Garrett Bartholomew Temple (born May 8, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the LSU Tigers.
High school career
Temple attended LSU Laboratory School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As a senior, he averaged 13.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 5.5 assists in leading University High to the 2004 Class 2A state championship.
At University High, Temple also competed in track and field, where he was a long jump and triple jump specialist.
College career
After redshirting the 2004β05 season at Louisiana State University to work on his game, Temple earned a reputation as a defensive stopper as a freshman in 2005β06. In 36 games (35 starts), he averaged 5.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.1 steals in 33.3 minutes per game.
In his sophomore season, he finished the year with 138 assists and 83 turnovers, a 1.7 assist-to-turnover ratio, which was 10th best in the SEC. In May 2007, he was part of the Reach USA Tour of China, an all-star team of players that went 6β2 against two Chinese league teams. In 32 games (all starts), he averaged 8.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.6 steals per game.
In his junior season, he played a team-high 1,066 minutes and ranked 11th in the league in assist average. In 31 games, he averaged 6.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game.
In his senior season, he became LSU's all-time leader in minutes played (4,432), breaking a record set by Howard Carter in 1983. He earned All-SEC Defensive team honors, as well as being named to the coaches' All-SEC second team. In 35 games, he averaged 7.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.7 steals per game.
Professional career
Rio Grande Valley Vipers (2009β2010)
After going undrafted in the 2009 NBA draft, Temple joined the
Houston Rockets for the 2009 NBA Summer League. In September 2009, he signed with the Rockets. However, he was later waived by the Rockets on October 21, 2009.
[ Rockets waive guards Beck, Temple] In November 2009, he was acquired by the Rio Grande Valley Vipers as an affiliate player.
Houston Rockets (2010)
On February 8, 2010, Temple signed a 10-day contract with the Rockets.
[ Rockets sign Garrett Temple to 10-day contract] On February 20, 2010, he signed a second 10-day contract with the Rockets.
Sacramento Kings (2010)
On March 3, 2010, Temple signed a 10-day contract with the
Sacramento Kings.
[ Kings sign Garrett Temple to 10-day contract]
San Antonio Spurs (2010)
On March 13, 2010, Temple signed a 10-day contract with the San Antonio Spurs.
On March 23, 2010, he signed with the Spurs for the rest of the season.
In July 2010, Temple joined the San Antonio Spurs for the 2010 NBA Summer League. On November 11, 2010, he was waived by the Spurs.
Return to the Vipers (2010)
On November 30, 2010, Temple was re-acquired by the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
Erie BayHawks (2010β2011)
On December 30, 2010, Temple was traded to the
Osceola Magic in exchange for
Jeff Adrien.
Milwaukee Bucks (2011)
On January 25, 2011, Temple signed a 10-day contract with the
Milwaukee Bucks.
On February 5, 2011, he signed a second 10-day contract with the Bucks.
Return to the BayHawks (2011)
On February 17, 2011, Temple returned to the BayHawks.
Charlotte Bobcats (2011)
On March 7, 2011, Temple signed a 10-day contract with the Charlotte Bobcats.
On March 17, 2011, he signed a second 10-day contract with the Bobcats.
On March 28, 2011, he signed with the Bobcats for the rest of the season.
Casale Monferrato (2011β2012)
On July 27, 2011, Temple signed a one-year deal with NovipiΓΉ Casale Monferrato of Italy.
In 28 games, he averaged 9.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game as Casale finished last on the ladder in 2011β12 with an 8β24 record.
Reno Bighorns (2012)
In July 2012, Temple joined the Oklahoma City Thunder for the Orlando Summer League and the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Las Vegas Summer League.
On September 13, 2012, Temple signed with the Miami Heat.[ Full List of 2012 Returning, Affiliate and Local Tryout Players Invited to NBA D-League Training Camps ] Four days later, he was traded to the Reno Bighorns.[ RENO BIGHORNS COMPLETE TRADES FOR TEMPLE, MCCLINTON AND TUCKER]
Washington Wizards (2012β2016)
On December 25, 2012, Temple signed with the Washington Wizards.
On July 10, 2013, Temple re-signed with the Wizards.[ Paul Pierce ejected; Wizards top Bucks 108-97]
On June 15, 2015, Temple exercised his player option with the Wizards for the 2015β16 season.[ Wizards beat Magic 108-99 to end 3-game skid] On December 19, he set a new career high with 21 points in a 109β101 win over the Charlotte Hornets.[ Hard work finally pays off for Garrett Temple] Two days later, he had another strong performance for the Wizards with 20 points against the Memphis Grizzlies, becoming the first NBA player to score at least 20 in three straight games after not reaching that level for his first 250 contests.[ Wall helps Wizards beat Grizzlies 100-91]
Second stint with Sacramento (2016β2018)
On July 9, 2016, Temple signed with the
Sacramento Kings for a second stint.
He made his debut for the Kings in their season opener on October 26, scoring 12 points in just under 18 minutes off the bench in a 113β94 win over the
Phoenix Suns.
On November 5, Temple scored a team-high 19 points off the bench and tied his career high with five three-pointers in a 117β91 loss to the
Milwaukee Bucks.
On February 1, 2017, he was ruled out for two to three weeks after an MRI revealed a partial tear of his left biceps femoris muscle.
On January 23, 2018, Temple scored 19 of his career-high 34 points in the final quarter to lift the Kings to a 105β99 win over the Orlando Magic.
Memphis Grizzlies (2018β2019)
On July 17, 2018, Temple was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for
Deyonta Davis,
Ben McLemore, a 2021 second-round pick and cash considerations.
On October 19, 2018, he scored a game-high 30 points in a 131β117 win over the
Atlanta Hawks.
On January 26, 2019, he was ruled out for one to two weeks with a mild strain in his left shoulder.
Los Angeles Clippers (2019)
On February 7, 2019, Temple and
JaMychal Green were traded by the Grizzlies to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for
Avery Bradley.
Brooklyn Nets (2019β2020)
On July 8, 2019, Temple signed a reported two-year contract with the
Brooklyn Nets.
Chicago Bulls (2020β2021)
On November 27, 2020, Temple signed with the
Chicago Bulls.
New Orleans Pelicans (2021β2023)
On August 8, 2021, Temple was traded to his hometown team, the New Orleans Pelicans.
On July 5, 2023, Temple was waived by the Pelicans.
Toronto Raptors (2023βpresent)
On August 1, 2023, Temple signed with the
Toronto Raptors.
He made 27 appearances (two starts) for Toronto during the 2023β24 NBA season, averaging 3.3 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 1.0 assist.
On July 6, 2024, Temple re-signed with the Raptors.
On July 2, 2025, Temple re-signed with the Raptors for another season.
NBA career statistics
Regular season
|-
| style="text-align:left;" rowspan=3|
| style="text-align:left;"|Houston
| 9 || 0 || 13.1 ||
.448 || .250 || .667 || 1.6 || .8 || .4 || .4 || 5.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|Sacramento
| 5 || 0 || 4.6 || .375 || .000 ||
1.000 || .6 || .4 || .2 || .0 || 2.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|San Antonio
| 13 || 4 || 14.9 || .438 ||
.435 || .667 || 1.1 || .9 || .6 || .2 || 6.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;" rowspan=3|
| style="text-align:left;"|San Antonio
| 3 || 0 || 6.8 || .200 || .000 || .000 || .7 || .7 || .3 || .3 || .7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|Milwaukee
| 9 || 0 || 9.3 || .333 || .300 || .000 || .7 || .7 || .1 || .1 || 1.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|Charlotte
| 12 || 0 || 10.5 || .286 || .269 || .636 || 1.3 || 2.0 || .8 || .3 || 3.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|Washington
| 51 || 36 || 22.7 || .407 || .325 || .703 || 2.4 || 2.3 || 1.0 || .3 || 5.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|Washington
| 75 || 0 || 8.5 || .362 || .207 || .698 || .9 || 1.0 || .5 || .1 || 1.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|Washington
| 52 || 18 || 14.1 || .400 || .375 || .729 || 1.7 || 1.1 || .8 || .2 || 3.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|Washington
|
80 || 43 || 24.4 || .398 || .345 || .728 || 2.7 || 1.8 || .9 || .2 || 7.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"3|
| style="text-align:left;"|Sacramento
| 65 || 20 || 26.6 || .424 || .373 || .784 || 2.8 ||
2.6 ||
1.3 || .4 || 7.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|Sacramento
| 65 || 35 || 24.8 || .418 || .392 || .769 || 2.3 || 1.9 || .9 || .4 || 8.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2|
| style="text-align:left;"|Memphis
| 49 ||
49 ||
31.2 || .429 || .352 || .750 || 3.1 || 1.4 || 1.0 ||
.5 || 9.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|L.A. Clippers
| 26 || 6 || 19.6 || .396 || .296 || .742 || 2.5 || 1.4 || 1.0 || .2 || 4.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|Brooklyn
| 62 || 35 || 27.9 || .378 || .329 || .805 ||
3.5 || 2.5 || .8 ||
.5 ||
10.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|Chicago
| 56 || 25 || 27.3 || .415 || .335 || .800 || 2.9 || 2.2 || .8 ||
.5 || 7.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|New Orleans
| 59 || 16 || 18.6 || .376 || .319 || .683 || 2.4 || 1.3 || .7 || .4 || 5.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|New Orleans
| 25 || 0 || 6.5 || .400 || .423 || .750 || .7 || .5 || .4 || .1 || 2.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|Toronto
| 27 || 2 || 10.7 || .372 || .300 || .818 || 1.7 || 1.0 || .4 || .1 || 3.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|Toronto
| 28 || 0 || 8.1 || .300 || .214 || .917 || 1.0 || 1.1 || .6 || .1 || 1.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|Toronto
| 22 || 0 || 3.3 || .267 || .250 || .667 || .4 || .4 || .2 || .1 || .8
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career
| 793 || 289 || 19.6 || .399 || .342 || .744 || 2.2 || 1.6 || .8 || .3 || 5.8
Playoffs
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2010
| style="text-align:left;"|San Antonio
| 6 || 0 || 2.5 || .333 || .333 ||
1.000 || .3 ||
.3 || .2 || .0 || .7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2014
| style="text-align:left;"|Washington
|
10 || 0 || .9 ||
1.000 ||
1.000 || β || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2015
| style="text-align:left;"|Washington
| 4 || 0 || 6.5 || .167 || .000 || .625 ||
.8 ||
.3 ||
.5 || .0 || 1.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2019
| style="text-align:left;"|L.A. Clippers
| 6 || 0 || 10.5 || .273 || .143 || .700 || 1.2 || .3 || .5 || .2 || 2.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2020
| style="text-align:left;"|Brooklyn
| 4 ||
4 ||
34.3 || .347|| .250 || .833 ||
2.8 ||
2.0 ||
.8 ||
.3 ||
12.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2022
| style="text-align:left;"|New Orleans
| 1 || 0 || 2.0 || β || β || β || 1.0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career
| 31 || 4 || 8.1 || .338 || .240 || .720 || .8 || .4 || .3 || .1 || 2.5
Personal life
Temple is the son of
Collis Temple and Soundra Johnson Temple. Collis was the first African American to play basketball at LSU (1971β1974). He has a younger sister, Colleen Noelle, and two older brothers, Collis III (who played at LSU from 1999 to 2003) and Elliott.
Temple is a Christianity. He wears a wrist band that says "In Jesus Name I Play."
Community involvement
Temple is a member of the "Starting Five," along with
Malcolm Brogdon, Joe Harris, Justin Anderson and
Anthony Tolliver. Their goal was to raise $225,000 through Hoops2O, founded by Brogdon, to fund five wells in East Africa by the end of the 2018β19 season.
By February 2020, the charity had funded the construction of ten wells in
Tanzania and
Kenya, bringing water to over 52,000 citizens.
External links
