Greivis Vásquez

Greivis Vásquez

No. 21 - Toronto Raptors
Point Guard / Shooting Guard
Personal information
Born                           January 16, 1987 (1987-01-16)                                     Caracas, Venezuela
Nationality                 Venezuelan
Listed height            6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight           211 lb (96 kg)
Career information
High school             Montrose Christian School                                   (Rockville, Maryland)
College                   Maryland (2006–2010)
NBA Draft                 2010 / Round: 1 / Pick: 28th
Selected by the Memphis Grizzlies
Pro career               2010-present (14 years)
Career history
2010-2011                Memphis Grizzlies
2011-2013                New Orleans Hornets
2013                Sacramento Kings
2013-present                  Toronto Raptors
Career highlights and awards
Bob Cousy Award (2010) Consensus NCAA All-American Second Team (2010) Consensus second team All-American (2010) ACC Player of the Year (2010) All-ACC First Team (2010) 2x All-ACC Second Team (2008–2009) Led the NBA in total assists with 704 (2013)
NBA.com profile profile (active) profile (retired)

Greivis Josué Vásquez Rodríguez is a Venezuelan professional basketball player who currently plays for the Toronto Raptors of the NBA. He entered the 2009 NBA Draft, but withdrew and entered the 2010 NBA Draft. He was born in Caracas and moved to the United States to attend high school at Montrose Christian School in Rockville, Maryland. During his senior year at Montrose, he committed to The University of Maryland to play under head coach Gary Williams.

In 2007, Greivis played on the Venezuelan national basketball team in the FIBA America Championships. He is currently one of three Venezuelan college basketball players; David Cubillan of the Marquette Golden Eagles and Gregory Echenique of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights are the others.

Childhood and schooling

Greivis grew up in Caracas, Venezuela where he lived with his two parents, Ivis Rodriguez and Gregorio Vasquez and brother Ingerman Sanoya. At Montrose Christian Vasquez played under head coach Stu Vetter, and helped the Mustangs post a 43-5 record over his junior and senior seasons. While at Montrose Christian he played with former teammate and college and NBA star Kevin Durant.

College career

Freshman year (2006-07)

In the beginning of his freshman year (2006-07), Grevis did not start for the Terps, but still played solid minutes. Midway through the season, he began starting at the 2 guard position alongside fellow Freshman Eric Hayes at the starting point guard position. He remained a starter for the rest of the season. He heavily contributed to the Terrapins' six-game win streak at the end of the season, which resulted in Maryland earning a #4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Vasquez has per game averages during his freshman season of 9.8 points, 4.7 assists, and 3.3 rebounds, and percentages of 44.4 for field goals, 31.6 for 3-pointers, and 79.8 for free throws.

Sophomore year (2007-08)

Vasquez has per game averages during his sophomore season (2007-08) of 17.0 points, 6.8 assists, and 5.7 rebounds, and percentages of 43.2 for field goals, 30.9 for 3-pointers, and 78.2 for free throws.

Junior year (2008-09)

Vasquez registered a career-high 35 points, to go along with 11 rebounds and 10 assists—Maryland's third triple-double in history and the first since 1987 in a come-from-behind 88-85 overtime win over UNC on February 21, 2009. He was named Second-Team All-ACC at the close of the regular season.

NBA Career

Memphis Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies selected Vásquez with the 28th pick in the first round of the 2010 NBA Draft. (The pick had been acquired by the Grizzlies when they traded Pau Gasol in 2008.) Throughout the regular season of his rookie year, Vásquez received spot minutes and scored in double digits only twice, but he gained extensive playing time in the 2011 NBA Playoffs.

Memphis faced the first-seeded San Antonio Spurs in the first round, where the Grizzlies won their first postseason game in franchise history. In Game Four, Vásquez substituted for starting point guard Mike Conley, Jr., who had gotten into foul trouble. During his 13 minutes of playing time, he had nine points and two assists as Memphis won, 104–86.

Memphis advanced to meet the four-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in the Conference Semifinals, where Vásquez faced off with his former Montrose Christian classmate, Kevin Durant. The Thunder would win the series.

In the 2011 offseason, Vásquez took part in a United States State Department sponsored trip to his native Venezuela to hold clinics and meet with sports officials.

New Orleans Hornets

On December 24, 2011, Vásquez was traded to the New Orleans Hornets in exchange for Quincy Pondexter.

On February 1, 2012 against the Phoenix Suns, Vasquez recorded 20 points and 12 assists off the bench. Vasquez received his first set of starts for the Hornets after a sore knee injury to Hornets guard Jarrett Jack.

Vasquez received the starting job as point guard for the Hornets in the 2012–13 NBA season. On November 23, 2012, Vasquez tallied 25 points and 14 assists (both career highs) in a loss to the Phoenix Suns.

On January 1, 2013, Vasquez earned Western Conference Player of the Week honors.

On February 8, 2013, in the game against the Atlanta Hawks, Vasquez scored 21 points, dished out 12 assists, and had 11 rebounds to secure his first career NBA triple-double

Vasquez finished the 2012-2013 season as the league leader in total assists, with 704, and finished second in voting for the NBA Most Improved Player award.

Sacramento Kings

On July 10, 2013, Vasquez was traded to the Sacramento Kings in a three-team deal that brought former teammate Robin Lopez to the Portland Trail Blazers and Tyreke Evans to the Pelicans.

Toronto Raptors

On December 8, 2013, Vásquez and three other players were traded to the Toronto Raptors.