Renaldo Miguel Balkman (born July 14, 1984) is a Puerto Rican professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player, who most recently played for the Mets de Guaynabo of the

Baloncesto Superior Nacional The Baloncesto Superior Nacional, abbreviated as BSN, is the first-tier-level professional men's basketball league in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1929 and is organized by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation. The Baloncesto Superior Nac ...

(BSN). He also represents the Puerto Rican national team. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the University of South Carolina before being selected with the 20th overall pick of the 2006 NBA draft by the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associa ...

. After spending six seasons with the New York Knicks and

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

in the

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

(NBA), he played since the 2012–13 season in several leagues around the world, among which are

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...

(PBA),

Asean Basketball League The ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) is a professional men's basketball league in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong/Macau, which includes six teams from Southeast Asian nations (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam), one tea ...

(ABL), Mexican LNBP, Venezuelan LPB and

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA De ...

Early life and education

Balkman was born in

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, and prior to attending

Laurinburg Institute Laurinburg Institute is a historic African American preparatory school in Laurinburg, North Carolina. The school was founded in 1904 by Emmanuel Monty and Tinny McDuffie at the request of Booker T. Washington. Emmanuel McDuffie was a graduate ...

, he was at IMG Academy in

Bradenton, Florida Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698. History Late 18th and early 19th centuries ...

. At Laurinburg, he led his team to 40–2 record and No. 1 national prep school ranking.

College career

Recruitment

Balkman was a little known player in high school at the Laurinburg Institute, but he was discovered in 2002 by University of South Carolina head coach

Dave Odom George David Odom (born October 9, 1942) is a retired American men's college basketball coach. He served as the head coach of the East Carolina Pirates, Wake Forest Demon Deacons and South Carolina Gamecocks. Playing career Odom began his caree ...

, who instantly saw his potential. According to Odom, "I remember the first time I saw Renaldo Balkman. I was sitting in Orlando in a gym with (South Carolina assistant coach) Barry Sanderson and I asked him 'who is that kid with the dreadlocks? That's the guy we need'. He came back and said nobody knows his name." Balkman was recruited and signed by Carolina, having received little to no interest from any other major basketball programs.

Playing career

Balkman played an integral role in South Carolina's two wins over eventual national champion Florida during the 2005–06 college basketball season. He was also the 2006 NIT Most Valuable Player, averaging 9.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.3 blocks per game. Balkman's highlight for the season was a team-leading 28-point, 16-rebound, 4-steal performance in a 67–56 win over

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

on February 14, 2006. He was 11 of 15 from the field and also had a team-high 2 blocks. For Balkman, a defensive banger whose style Knicks general manager

Isiah Thomas Isiah Lord Thomas III (born April 30, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player and coach who is an analyst for '' NBA TV''. The 12-time NBA All-Star was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History as well as the 75 Gre ...

had likened to

Dennis Rodman Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. Known for his fierce defensive and rebounding abilities, his biography on the official NBA website states that he is "arguably the best rebounding ...

and Ron Artest, the 2006 NIT MVP award was a fitting capper to a three-year college career that produced 7.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and a .553 shooting average.

Professional career

NBA Draft

The Knicks' choice of Balkman in the first round surprised many, notably ESPN's

Jay Bilas Jay Scot Bilas (born December 24, 1963) is an American college basketball analyst who currently works for ESPN. Bilas is a former professional basketball player and coach who played for and served as an assistant under Mike Krzyzewski at Duke Un ...

, who noted that projected lottery pick Marcus Williams was still available as well as future All-Star guard

Rajon Rondo Rajon Pierre Rondo (, born February 22, 1986) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A point guard, Rondo played two years of college basketball for ...

. ESPN columnist

Bill Simmons William John Simmons III (born September 25, 1969) is an American sports analyst, author, podcaster, and former sports writer who is the founder and CEO of the sports and pop culture website '' The Ringer''. Simmons first gained attention wi ...

, among others, joked that perhaps

thought he was drafting

Rolando Blackman Rolando Antonio Blackman (born February 26, 1959) is a Panamanian-American former professional basketball player. He was a four-time NBA All-Star who spent most of his career with the Dallas Mavericks. Blackman was born in Panama City, Panam ...

, a former Knicks player and NBA All-Star. However, other analysts praised Balkman's work ethic and attitude, as he had transformed himself from a relatively unknown player into a first-round NBA draft pick over the course of a few months. There was further controversy when Thomas claimed that the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Pacific Division (NBA), P ...

were prepared to take him; the Suns claimed that he was not even "on heirradar". In the NBA's official draft guide, which was released to all reporters covering the draft, Balkman was not included in the list of the 300 top players eligible to be drafted in the 2006–07 rookie class. However, the Knicks selected Balkman with their first of two draft picks, which was 20th overall. The Knicks later selected

Mardy Collins Maurice Rodney "Mardy" Collins (born August 4, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. He completed his college basketball career at Temple University, and was drafted by the New York Knicks with the 29th pick of the first rou ...

with the 29th pick. It has also been speculated that Thomas and the Knicks selected Balkman because his agent, Andre Buck, who worked with Leon Rose, who was the agent of the then soon-to-be free agent

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest pl ...

. In the

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Summer League before the 2006–07 season, Balkman averaged 7.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.4 steals, 1 block and 2.4 turnovers during the span of 5 games. He played along Knick teammates

Channing Frye Channing Thomas Frye (born May 17, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player. A power forward- center, he played college basketball for the University of Arizona. He was drafted eighth overall by the New York Knicks in the 2005 ...

, David Lee,

Nate Robinson Nathaniel Cornelius Robinson (born May 31, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. Born in Seattle, Robinson played college basketball for the University of Washington in Seattle and was the 21st pick in the 2005 NBA draft. ...

and Mardy Collins, also represented by Buck.

New York Knicks

During his first season, Balkman played in 68 games, averaging 15.6 minutes, 4.9 points, and 4.3 rebounds. He logged four

double-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

s and showed promise, particularly on the defensive end where he was called upon to guard multiple positions, from shooting guard to center. The press praised Balkman, describing him as a "sparkplug off the bench" and a "crowd favorite for his hustle and enthusiastic defense," though he was criticized for his poor outside shooting. Balkman also led the league's rookies in steals plus blocks per 48 minutes. The 2007–08 season saw a decline in most of Balkman's stats. He played in 65 games, averaging 14.6 minutes, 3.4 points, and 3.3 rebounds per game.

Denver Nuggets

On July 28, 2008, Balkman was traded to the

along with cash considerations in exchange for Taurean Green,

Bobby Jones Bobby or Bobbie may refer to: People * Bobby (given name), a list of names * Bobby (actress), from Bangladesh * Bobby (rapper) (born 1995), from South Korea * Bobby (screenwriter) (born 1983), Indian screenwriter * Bobby, old slang for a const ...

, and a second-round pick in the 2010 draft. The Knicks quickly waived both Green and Jones, solidifying the fact that the deal was a salary dump. Knicks coach

Mike D'Antoni Michael D'Andrew D'Antoni (born May 8, 1951) is an Italian-American professional basketball coach and former player who is a coaching advisor for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). While head coach of the Ph ...

stated, "Renaldo really had no role after we drafted (Danilo) Gallinari, and with the emergence of Wilson Chandler his minutes would be nonexistent, so it really wasn’t fair to him to keep him in a spot that he wouldn’t play and also gives us an opportunity to clear up a roster spot and move on." Said Balkman, "I'm going to make the best of my opportunity. New York was great, but that's in my past now. Denver is my future." During the 2008–09 season, Balkman played in 53 games, averaging 5.0 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. He also started 10 games, after

Kenyon Martin Kenyon Lee Martin Sr. (born December 30, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who played 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a power forward, he played for the New Jersey Nets, Denver Nuggets, Los ...

was injured. His best game was on March 14, 2009, against the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

. Balkman scored a double-double, with 22 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Balkman barely played during the 2009–10 season, averaging 1.1 points and 1.8 rebounds in 7 minutes per game. He only played in 13 games, never scoring in double figures. Balkman again began the 2010–11 season as part of the Nuggets bench. He was scarcely used, playing in only 5 games, and averaging 2.6 points and 0.8 rebounds per game. His most notable game was on December 29, 2010, against the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

, where he scored 10 points in 19 minutes, including four dunks.

Back to New York

On February 22, 2011, Balkman was reacquired by the

in a blockbuster trade which also brought

Carmelo Anthony Carmelo Kyam Anthony (born May 29, 1984) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been named an NBA All-Star ten times and an All-NBA Team m ...

Chauncey Billups Chauncey Ray Billups (born September 25, 1976) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 17 seasons in the NBA. Afte ...

Shelden Williams Shelden DeMar Williams (born October 21, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "The Landlord", he played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils, and later played in the NBA for parts of seven seasons. William ...

, and

Anthony Carter Anthony or Tony Carter may refer to: Sports American football *Anthony Carter (American football) (born 1960), wide receiver * Tony Carter (running back) (born 1972), American football player * Tony Carter (cornerback) (born 1986), American footba ...

to New York. However, Balkman only played in three games after returning to New York. Balkman rarely saw game time during the 2011–12 season, playing only in 14 games, and averaging 3 points and 1.9 rebounds per game. He was released by the team on February 17, 2012, to make room on the roster for Jeremy Lin.

Philippines

On January 9, 2013, Balkman signed with the Petron Blaze Boosters of the

to play in the 2013 Commissioner's Cup. On March 8, 2013, in a game against the Alaska Aces for a battle to earn the top spot, Balkman had a major outburst when he claimed he was fouled after shooting an airball inside the paint. Balkman argued with the referees, but when his argument was ignored, he shoved referees and pushed coaches and teammates that tried to calm him. After physically confronting the first referee, assistant coach Biboy Ravanes tried to calm him down but Balkman shoved Ravanes out of the way. After this, he moved to the second referee and again argued and initiated contact. At this point, Ronald Tubid, a teammate of Balkman, tried to get between him and the second referee. Balkman then moved to the third official, while being shadowed by Tubid, until he shoved Tubid out of the way. This is when another teammate, Arwind Santos, tried to intervene by putting himself between the third referee and Balkman. However, Balkman continued with his aggressive behavior, slapping Santos' arm and eventually shoving him. When Santos pushed him back, Balkman pushed him once again and then grabbed Santos' neck as their teammates tried to separate them. Balkman later apologized via his

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

account. He said he apologized to his teammates, Santos and Santos' family as well as the team's management, and added, "Everybody does something once in a life, they're not supposed to do. At the time I blanked out and went at it. ..It's my first time ever in my entire life to do that." On March 11, 2013, Balkman was banned from the PBA. He was also fined P250,000. In seven games for Petron, Balkman averaged 25 points, 13.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.7 blocks per game. On March 27, 2018, the lifetime ban was lifted by the PBA, after gaining the approval from Santos, former commissioner

Chito Salud Angelico Tiu Salud (born June 17, 1962), better known as Chito Salud, is a Filipino lawyer and sports executive who currently serves as team governor of the Converge Fiber Xers in PBA. He was the first president and CEO of the Philippine Basketba ...

and incumbent commissioner

Willie Marcial Wilfrido "Willie" O. Marcial (born October 12, 1961) is a Filipino sports executive who serves as the tenth commissioner of the Philippine Basketball Association. He became the league's officer-in-charge after Chito Narvasa resigned on December 31 ...

Latin America

On March 27, 2013, Balkman signed with Guaiqueríes de Margarita of the

Liga Profesional de Baloncesto The Superliga Profesional de Baloncesto, commonly known as the SPB, is the Venezuelan first division national professional basketball league. Founded in 1974 as the Liga Especial de Baloncesto, it adopted the name Liga Profesional de Baloncesto i ...

. He left Guaiqueríes after 13 games. On May 1, 2013, Balkman signed with

Brujos de Guayama Brujos de Guayama is a Puerto Rican professional basketball team of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional based in Guayama, Puerto Rico. Despite being in the league since 1971, the team has not won any BSN Championships but have made 2 finals appeara ...

of the

. On September 30, 2013, Balkman signed with the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Southwest Division. The ...

. However, he was later waived by the Mavericks on October 22, 2013. In December 2013, Balkman signed with Halcones Rojos Veracruz of Mexico for the rest of the 2013–14 season. In April 2014, Balkman joined

Capitanes de Arecibo The Capitanes de Arecibo are a Puerto Rican professional basketball team based in Arecibo that competes in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN) league. In 2010, the team also had the distinction to play in the Premier Basketball League (PBL) u ...

for the 2014 BSN season.

Texas Legends

On October 24, 2014, Balkman re-signed with the Dallas Mavericks, only to be waived the next day. On November 3, 2014, he was acquired by 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 1 ...

as an affiliate player.

Puerto Rico / Mexico

On March 8, 2015, Balkman left Texas and returned to Capitanes de Arecibo. On December 15, 2015, Balkman left Arecibo to sign with Fuerza Regia of the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

, but was released on December 28 after leaving the club without notification.

Return to the Philippines

On January 1, 2018, Balkman returned to the Philippines, playing for

ASEAN Basketball League The ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) is a professional men's basketball league in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong/Macau, which includes six teams from Southeast Asian nations (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam), one tea ...

side San Miguel Alab Pilipinas. He, together with Barangay Ginebra import Justin Brownlee replaced Reggie Okosa and Ivan Johnson (who, like Balkman, had a controversial stint in the country's domestic league, the PBA, and was also once banned from) as imports for the team.

Latin America

On January 19, 2021, Balkman signed with Real Estalí of Nicaragua in the 2nd season of the BCL Americas.

National team career

2010 Centrobasket

In the

2010 Centrobasket The 2010 Men's Central American and Caribbean Basketball Championship, also known as 2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjaf ...

held in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

, Balkman helped

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

win the gold medal after defeating

89–80. Balkman was the top rebounder for Puerto Rico, with eight.

2010 Central American Games

In the

2010 Central American and Caribbean Games The 21st Central American and Caribbean Games (Spanish: ''XXI Juegos Centroamericanos y del Caribe, Mayagüez 2010'') took place in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, from 18 July 2010 to 1 August 2010. Bid It was understood that Mayagüez was going to ...

held in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, Balkman helped Puerto Rico defeat Mexico 82–77 to win the gold medal.

2011 Pan American Games

In the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games, was an international multi-sport event that was held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán, ...

held in Guadalajara, Mexico, Balkman helped Puerto Rico defeat Mexico 74–72 to win the gold medal. He recorded 28 points and 12 rebounds in the win.

2013 FIBA Americas Championship

Balkman played at the 2013 FIBA Americas Championship, where he won a silver medal. He was named to the All-Tournament Team.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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, 68 , , 1 , , 15.6 , , .505 , , .185 , , .567 , , 4.3 , , .6 , , .8 , , .6 , , 4.9 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 65 , , 0 , , 14.6 , , .489 , , .083 , , .432 , , 3.3 , , .6 , , .7 , , .5 , , 3.4 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

, 53 , , 10 , , 14.7 , , .558 , , .286 , , .646 , , 3.8 , , .6 , , .9 , , .4 , , 5.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 13 , , 1 , , 7.0 , , .333 , , .000 , , .333 , , 1.8 , , .5 , , .6 , , .2 , , 1.1 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 5 , , 0 , , 8.8 , , .556 , , .000 , , .750 , , .8 , , .4 , , .6 , , .4 , , 2.6 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 3 , , 0 , , 6.0 , , .250 , , .500 , , .000 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .3 , , .0 , , 1.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 14 , , 0 , , 8.2 , , .500 , , .222 , , .727 , , 1.9 , , .4 , , .3 , , .2 , , 3.0 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , , 221 , , 12 , , 13.9 , , .510 , , .172 , , .542 , , 3.5 , , .6 , , .7 , , .5 , , 4.0

Playoffs

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Domestic leagues

References

External links

*
South Carolina Gamecocks bio

FIBA profile

PBA profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Balkman, Renaldo 1984 births Living people 2010 FIBA World Championship players 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup players 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup players American expatriate basketball people in Mexico American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines American expatriate basketball people in Venezuela American men's basketball players American people of Puerto Rican descent Basketball players at the 2011 Pan American Games Basketball players from New York City Big3 players Capitanes de Arecibo players Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Puerto Rico Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in basketball Competitors at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games Denver Nuggets players Fuerza Regia de Monterrey players Guaiqueríes de Margarita players Halcones Rojos Veracruz players Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games New York Knicks draft picks New York Knicks players Pan American Games gold medalists for Puerto Rico Pan American Games medalists in basketball Philippine Basketball Association imports Power forwards (basketball) Puerto Rican expatriate basketball people Puerto Rican expatriates in Nicaragua Puerto Rican men's basketball players Puerto Rico men's national basketball team players Real Estelí Baloncesto players San Miguel Alab Pilipinas players San Miguel Beermen players Small forwards South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball players Sportspeople from Staten Island Texas Legends players 3x3 basketball players