Dudley was selected with the 22nd overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft by the Charlotte Bobcats. After a season and a half in Charlotte, he was traded to the Phoenix Suns in December 2008. He would spend five seasons with the team before being dealt to the Los Angeles Clippers in July 2013. In August 2014, he was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks. In July 2015, Dudley was traded to the Washington Wizards. He made a return to Phoenix in July 2016 and spent another two years with the franchise before being traded to the Brooklyn Nets in July 2018. In July 2019, he signed a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. Dudley won an NBA championship with the Lakers in 2020. He re-signed with the Lakers in November 2020 before retiring in August 2021 and joining the Mavericks' coaching staff.
College career
During his college years, Dudley played with the Boston CollegeEagles. During the 2004–05 season, he earned the nickname "Junkyard Dog" for his toughness and nose for the ball.
He scored 30 points on November 29, 2006, against Michigan State on national television.[1] His career-high in points is 36, which he scored against Villanova in a January 19, 2005 victory during his sophomore season.[2] He averaged 19 points and 3 assists per game during his senior year.
Soon after the 2007 draft, Dudley entered the Bobcats' regular playing rotation and made his first start on November 24, 2007, vs. Boston, scoring 11 points and grabbing nine rebounds.[3] He went on to establish himself as a key player in the Bobcats' rotation, starting often while with the team. He finished the 2007–08 season averaging 5.8 points a game. He also played as the team's power forward during his rookie season with the Bobcats before being more of a small forward in his second season with them.
Dudley played 20 games for the Bobcats in 2008 before he was traded to the Phoenix Suns. In those 20 games, he averaged what would be a career low 5.4 points.
Phoenix Suns (2008–2013)
Dudley with the Suns in 2011
Dudley was traded to the Suns on December 18, 2008, along with teammate Jason Richardson and the Bobcats' 2010 second round pick, in exchange for Raja Bell, Boris Diaw, and Sean Singletary.[4] He gained media attention for posting journalist-style videos of interviews with his Suns teammates on Twitter under the name of JMZ or JSPN (parodies of TMZ.com and ESPN respectively).[5] Dudley played in 48 games for the Suns that season and averaged 3.0 rebounds per game, 0.8 assists a game, and 5.5 points per game.
In the 2009–10 season Dudley was a key player in the 2010 NBA Playoffs. He played in all of the Suns 16 playoff games that season, shooting 42.4% on three-pointers. But the Suns eventually lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals by a margin of four games to two.
Although the Suns failed to reach the playoffs in the 2010–11 season, Dudley averaged a career-high 10.6 points per game. He once again played in all 82 games and started a career-high 15 of them.
In the shortened 2011–12 season, Dudley increased his career high with 12.7 points while also averaging a career-high 4.6 rebounds and career-high 1.7 assists per game while starting for the Suns in 60 of their games as a shooting guard instead of a small forward. However, the Suns missed the playoffs once again. After the 2011–12 NBA season, NBA TV announced that Dudley was the first ever winner of the "BIG Award",[6] beating out the likes of James Harden and Kevin Love due to his use of social media websites like Twitter.[7]
Due to the departure of veterans Steve Nash and Grant Hill, Dudley and Jermaine O'Neal were named the Suns' captains for the 2012–13 NBA season. On December 27, 2012, Dudley recorded a career-high 36 points on 11-of-17 shooting (5-of-8 from the three-point line and a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line), as well as five rebounds and three assists against the New York Knicks.
Los Angeles Clippers (2013–2014)
On July 10, 2013, Dudley was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in a three-team deal that also included the Milwaukee Bucks getting draft picks and Phoenix Suns getting players in exchange, primarily Eric Bledsoe.[8] Dudley was the Clippers' starting small forward until January 20, 2014, when he was replaced by Matt Barnes.
Milwaukee Bucks (2014–2015)
On August 26, 2014, Dudley was traded, along with a 2017 conditional first round draft pick, to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Carlos Delfino, Miroslav Raduljica and a 2015 second round draft pick.[9] He would play as the team's shooting guard that season due to Milwaukee's size at the frontcourt. On December 26, 2014, Dudley became the first player to shoot 100% from the field for an entire game with at least 10 overall shots and 3 three-point shots by making 10-of-10 field goals and 4-of-4 shots from the three-point line as he recorded 24 points, 4 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 assists off the bench in a blowout 107–77 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.[10]
On June 30, 2015, Dudley opted in with the Bucks for the 2015–16 season.[11][12]
Washington Wizards (2015–2016)
On July 9, 2015, Dudley was traded to the Washington Wizards in exchange for a protected future second round pick.[13] On July 21, he was ruled out for three to four months after undergoing surgery to repair a herniated disk.[14] Dudley spent much of the 2015–16 season as the team's power forward, due to the Wizards' lack of size at that position.[citation needed]
Return to Phoenix (2016–2018)
On July 8, 2016, Dudley signed with the Phoenix Suns, returning to the franchise for a second stint.[15] While not his primary position, Dudley was made the Suns' power forward to start the 2016–17 season.[16] He was moved to the bench after seven games, and on November 9, he scored a season-high 19 points off the bench in a 107–100 win over the Detroit Pistons.[17] On March 24, 2017, he recorded a season-high 10 assists in a 130–120 loss to the Boston Celtics. On April 5, he scored a season high-tying 19 points in a 120–111 loss to the Golden State Warriors.[18]
On June 23, 2017, Dudley underwent a left toe ligament and bone procedure, ruling him out for three to four months.[19]
Brooklyn Nets (2018–2019)
On July 20, 2018, Dudley and a protected 2021 second round draft pick were traded to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Darrell Arthur.[20] He missed 16 games over January and February of the 2018–19 season with a strained left hamstring.[21] During Round 1 of the 2019 NBA Playoffs, he got into a feud with Philadelphia 76ers player Ben Simmons. He also got into an altercation with other 76ers players. Dudley was fined $25,000 for the incident.[22]
Los Angeles Lakers (2019–2021)
On July 7, 2019, Dudley signed a one-year contract with the Los Angeles Lakers for $2.6 million.[23][24] On August 13, 2020, he logged a season-high five assists in a 122–136 loss to the Sacramento Kings.[25] On December 11, he was ejected from a game against the Orlando Magic after an on-court fight involving players from both teams. Teammate LeBron James later praised Dudley's actions, stating, "I've seen a lot more than that. But 'Dudz' will do whatever. He told you guys at media day his job is to come in here if somebody goes crazy, do something crazy to me or AD or whoever on the team, he's going to be the muscle." Dudley recorded a season-high nine points and three rebounds.[26] Dudley won his only NBA championship as a player when the Lakers defeated the Miami Heat in six games in the 2020 NBA Finals.[27]
On November 30, 2020, Dudley re-signed with the Lakers on another 1-year, $2.6 million contract.[28] On December 27, he scored a season-high 3 points along with two rebounds in a 127–91 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.[29] He matched this total on February 24, 2021, along with four rebounds and an assist in an 89–114 blowout loss to the Utah Jazz.[30] On March 3, Dudley grabbed a season-high two assists in a 120–123 loss to the Sacramento Kings.[31] On March 14, the Lakers announced that Dudley had suffered a contusion and torn MCL in his right knee.[32] However, he opted to not undergo surgery on his knee and instead underwent a period of rehab.[33] He made his return from injury on May 16, 2021, after missing 33 games, playing four minutes in a 110–98 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.[34]
Coaching career
Dallas Mavericks (2021–present)
On August 24, 2021, Dudley announced his retirement from the NBA after 14 seasons and joined Jason Kidd's coaching staff with the Dallas Mavericks as an assistant coach. Dudley is expected to have a "front of the bench" role with the Mavericks.[35]
