Zachary Norvell Jr. (born December 9, 1997) 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 ...

coach and former professional

player. 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

Gonzaga Bulldogs The Gonzaga Bulldogs (), also known unofficially as the Zags, are the intercollegiate athletic teams representing Gonzaga University, located in Spokane, Washington, United States. Gonzaga competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association ...

. He played 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 ...

for 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 ...

and

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 ...

and both of their

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 ...

affiliates. He is currently an assistant coach for Gonzaga.

Early life

Norvell is the son of Tonja Hall and Zachary Norvell, who played basketball in college at Northeastern Illinois (until the program was disbanded in 1998) and

New Mexico State New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a Public university system, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution ...

and coaches at

DuSable High School Jean Baptiste Point DuSable High School is a public 4–year high school campus in the Bronzeville neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Chicago Public Schools and named after Chicago's first permanent no ...

. Growing up, the younger Norvell was an accomplished baseball player but decided to quit to focus on basketball. At

Simeon Career Academy Neal F. Simeon Career Academy (formerly known as Westcott Vocational High School, Neal F. Simeon Vocational High School, Neal F. Simeon Career Technical Academy), locally known simply as Simeon, is a public four-year vocational school, vocational ...

, Norvell played limited minutes as a freshman behind

Jaylon Tate Jaylon Tate (born January 16, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for Szedeák of the Nemzeti Bajnokság I/A. Tate played college basketball for the University of Illinois. High school career Tate attended De La Salle Institute f ...

and

Kendrick Nunn Kendrick Melvin Nunn (born August 3, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for Panathinaikos of the Greek Basketball League (GBL) and the EuroLeague. Nunn played college basketball for three seasons at the University of Illinois, ...

. As a junior, Norvell averaged nearly 13 points, four rebounds and three assists per game and was a ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' All-State special mention selection in 2015. He played some time at point guard due to injury problems. He scored 53 points in an AAU game for Mac Irvin Fire in Las Vegas in July 2015, increasing his recruiting stock. Norvell ended up committing to Gonzaga, choosing the Bulldogs over offers from

Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

, Georgetown and

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 ...

. Norvell was No. 76 in ESPN's Top 100 rankings and was nominated for the

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 ...

game.

College career

Norvell underwent leg surgery before arriving at Gonzaga for his freshman season. Norvell redshirted during his first season at Gonzaga, partially so he could recover from his leg injury. Despite his redshirt, he was allowed to play an exhibition game against West Georgia, where he was able to score 18 points. Coming into his redshirt freshman season, Norvell was named to the Julius Erving Award watch list. During his redshirt freshman season, Norvell was able to become a breakout star of the NCAA tournament, leading his team by scoring 21.5 points per game during the first 2 games of the tournament. He was also able to make a game tying three-pointer against

UNC Greensboro The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG or UNC Greensboro) is a public research university in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. It is accredited by the Southern Association of College ...

and recorded his first career double-double against

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

with 28 points and 12 rebounds. On the season, Norvell averaged 12.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game. He was named West Coast Conference Newcomer of the Year. Coming into his sophomore season, Norvell was named to the Preseason All-WCC Team. He was named to the preseason

John R. Wooden Award The John R. Wooden Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding men's and women's college basketball players. The Wooden Award program consists of the men's and women's player of the year awards, the Legends of Coaching Award, and rec ...

and

Jerry West Award The Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award is an annual basketball award given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the top men's collegiate shooting guard. The award is named after former Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard, ...

watchlists. At Gonzaga, he was known by the nickname "Snacks". He posted a career-high 28 points against Creighton on December 1, 2018. He was named to the 2018–19 All-West Coast Conference first team along with teammates

Rui Hachimura is a Japanese professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball, Gonzaga Bulldogs and has played for the Japan nation ...

Brandon Clarke Brandon Clarke (born September 19, 1996) is a Canadian-American professional basketball player for the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs and San José State Uni ...

and

Josh Perkins Joshua De Vante Perkins (born August 25, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the CS Maristes of the Lebanese Basketball League. He played college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs. High school career Perkins began his high ...

. Following the season, he declared for the

2019 NBA draft The 2019 NBA draft was held on June 20, 2019. It took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible p ...

. He was invited to the NBA Draft Combine. On May 9, he announced his intention to remain in the draft.

Professional career

Los Angeles Lakers (2019)

Norvell went undrafted during the

. On July 1, 2019, Norvell signed with the

to a two-way contract. On October 25, 2019, Norvell made his debut in NBA, coming off from bench in a 95–86 win over the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

with a rebound. Norvell was waived on December 11, 2019.

South Bay Lakers (2019–2020)

On December 17, 2019, Norvell was acquired by the

South Bay Lakers The South Bay Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, that competes in the NBA G League. Founded in 2006 as the Los Angeles D-Fenders, the team is owned by the Los Angeles Lakers, who were the first ...

. Norvell averaged 15.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in his 29 appearances (17 starts).

Golden State Warriors (2020)

On February 8, 2020, Norvell signed a 10-day contract with the

. Although he had appeared in a pair of games for the Lakers, Norvell scored his first points on February 8, when he posted seven points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals in a 17-minute

plus Plus or PLUS may refer to: Mathematics * Addition * +, the mathematical sign Music * Plus (band), a Japanese pop boy band Albums and EPs * ''+'' (Ed Sheeran album), (pronounced "plus"), 2011 * ''Plus'' (Astrud Gilberto and James Last album), ...

10 debut for the Warriors against the

Santa Cruz Warriors (2020–2021)

On February 21, 2020, the

Santa Cruz Warriors The Santa Cruz Warriors are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Santa Cruz, California, and are affiliated with the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors play their home games at Kaiser Permanente Arena. Prior to ...

announced that they had acquired Norvell from the

for the returning right to Juan Toscano-Anderson and a 2021 1st-round draft pick in the

2021 NBA G League Draft 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

. In his debut for Santa Cruz, Norvell scored a career-high 34 points shooting 7-of-12 from behind the arc while also contributing five rebounds and four assists in a 128–122 loss to the South Bay Lakers. On November 26, 2020, Norvell signed a one-year contract with the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

. He was waived at the conclusion of training camp. On January 12, 2021, Norvell was included in roster of

which would participate the 2020–21 season in the

ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex The ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex is a multi-purpose sports complex located at Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, United States, near Orlando. The complex allows families to combine tournaments and competition with a visit to ...

Walt Disney World Resort The Walt Disney World Resort is an entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Walt Disney Company. ...

located near

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

. He was released on February 17, 2021, after suffering a season-ending injury.

Coaching career

Norvell returned to the

2022–23 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team The 2022–23 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Gonzaga University, located in Spokane, Washington, in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team, also unofficially nicknamed the "Zags", was led by head coa ...

to serve as a student assistant and complete his degree. He became a full-time assistant coach for the

2023–24 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team The 2023–24 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Gonzaga University, located in Spokane, Washington, in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team, also unofficially nicknamed the "Zags", was led by head coac ...

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 2 , , 0 , , 2.5 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , .5 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 0.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 3 , , 0 , , 12.0 , , .273 , , .375 , , 1.000 , , 1.7 , , 1.0 , , .7 , , .0 , , 3.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 5 , , 0 , , 8.2 , , .250 , , .375 , , 1.000 , , 1.2 , , .6 , , .4 , , .0 , , 2.0

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

Gonzaga Gonzaga may refer to: Places *Gonzaga, Lombardy, commune in the province of Mantua, Italy *Gonzaga, Cagayan, municipality in the Philippines *Gonzaga, Minas Gerais, town in Brazil *Forte Gonzaga, fort in Messina, Sicily Surname *House of Gonza ...

, 37 , , 29 , , 27.0 , , .456 , , .370 , , .800 , , 3.9 , , 2.3 , , 1.1 , , .1 , , 12.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

, 37 , , 36 , , 30.7 , , .435 , , .372 , , .867 , , 4.3 , , 3.1 , , 1.3 , , .1 , , 14.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 74 , , 65 , , 28.8 , , .445 , , .371 , , .836 , , 4.1 , , 2.7 , , 1.2 , , .1 , , 13.8

References

External links

*
Gonzaga Bulldogs bio
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Norvell, Zach Jr. 1997 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen American men's basketball players Basketball players from Chicago Golden State Warriors players Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball players Los Angeles Lakers players Santa Cruz Warriors players Shooting guards Small forwards South Bay Lakers players Undrafted NBA players