Trajan Shaka Langdon (born May 13, 1976) is an American

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 ...

executive and former professional player. He is the current president of basketball operations for the

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

of 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). A and

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 ...

, he first gained fame in the U.S. while playing

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 ...

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

. Following a three-year

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 ...

stint, Langdon had a very successful career in Europe. A three-time

All-EuroLeague Team The All-EuroLeague Team is an EuroLeague awards, award for European professional club basketball system, Europe's premier level league, the EuroLeague, that is given to the league's top ten basketball players for each season, since the 2000–01 s ...

member and the EuroLeague Final Four MVP in 2008, he won two

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 ...

titles with

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow () is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was the central part of the Armed Forces (sports ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

and

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

. In March 2016, he was named the assistant general manager of the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), ...

, serving in the role until May 2019, when he was named the

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

of the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Confere ...

. On May 31, 2024, he was hired as President of Basketball Operations by the

Early career

Born in

Palo Alto, California Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. Th ...

, Langdon moved to Anchorage, Alaska soon after. During his high school career, Langdon attended Steller Secondary School, and played with East Anchorage High School. He set the Alaska 4A state record of 2,200 career points scored, and was a 3-time Alaskan State Player of the Year. He led East Anchorage to the 1994 Alaskan State Championship, and he played in the

McDonald's All-American Game The McDonald's All-American Game is an American all-star basketball game played each year for boys' and girls' high school basketball graduates. Consisting of the top players, each team plays a single exhibition game after the conclusion of the hi ...

, where he won the 3-point shooting contest. Langdon also played high school baseball. Although his seasons were only twelve games long, as a senior he hit .333 with four

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s and 12 RBI. In the league championship game, he gave up only four hits and struck out eleven batters.

College career

After high school, Langdon moved on to play

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

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 ...

, where he set the school record for the most career 3-point field goals made (which was broken by JJ Redick in 2006), earning him the nickname, "The Alaskan Assassin". A major knee injury kept him sidelined for his entire sophomore year, so he finished his college career as a fifth year guard. In the 1999 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament championship game, with Duke down 1 point to the

UConn Huskies The UConn Huskies (or Connecticut Huskies) are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Connecticut, with its main campus located in Storrs, Connecticut. The school is a member of ...

, with 5.4 seconds to go in the game, Langdon attempted to drive the ball into the lane, and committed a traveling violation that turned the ball over to UConn. Analysts, as well as Langdon himself, credited the defense of Ricky Moore, who was considered the top defensive player in the tournament, for forcing the travel.

Baseball career

A baseball scout discovered Langdon playing catch with his father in the parking lot of their hotel during Langdon's recruiting trip to Duke and was immediately impressed. Langdon was selected in the 6th round of the 1994 Major League Baseball draft out of high school by the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

, ahead of such eventual All-Stars as

Carl Pavano Carl Anthony Pavano (born January 8, 1976) is an American former professional baseball player. A Right-handedness, right-handed pitcher, Pavano played in Major League Baseball from 1998 to 2012 for the Montreal Expos, Miami Marlins, Florida Marl ...

and

Plácido Polanco Plácido Enrique Polanco (; born October 10, 1975) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, Detroit Tigers and Miami Marlins. He was ...

. At the time he was the highest drafted player ever out of Alaska. He signed with the Padres and received a $230,000 signing bonus. Because

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

rules at the time prevented a player from receiving a scholarship in one sport while playing another professionally, Langdon had to play basketball at Duke without a scholarship while playing

Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

during the summer. In three seasons in the minors, he played in 50 games for the Spokane Indians and Idaho Falls Braves.

Professional career

Langdon was selected by the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

in the

1999 NBA draft The 1999–2000 NBA season, 1999 NBA draft was held on June 30, 1999, at the MCI Center (now Capital One Arena) in Washington, D.C. It was the first draft in which four players from the same college were picked in the first round, with Elton Bran ...

. Langdon made his professional debut with the Cavaliers on November 2, 1999, when he became the first Alaskan to play in the NBA. Following a three-year career with the Cavaliers, Langdon moved to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

to play for the Italian League club Benetton Treviso for the 2002–03 season. The following season, after being waived by the

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

in the preseason, he originally signed with and briefly played for the Long Beach Jam before he moved to the

Turkish League Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

powerhouse Efes Pilsen. For the 2004–05 season, he moved on to the Russian League club Dynamo Moscow, before moving across town to

for the 2005–06 season. Langdon was named to the All-EuroLeague Second Team for the 2005–06 season. CSKA won the

championship that same season. The following season, he helped CSKA return to the EuroLeague championship game, where they lost to Greek power Panathinaikos, on the Greek team's home court. In the process, he was named to the All-EuroLeague First Team for the 2006–07 season, a feat that he repeated in the 2007–08 season. On May 4, 2008, he was named the EuroLeague Final Four MVP, after again winning the EuroLeague title with CSKA. On October 7, 2006, Langdon led his CSKA Moscow team to a 94–75 win over the Clippers, in an

NBA Europe Live Tour The NBA Global Games are a series of games featuring NBA teams that are played outside the United States and Canada. Its purpose is to bring teams from the National Basketball Association (NBA) to play games against either another NBA team or a fo ...

exhibition game An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the playe ...

. Coincidentally, he played against his former

teammate Elton Brand, who was playing for the Clippers at that time. He led all scorers in the game with 17 points. In June 2011, he announced his retirement from playing professional basketball. He made his announcement two days after helping CSKA to its ninth consecutive Russian championship.

National team career

After graduating from

, with degrees in mathematics and history, Langdon played for the USA national basketball team at the 1998 FIBA World Championship, winning the bronze medal.

Post-playing career

After his playing days ended, Langdon was a scout for 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 ...

, from 2012 to 2015. On March 8, 2016, he was named the assistant

of the

. On May 19, 2019, Langdon was named the general manager of the

. On May 31, 2024, Langdon was named President of Basketball Operations for the

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 1999–00 , align="left" ,

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, 10 , , 0 , , 14.5 , , .375 , , .421 , , 1.000 , , 1.5 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , .0 , , 4.9 , - , align="left" , 2000–01 , align="left" ,

, 65 , , 5 , , 17.2 , , .431 , , .411 , , .895 , , 1.4 , , 1.2 , , .6 , , .1 , , 6.0 , - , align="left" , 2001–02 , align="left" ,

, 44 , , 0 , , 10.8 , , .398 , , .365 , , .913 , , 1.3 , , 1.4 , , .3 , , .1 , , 4.8 , - class="sortbottom" , colspan="2" align="center" , Career , 119 , , 5 , , 14.6 , , .416 , , .396 , , .910 , , 1.3 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , .1 , , 5.4

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2002–03 , style="text-align:left;",

Treviso Treviso ( ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 87.322 inhabitants (as of December 2024). Some 3,000 live within the Venetian wall ...

, 21 , , 19 , , 28.6 , , .540 , , .511 , , .759 , , 2.7 , , 1.7 , , 1.6 , , .1 , , 14.8 , , 13.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2003–04 , style="text-align:left;", Efes , 20 , , 19 , , 33.1 , , .461 , , .391 , , .864 , , 3.0 , , 1.6 , , 1.5 , , .2 , , 14.3 , , 13.0 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;", 2005–06† , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="6",

, 24 , , 24 , , 31.8 , , .453 , , .390 , , .860 , , 3.1 , , 1.5 , , 1.3 , , .2 , , 12.8 , , 11.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2006–07 , 25 , , 25 , , 29.5 , , .475 , , .420 , , style="background:#CFECEC;", .925* , , 4.0 , , 1.0 , , 1.6 , , .2 , , 13.5 , , 14.6 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;", 2007–08† , style="background:#CFECEC;", 25* , , style="background:#CFECEC;", 25* , , 29.1 , , .512 , , .458 , , .884 , , 3.3 , , .9 , , 1.2 , , .1 , , 12.6 , , 13.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2008–09 , 21 , , style="background:#CFECEC;", 21* , , 28.8 , , .494 , , .432 , , .878 , , 2.7 , , 1.3 , , 1.0 , , , , 10.6 , , 11.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2009–10 , 21 , , 21 , , 32.2 , , .505 , , .470 , , .913 , , 3.0 , , 1.1 , , 1.4 , , .0 , , 15.0 , , 15.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2010–11 , 10 , , 9 , , 27.5 , , .397 , , .229 , , .708 , , 2.2 , , .5 , , .2 , , , , 8.3 , , 4.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 167 , , 163 , , 30.2 , , .486 , , .427 , , .868 , , 3.1 , , 1.3 , , 1.3 , , .1 , , 13.0 , , 12.7

Personal life

Langdon is the son of social worker Gladys, and Dr. Steve Langdon, a professor of anthropology at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Trajan traveled with his father on many anthropological trips within southeastern Alaska. His father studied the Indigenous Nation of southeastern Alaska known as the Tlingit Nation.

Early career

College career

Baseball career

Professional career

National team career

Post-playing career

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

EuroLeague

Personal life

Notes

References

External links