Xavier Henry (; born March 15, 1991) is an American former 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. He played one year of

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 ...

with the

Kansas Jayhawks The Kansas Jayhawks, commonly referred to as simply KU or Kansas, are the athletic teams that represent the University of Kansas. KU is one of three schools List of college athletic programs in Kansas, in the state of Kansas that participate in ...

before he was drafted in the 2010 NBA draft by 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 ...

. He played four and a half seasons in the NBA between 2010 and 2014. He finished his career in 2017 after two seasons in the

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 ...

Early life

Henry was born in

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, where his father played professional basketball in the early 1990s.

High school career

Henry attended Putnam City High School in

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

. He missed the start of his of senior season after he fractured his

cheekbone In the human skull, the zygomatic bone (from ), also called cheekbone or malar bone, is a paired irregular bone, situated at the upper and lateral part of the face and forming part of the lateral wall and floor of the orbit (anatomy), orbit, of t ...

in a

car accident A traffic collision, also known as a motor vehicle collision, or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other moving or stationary obstruction, such as a tree, pole or building. T ...

in October 2008. On March 14, 2009, he led Putnam City to the Oklahoma Class 6A state championship, scoring 24 points in the title game against Jenks High School. Henry was named to the 2009 McDonald's All-American Game where he scored 14 points. Henry was also selected to play in the 2009 Nike Hoop Summit at the Rose Garden in Portland where he led Team USA with 22 points including six 3-pointers and the Jordan Brand Classic at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

where he scored 10 points for the white team. He was ''SLAM'' magazine's high school diary keeper for the 2008–09 basketball season.

Recruitment

By the end of his senior season, Henry was ranked as the #6 overall prospect and #2

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 ...

in the class of 2009 by Scout.com, #8 overall and #3 shooting guard by Rivals.com and #3 overall, #2 shooting guard by

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 ...

. Originally, Henry was heavily recruited by both Memphis and

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 ...

. On November 18, 2008, Henry announced his commitment to Memphis citing the opportunity to play alongside his brother, C. J., as the primary reason for the decision. In March 2009, Memphis's head coach

John Calipari John Vincent Calipari (; born February 10, 1959) is an American basketball coach who is the head coach at the Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball, University of Arkansas. He has been named Naismith College Coach of the Year three times (1996, 2 ...

took the head coaching job at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

, prompting Henry to reopen his recruitment. On April 23, Henry officially announced his choice to play basketball for Kansas. , -

College career

20091219 Manny Harris guarded by Xavier Henry

Henry scored 27 points in his first college game, breaking the record for most points scored by a Jayhawk in a debut game as a freshman. On December 12, 2009, Henry scored 31 points against La Salle at the Sprint Center in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

. In doing so he became the first KU freshman to score 30 points in a game since

Paul Pierce Paul Anthony Pierce (born October 13, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player. He played 19 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), predominantly with the Boston Celtics. As of September 2024, he is a contributo ...

. Henry's 31 points was four short of the KU record for points scored by a freshman set by KU legend

Danny Manning Danny is a masculine given name. It is related to and short for the male name Daniel.🖾🖾 People *Danny Altmann, British immunologist * Danny Antonucci, Canadian animator, director, producer, and writer * Danny Baker (born 1957), English j ...

College statistics

, - , align="left" , 2009–10 , align="left" ,

, 36 , , 36 , , 27.5 , , .458 , , .418 , , .783 , , 4.4 , , 1.5 , , 1.5 , , .5 , , 13.4

Professional career

Memphis Grizzlies (2010–2012)

On April 7, 2010, Henry announced that he would forgo his final three seasons of collegiate eligibility and enter the 2010 NBA draft, where he was expected to be a first-round selection. On June 24, Henry was selected 12th overall in the 2010 NBA draft by the

New Orleans Hornets (2012–2013)

On January 4, 2012, Henry was acquired by New Orleans Hornets as a part of a three-team trade that sent Marreese Speights to Memphis and two future second-round picks to the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

. Henry was assigned to the Iowa Energy 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, ...

on March 17, 2012 and recalled on March 19.

Los Angeles Lakers (2013–2014)

On September 5, 2013, Henry signed with the

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

. In his debut on October 29, 2013, he led the Lakers to a 116–103 victory over 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 ...

while scoring a career-high 22 points. On February 27, 2014, he was assigned to the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the

. On March 2, 2014, he was recalled by the Lakers. On April 11, 2014, Henry underwent surgery to repair both a torn ligament in his left wrist and a cartilage abnormality in his right knee. On July 25, 2014, Henry re-signed with the Lakers to a reported one-year, $1 million contract. On October 18, 2014, Henry's agents announced that he would be seeking a second opinion following his April 11 knee surgery and traveling to Germany for Regenokine treatment. On November 15, 2014, he was reassigned to the Los Angeles D-Fenders. He was recalled the next day. On November 22, he was reassigned to D-Fenders and again recalled a day later. On November 24, he was ruled out for the rest of the season after an MRI revealed a ruptured left

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...

that he suffered at practice. On December 28, 2014, he was waived by the Lakers.

Santa Cruz Warriors (2015–2016)

On October 19, 2015, Henry signed with the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

. He was waived just four days later. On November 2, he was acquired by the Santa Cruz Warriors of the

as an affiliate player of Golden State. On February 19, 2016, he made his debut for Santa Cruz in a 116–100 loss to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, recording 14 points, four rebounds, one assist and two blocks in 16 minutes.

Oklahoma City Blue (2016–2017)

On September 12, 2016, Henry 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 ...

, but was later waived by the team on September 23 prior to training camp. On November 3, he was acquired by the Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA Development League (now renamed the

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , align="left" , , align="left" , Memphis , 38 , , 16 , , 13.9 , , .406 , , .118 , , .635 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , .3 , , .1 , , 4.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, 45 , , 0 , , 16.9 , , .395 , , .412 , , .612 , , 2.4 , , .8 , , .6 , , .2 , , 5.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 50 , , 2 , , 12.5 , , .410 , , .364 , , .630 , , 1.8 , , .3 , , .3 , , .1 , , 3.9 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , L.A. Lakers , 43 , , 5 , , 21.1 , , .417 , , .346 , , .655 , , 2.7 , , 1.2 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , 10.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , L.A. Lakers , 9 , , 0 , , 9.6 , , .231 , , .000 , , .583 , , .4 , , .3 , , .3 , , .0 , , 2.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 185 , , 23 , , 15.7 , , .406 , , .325 , , .635 , , 1.9 , , .6 , , .5 , , .1 , , 5.7

Personal life

Henry is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

. Henry has spoken about his faith saying, "I understand the world is not all about me. I want to lead people to

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

, do the best I can and make life worthwhile. Life is about other things. It's helping people out and being a servant to everybody else." Henry's brother, C. J., was a 2005 MLB first-round draft pick and returned to college after playing three years of minor-league baseball in the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

and

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

organizations. The brothers' father, Carl, played basketball at

in the 1980s and their mother played basketball for the Kansas women's team.

References

External links

Kansas Jayhawks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry, Xavier 1991 births Living people American men's basketball players Iowa Energy players Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball players Los Angeles D-Fenders players Los Angeles Lakers players McDonald's High School All-Americans Memphis Grizzlies draft picks Memphis Grizzlies players New Orleans Hornets players Oklahoma City Blue players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Santa Cruz Warriors players Shooting guards Basketball players from Ghent Basketball players from Oklahoma City 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen