Jon Leuer

At 34 years old, Jon Leuer has this physical status:

Jon Leuer (born May 14, 1989) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

He was selected by the Bucks with the 40th overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft.

He went on to play for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Memphis Grizzlies, Phoenix Suns and Detroit Pistons.

Personal life

Leuer is the son of Mike and Holly Leuer, has two older sisters, Maren and Katie, and is married to Keegan Billick, the daughter of longtime Baltimore Ravens head coach Brian Billick. He was majoring in history while at the University of Wisconsin.

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High school career

Leuer was born in Long Lake, Minnesota, and attended Orono High School in Long Lake, where he was ranked as the country's highest college recruit from the class of 2007. According to one scouting report, Leuer must wait for some time to build his frame for high-major competition." However, he is a pure shooter with excellent overall skills with the ball. He can take a jump hook and plays off the dribble. He goes up and down the court, but he has a way to go defensively and as a rebounder. If he does get stronger, he could be a factor player due to his size and unique skill set.

"Flew under the radar prior to the spring of 2006." Another one wrote: Especially because he starts at 6-10. Exceptional player from behind the stripe, especially considering that he starts at 6-10. To be successful, a face-up four man will need to work harder. It could be an Andrew Brackman type forward.

He averaged 18 points and 8 rebounds per game in his junior year and received an honorable mention all-state and first-team all-conference awards. As a senior, he averaged 23.2 points and 12.0 rebounds per game and was selected to play in the Minnesota State All-Star game, winning second-team all-conference honors. He had 35 double digit scoring games and a career high of 37.

He played AAU basketball with the Minnesota Magic in AAU basketball. Leuer had started high school as a guard but had a 10-inch growth spurt in his senior year, but had a 10-inch growth spurt.

College career

Leuer never started, but the Wisconsin Badgers played in 32 games from 2007 to 2008. In the Big Ten opener, he scored the most points during the non-conference season, but he exploded for 25 (on 8 of 9 shots) against the Michigan Wolverines. However, Leuer will only score 9 points for the remainder of the season after scoring 7 in the follow-up game. With a 16–2 record and a Big Ten Conference tournament, Wisconsin spoke to the Badgers' deep depth, as the Badgers go on to win both the Big Ten regular season and the Big Ten Conference tournament. The girls would later advance to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA tournament and finish with a 31–5 record. Leuer finished the season with 2.9 points per game and 1.3 rebounds in 8.6 minutes.

During the 2008–2009 season, Leuer played in all 33 games and started the year's final 12 games. In a victory over Virginia Tech in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, he had 13 double digit scoring games, including 17 in a victory. Against SIU-Edwardsville, he had a season high of 19 points. In 21.3 minutes, he averaged 8.8 points per game and 3.8 rebounds. With a 10–8 record and a 20–13 record overall, the Badgers tied for fourth place in the Big Ten with a 10–8 record and a 20–13 record. In the first round of the NCAA tournament, they would upset the #5 seeded Florida State Seminoles before succumbing to the Xavier Musketeers in the second round. Leuer was chosen to the Academic All-Big Ten Team.

The Badgers were ranked ninth in the Big Tent in 2009-2010. In the Maui Invitational, they defeated the Arizona Wildcats and the Maryland Terrapins. Wisconsin shocked the #5 Duke Blue Devils (who will be the eventual National Champions) on December 2, 2009 in a game on ESPN. In 13 of the year's first 15 games, Leuer poured in 17 points on his way to scoring double digits in 13 of the first 15 games. He recapped the Duke effort with a back-to-back double double double at UW-Green Bay (his career high 26 points and ten rebounds) and against Marquette University (24 points, 12 rebounds). He would also score 25 against UW-Milwaukee and 21 at Michigan State. After a 73–66 loss to #4 Purdue, Wisconsin got off to a smattering 13–3 record (3-1 in the Big Ten), the team was off to a promising 13–3 start (3-1 in the Big Ten). Leuer, on the other hand, had an off night against Purdue and only scored 4 points on 2-15 shootings. It was revealed after the game that Leuer had broken his wrist in the first half but the game was still played 38 of the 40 minutes. Leuer was banned from playing permanently, and he missed the next nine games.

In his first game back, Leuer was eased back into the lineup, scoring 4 points in his first game back against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. However, Leuer would score double digits in all of the year's final five games, including 20 against the University of Illinois, as the Badgers went 4-1 down and finished 13-5 in the Big Ten, good enough for fourth place and a #13 national ranking. For the final week of the regular season, Leuer was named Big Ten Player of the Week. Despite 14 and 23 points from Leuer respectively, the Badgers will fail to the Illinois Fighting Illini in the first round of the Big Ten tournament and were defeated by Cornell in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Leuer finished averaging points per game (15.4), rebounds per game (5.8), and blocks per game (1.33). Due to his wrist injury, he played in 24 games, starting 22 of them. His.522 field-goal percentage was the highest by a Wisconsin player since Alando Tucker's.533 record in 2003. Despite missing half of the conference games, he was given an honorable mention in the All-Big Ten. For the second year in a row, he was also a member of the Academic All-Big Ten team.

Leuer was chosen to be on the United States men's select team during the summer, a team of college players hand-picked to assist the United States' national basketball team in preparing for the FIBA World Championships. Leuer and the team travelled to New York City to compete against Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Dwyane Wade. After impressing Team USA and Villanova, coach Jay Wright, Leuer was welcomed to the team. Wright selected Leuer over Kyle Singler, Nolan Smith, Marcus Morris, and others when Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com asked Wright to select the best college player from the USA Basketball pick team.

Wright told Parrish, "He's really good." "Maybe I haven't followed him well because he's from the Midwest, so maybe he wouldn't surprise anyone else." He's got great size, so he places it on the ground, so he's allowed to fire it. He's just a ball player." Wright answered "yes" when asked if he'll be an NBA player.

Leuer was named this year as the year's best Big Ten preseason player of the year by SI.com. "Watch out for Leuer, an ultra-efficient, 6-foot-10 forward who will be the Badgers' No. 1," Luke Winn wrote about him. For the first time in his career, he has a one offensive option.

The Badgers defeated the Minnesota Golden Gophers, then ranked No. 3 in the Midwest, 68–60. Leuer scored 1,000 points in a career in the first half of the game.

Leuer was appointed to the Yahoo Sports All-Big Tent team on March 1, 2011.

Fox Sports selected him to the Third Team All-America. Leuer was selected to the Yahoo Sports All-American Team Honorable Mention.

Professional career

The Milwaukee Bucks selected Leuer with the 41th overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft on June 23, 2011. During the NBA lockout, he spent a stint in Frankfurt, Germany.

Leuer joined the Bucks in 2011-2012 for the 2011–12 season.

Leuer, along with Jon Brockman, Shaun Livingston, and the 12th pick in the 2012 NBA draft in exchange for Samuel Dalembert and the 14th pick in the 2012 NBA draft, was traded to the Houston Rockets on June 27, 2012. On July 18, the Rockets waived him.

Leuer was claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Cavaliers on July 20, 2012. He was sent down to the Cavaliers' D-League affiliate, the Canton Charge, on December 7, 2012. On December 20, he was recalled on December 20, recalled on January 3, and then recalled on January 7.

Leuer was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for Marley Speights, Wayne Ellington, Josh Selby, and a future first-round draft pick.

Leuer was re-signed by the Grizzlies to a three-year, $3 million deal on July 15, 2013. In a 110-91 victory over the Phoenix Suns, Leuer scored a career-high 23 points, as well as 9 rebounds and 3 blocks. In a 94-85 victory over the Orlando Magic, he scored his first double-double with 16 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. In an 112–84 victory over the Detroit Pistons, he tied his career high of 23 points on January 5, 2014.

Leuer had a season-best game with 20 points and a career-high tying 12 rebounds in a 103–87 victory over the Miami Heat on December 7, 2014, defeating the Miami Heat.

Leuer was traded to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Andrew Harrison's draft rights. In a 111-95 loss, he made his Suns debut in the team's season opener against the Dallas Mavericks on October 28, scoring 14 points and 7 rebounds off the bench. In a 118-104 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on November 12, he earned his first double-double as a Sun, scoring 10 points and 11 rebounds. He earned his first start for the Suns, scoring 7 points and 5 rebounds in just under 19 minutes of action, assisting the Suns in defeating the Denver Nuggets 105-81. In a loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on November 25, he had his then-best game with 20 points and 12 rebounds.

Leuer's seventh double-double of the season (ninth of his career) with 13 points and 13 rebounds in a loss to his former team, the Memphis Grizzlies, on March 21, 2016. In a 119-107 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, he had 22 points and a career-high 14 rebounds, posting back-to-back double-doubles for the first time in his career. In a 114-105 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers, Leuer scored 16 points and tied his career record with 14 rebounds.

Leuer joined the Detroit Pistons on July 8, 2016. In a 105-98 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on December 30, 2016, he scored his first season-high 22 points. In a 116-108 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on February 3, 2017, he scored a career-high 24 points.

Leuer played in just eight games during the 2017–18 season due to an ankle injury, and he wanted to have season-ending surgery on it in January. He was reported to have undergone surgery on his right knee to repair his medial meniscus in August 2018. Leuer's first appearance since October 31, 2018, in a 109-89 loss to the Boston Celtics, was his 2018-19 season debut, his first appearance since October 31, 2017.

Leuer was traded back to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Tony Snell and Kevin Porter Jr.'s draft rights on July 9, which Leuer was waived by the Bucks.

On May 24, 2020, Leuer revealed his retirement on Instagram at the age of 31.

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