Timofey Mozgov

This name uses Eastern Slavic naming customs; the patronymic is Pavlovich and the family name is Mozgov.
Timofey Mozgov
No. 20 – Los Angeles Lakers
Position Center
League NBA
Personal information
Born (1986-07-16) July 16, 1986
Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Nationality Russian
Listed height 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)
Listed weight 275 lb (125 kg)
Career information
NBA draft 2008 / Undrafted
Playing career 2004–present
Career history
2004–2006 LenVo St. Petersburg
2006 CSK VVS Samara
2006–2010 Khimki Moscow
2010–2011 New York Knicks
2011–2015 Denver Nuggets
2011 Khimki Moscow
2015–2016 Cleveland Cavaliers
2016–present Los Angeles Lakers
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Representing  Russia
Men's Basketball
Olympic Games
2012 London Team
FIBA European Championship
2011 Lithuania Team

Timofey Pavlovich Mozgov (Russian: Тимофей Павлович Мозгов; IPA: [tʲɪmɐˈfʲej mɐˈzɡof], born July 16, 1986) is a Russian professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Mozgov won an NBA championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, becoming one of the first Russians, along with Sasha Kaun, to win an NBA championship.

Professional career

European career

Mozgov began his professional career with LenVo St. Petersburg, in the Russian second tier division, during the 2004–05 season. In 2006, he moved to CSK VVS Samara, the second level club from Samara. Before the 2006–07 season he joined Khimki Moscow Region, where he played through the 2009–10 season.

NBA career

New York Knicks (2010–2011)

Mozgov as a member of the Knicks

In 2010, Mozgov signed a three-year, $9.7 million contract with the New York Knicks.[1]

On January 30, 2011, after a three-week stint on the bench, Mozgov finally saw significant minutes against the Pistons. He had a career game scoring 23 points and grabbing 14 rebounds to lead New York to a 124–106 victory. He played 40 minutes and was treated to loud “Mozgov! Mozgov!” chants in the final minute.[2]

Denver Nuggets (2011–2015)

Mozgov in a game as a member of the Denver Nuggets

On February 22, 2011, he was traded to the Nuggets in a three-way blockbuster deal which also involved the Minnesota Timberwolves that brought Carmelo Anthony to New York.[3]

On July 21, 2011, he joined Khimki Moscow Region for the second time[4] during the 2011 NBA lockout.[5]

On July 27, 2013, he re-signed with the Nuggets.[6]

On April 10, 2014, he recorded career highs in points and rebounds with 23 and 29 respectively in a 100–99 win over the Golden State Warriors.[7]

Cleveland Cavaliers (2015–2016)

On January 7, 2015, Mozgov was traded, along with a 2015 second-round pick, to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for two protected 2015 first-round picks (via Oklahoma City and Memphis).[8] Having always previously worn number 25, he was forced to change that upon joining the Cavaliers due to the franchise having the number retired for Mark Price. He instead chose number 20 as it was the number his father, a Soviet handball player, used while he played the sport.[9] On January 9, he made his debut for the Cavaliers, recording nine points and eight rebounds off the bench in a 112–94 loss to the Golden State Warriors.[10]

On June 4, 2015, he became the first Russian to play in the NBA Finals, as the Cavaliers lost Game 1 of the series to the Golden State Warriors.[11] The Cavaliers went on to lose the series in six games, as Mozgov played in and started all six games.[12]

On June 23, 2015, the Cavaliers exercised the option on Mozgov's contract for the 2015–16 season.[13] Mozgov played a reduced role throughout the season, as the Cavaliers made it to the 2016 NBA Finals. Despite the Cavaliers going down 3–1 in the series following a Game 4 loss, they went on to win the series in seven games to become the first team in NBA history to win the championship after being down 3–1. The Cavaliers defeated the defending champion Golden State Warriors in a rematch of the previous Finals. Mozgov and teammate, Sasha Kaun, became the first Russians to win an NBA championship.

Los Angeles Lakers (2016–present)

On July 8, 2016, Mozgov signed a four-year, $64 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers.[14][15] He made his debut for the Lakers in their season opener on October 26, recording 12 points and eight rebounds in a 120–114 win over the Houston Rockets.[16]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high

Note: The EuroLeague is not the only competition in which the player participated for the team during the season. He also played in domestic competition, and regional competition if applicable.

NBA

† Denotes seasons in which Mozgov won an NBA championship

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2010–11 New York 34 14 13.5 .464 .000 .705 3.1 .4 .4 .7 4.0
2010–11 Denver 11 0 6.0 .524 .000 .750 1.5 .0 .1 .2 2.5
2011–12 Denver 44 35 15.6 .526 .000 .684 4.1 .5 .3 1.0 5.4
2012–13 Denver 41 1 8.9 .506 .000 .769 2.6 .2 .1 .4 2.6
2013–14 Denver 82 30 21.6 .523 .167 .754 6.4 .8 .3 1.2 9.4
2014–15 Denver 35 35 25.6 .504 .333 .733 7.8 .5 .4 1.2 8.5
2014–15 Cleveland 46 45 25.0 .590 .000 .708 6.9 .8 .4 1.2 10.6
2015–16† Cleveland 76 48 17.4 .565 .143 .716 4.4 .4 .3 .8 6.3
Career 369 208 18.2 .537 .179 .729 5.0 .5 .3 .9 6.9

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2012 Denver 7 5 14.1 .480 .000 .500 3.3 .4 .3 .9 4.0
2015 Cleveland 20 20 26.5 .500 .000 .790 7.3 .7 .4 1.8 10.6
2016† Cleveland 13 0 5.8 .400 .000 .750 1.6 .2 .2 .2 1.2
Career 40 25 17.6 .489 .000 .763 4.8 .5 .3 1.1 6.4

Euroleague

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2009–10 Khimki 16 3 13.6 .506 .000 .621 4.1 .1 .3 .9 6.0 5.2
Career 16 3 13.6 .506 .000 .621 4.1 .1 .3 .9 6.0 5.2

Russian national team

Mozgov playing for the Russian national team.

Mozgov has also been a member of the senior Russian national basketball team. He played at EuroBasket 2009, Eurobasket 2011, and the 2012 Summer Olympics, winning bronze medals at Eurobasket 2011 and the 2012 Summer Olympics.[17]

See also

References

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