcelona during the 2007–08 season. In June 2008, Neal was signed by the Italian

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

outfit Benetton Treviso. With Benetton, he was named to the

EuroCup Basketball EuroCup Basketball, commonly known as the EuroCup and currently called BKT EuroCup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual professional basketball club competition organized by Euroleague Basketball. The league is regarded as Euroleague Basketbal ...

(the league below the

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

level)

All-EuroCup Second Team The EuroCup Basketball All-EuroCup Team is an annual award of the secondary level European-wide professional club basketball league, the EuroCup. The EuroCup is the European-wide professional basketball league that is one tier level below the ...

during the 2008–09 season. Neal then joined the Spanish club Unicaja Málaga, where he finished the 2009–10 season, averaging 12.6 points per game in Spanish League play.

San Antonio Spurs (2010–2013)

On July 22, 2010, the

of the

NBA 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 ...

signed Neal to a three-year deal. In the

2010–11 NBA season The 2010–11 NBA season was the 65th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The 2011 NBA All-Star Game was played on February 20, 2011, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Chicago's Derrick Rose was named the 2010–11 NBA MVP. Th ...

, Neal played 80 games and started one and scored 45.1% of his field goal attempts, 41.9% of three-pointers, and 80.8% of free throws; he also averaged 9.8 points per game and 2.5 rebounds per game. On April 27, 2011, during game 5 of the first round of the NBA playoffs and the Spurs trailing the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division of the ...

97–94 and the series 3–1, Neal hit a three-pointer with 1.7 seconds left in the fourth quarter. The Spurs beat the Grizzlies 110–103 in overtime and forced a sixth game in the series. However, the Spurs lost Game 6 to the Grizzlies 99–91 and were eliminated from the playoffs in the first round. In 22 minutes that game, Neal scored 8 points and made 5 rebounds, one assist, and one steal. On January 2, 2012, the Spurs assigned Neal to the

Austin Toros Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

as he recovered from an

appendectomy An appendectomy (American English) or appendicectomy (British English) is a Surgery, surgical operation in which the vermiform appendix (a portion of the intestine) is removed. Appendectomy is normally performed as an urgent or emergency procedur ...

. However, he was recalled on the next day without playing any games for the Toros. On December 10, 2012, Neal scored an NBA career-high 29 points to go along with his career-high 7 3-pointers made in a win against the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

in overtime. On June 11, 2013, in Game 3 of the

2013 NBA Finals The 2013 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2012–13 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs, played from June 6 to 20, 2013. In this best-of-seven series, the defending champion and ...

, Neal scored a career playoff-high of 24 points on 9 of 17 from the field, including 6 of 10 three-pointers to help lead the Spurs to a blowout 113–77 victory over the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

. The 6 made three-point shots was an NBA Finals single-game record for undrafted players that stood until Duncan Robinson achieved 7 in the

2020 NBA Finals The 2020 NBA Finals was the NBA Finals, championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2019–20 NBA season, 2019–20 season and conclusion of 2020 NBA playoffs, the season's playoffs. In this best-of-seven playoff series, th ...

. However, the Spurs lost the series in seven games.

Milwaukee Bucks (2013–2014)

On July 30, 2013, Neal signed with the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets (2014–2015)

On February 20, 2014, Neal and

Luke Ridnour Lukas Robin Ridnour (born February 13, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player who played 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Oregon Ducks. Early life Ridnour was born ...

were traded to the Charlotte Bobcats in exchange for Jeff Adrien and

Ramon Sessions Ramon Darrell Sessions (born April 11, 1986) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Nevada Wolf Pack, earning WAC All-Newcomer Team as a freshman and second-team All-WAC as a junior. He was dr ...

. In April 2014, Charlotte changed their name to the Hornets. On December 12, 2014, he had his best game since the 2012–13 season with the Spurs when he scored 25 points in the Hornets' 107–113 double-overtime loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.

Minnesota Timberwolves (2015)

On February 10, 2015, Neal was traded, along with Miami's 2019 second-round draft pick, to the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

in exchange for Mo Williams,

Troy Daniels Troy Daniels (born July 15, 1991) is an American professional basketball player who last played for Olimpia Milano of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), whe ...

and cash considerations.

Washington Wizards (2015–2016)

On July 9, 2015, Neal signed with the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

. During the 2015–16 season, he missed 23 games due to injury, forcing the Wizards to waive him on March 9, 2016.

Westchester Knicks (2016–2017)

On December 16, 2016, Neal was acquired by the

Westchester Knicks The Westchester Knicks are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in White Plains, New York, and are affiliated with the New York Knicks. The Knicks play their home games at Westchester County Center in White Plains, N ...

of the

. Ten days later, he made his debut with Westchester in a 118–114 loss to the

Long Island Nets The Long Island Nets are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Uniondale, New York, and are affiliated with the Brooklyn Nets. The team plays its home games at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Nassau County ...

, recording four points, one rebound and one steal in 13 minutes off the bench.

Texas Legends (2017)

On January 2, 2017, Neal was traded to 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 ...

in exchange for a 2017 third-round draft pick. Four days later, he made his debut for the Legends in a 148–122 loss to the

Sioux Falls Skyforce The Sioux Falls Skyforce are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and are affiliated with the Miami Heat. The team has played its home games in the Sanford Pentagon since the 2013–14 ...

, recording 18 points, four rebounds, three assists and one steal in 26 minutes off the bench.

Atlanta Hawks (2017)

On January 18, 2017, Neal signed a 10-day contract with the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

. On January 28, 2017, after his 10-day contract expired, he parted ways with the Hawks and re-joined the Legends.

Reno Bighorns (2017)

On January 30, 2017, Neal was traded to the Reno Bighorns in exchange for a 2017 fourth-round draft pick.

Tecnyconta Zaragoza (2017–2018)

On September 23, 2017, Neal signed with Spanish club Tecnyconta Zaragoza for the

2017–18 ACB season The 2017–18 Liga ACB, ACB season, also known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, was the 35th season of the Spanish basketball league. It started on 29 September 2017 with the first round of the regular season and ended on 19 June 2018 with ...

. He was named Player of the Month of November after averaging 22.7 points and four assists in the three matches played during the month. On 24 May 2018, he finished in third place in voting for the Liga ACB

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

of the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

Banvit (2018–2019)

On December 14, 2018, Neal signed with Turkish club Banvit.

Coaching career

Towson Tigers (2019–2021)

On August 27, 2019, Neal joined the Towson coaching staff for the 2019–20 season as a graduate manager.

Calvert Hall Cardinals (2021–2024)

In 2021, Neal was named as the head coach of the varsity basketball team at his alma mater, Calvert Hall College High School. He was also employed as a social studies teacher at the school. Neal resigned as head coach on March 15, 2024. He finished his head coaching tenure with an overall record of 45–59 over three seasons.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

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, 56 , , 7 , , 21.5 , , .436 , , .419 , , .781 , , 2.1 , , 2.1 , , .5 , , .0 , , 9.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

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Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, 30 , , 2 , , 20.2 , , .390 , , .360 , , .833 , , 1.7 , , 1.5 , , .2 , , .0 , , 10.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Charlotte , 22 , , 1 , , 23.0 , , .438 , , .406 , , .961 , , 1.8 , , 1.7 , , .5 , , .0 , , 11.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Charlotte , 43 , , 0 , , 21.7 , , .359 , , .293 , , .863 , , 2.2 , , 1.9 , , .4 , , .0 , , 9.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, 11 , , 1 , , 23.8 , , .429 , , .355 , , .879 , , 3.2 , , 1.8 , , .6 , , .0 , , 11.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, 40 , , 2 , , 20.2 , , .465 , , .410 , , .855 , , 2.1 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , .0 , , 9.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, 2 , , 0 , , 9.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , .5 , , .5 , , .0 , , .0 , , 2.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 352 , , 31 , , 21.3 , , .422 , , .382 , , .850 , , 2.2 , , 1.6 , , .4 , , .0 , , 9.9

Playoffs

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2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

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, 6 , , 0 , , 18.5 , , .370 , , .263 , , 1.000 , , 3.0 , , .8 , , .2 , , .2 , , 7.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

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, 14 , , 0 , , 15.5 , , .476 , , .444 , , .846 , , 1.3 , , 1.4 , , .1 , , .0 , , 7.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

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, 21 , , 0 , , 18.6 , , .385 , , .348 , , 1.000, , 2.1 , , .7 , , .1 , , .0 , , 6.8 , - , align="left" ,

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

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High school career

College career

Professional career

Pinar Karsiyaka (2007–2008)

FC Barcelona, Benetton Treviso, and Unicaja Málaga (2008–2010)

San Antonio Spurs (2010–2013)

Milwaukee Bucks (2013–2014)

Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets (2014–2015)

Minnesota Timberwolves (2015)

Washington Wizards (2015–2016)

Westchester Knicks (2016–2017)

Texas Legends (2017)

Atlanta Hawks (2017)

Reno Bighorns (2017)

Tecnyconta Zaragoza (2017–2018)

Banvit (2018–2019)

Coaching career

Towson Tigers (2019–2021)

Calvert Hall Cardinals (2021–2024)

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links