Frank Kaminsky

Early life and high school career

Kaminsky's father, Frank Jr., played basketball at Lewis University. His mother, Mary, played volleyball at Northwestern. He grew up living in Woodridge, Illinois. In 1998, when he was 5 years old, his aunt and uncle worked for the Chicago Bulls and he had access to the practice facility when Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman and Randy Brown were on the team.

Kaminsky attended Benet Academy in Lisle, Illinois. He was named first-team all-state by the Chicago Sun-Times and IBCA and second-team all-state by the AP after averaging 14.2 points, 8.7 rebounds, 4.2 blocks and 2.8 assists during his senior season. He led the Redwings to a 29-1 season after being defeated in the Sectional Semifinals by the East Aurora Tomcats that were led by Connecticut Huskies superstar and National Champion Ryan Boatright. He was also named all-area, all-conference and East Suburban Catholic Conference Player of the Year.

Freshman season

Kaminsky played in 35 of 36 games as a freshman. He scored a season-high nine points against UMKC on November 22, 2011.

Sophomore season

Kaminsky played in 32 games, starting the first two games of the season. He finished the season averaging 4.2 points and 1.8 rebounds per game. He led the team in free-throw percentage at 76.7%. He posted a season-high 19 points at Illinois on February 3, 2013.

Junior season

On November 19, 2013, Kaminsky broke the Wisconsin single game scoring record with 43 points against North Dakota. Kaminsky shot 16 of 19 from the field, including six of six from 3-point range and five of six from the free throw line. The previous Wisconsin single game record was 42 points set by Ken Barnes (vs. Indiana on March 8, 1965) and Michael Finley (vs. Eastern Michigan on December 10, 1994).

At the conclusion of the regular season, Kaminsky was named to the First Team All-Big Ten.

On March 29, 2014, Kaminsky scored 28 points and had 11 rebounds as Wisconsin defeated #1 seeded Arizona 64–63 in overtime during the NCAA Tournament to advance to the Final Four. After the game, Kaminsky was named West Regional Most Outstanding Player.

Senior season

Ahead of the 2014 season, Kaminsky was named the Big Ten preseason player of the year. The Badgers were unanimously picked to win the Big Ten Championship.

The Badgers and Kaminsky validated those lofty preseason predictions. The Badgers boasted a 36-3 record in games Kaminsky played. They won the Big Ten regular season title (with a 16-2 record) and the Big Ten tournament title. After becoming the first NCAA tournament 1-seed in school history, they made their way to their second consecutive Final Four. There, they avenged their previous season's loss to Kentucky, upsetting the 38-0 Wildcats 71-64 behind Kaminsky's 20 points and 11 rebounds. In the Badgers' first national championship game in 74 years, they lost a 9-point second-half lead and were defeated 68-63 by the Duke Blue Devils. Kaminsky finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds. For the season, Kaminsky finished with 18.8 PPG and 8.2 RPG, despite playing for a team that ranked 346 out of 351 in adjusted tempo. He led the nation in PER, an efficiency-based stat. Additionally, Wisconsin boasted the highest adjusted offensive efficiency in KenPom history.

Kaminsky was named consensus first-team All-American. On March 31, 2015 he was named the National Association of Basketball Coaches Player of the Year. On April 3 he was named Associated Press College Basketball Player of the Year, the first Wisconsin player to receive the award since its creation in 1961. He also received the Oscar Robertson Trophy as the United States Basketball Writers Association College Player of the Year. On April 5, he was named the Naismith College Player of the Year. On April 10, he won both the John R. Wooden Award and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award. On June 12 Kaminsky was named University of Wisconsin's Male Athlete of the Year.

Charlotte Hornets (2015–present)

On June 25, 2015, Kaminsky was selected with the ninth overall pick by the Charlotte Hornets in the 2015 NBA draft. On July 2, 2015, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Hornets. He had a slow start to his career, averaging just 3.1 points in 11.6 minutes over his first 10 games before recording his first career double-digit scoring game with 11 points against the Brooklyn Nets on November 18. On December 2, he scored a then season-high 16 points in a loss to the Golden State Warriors, earning increased minutes with starting center Al Jefferson out injured. On December 23, he had a season-best game with 23 points and 7 rebounds in a loss to the Boston Celtics. On March 22, 2016, he made just his second career start, starting in place of Marvin Williams at power forward and recording 14 points and 7 rebounds in a 105–100 win over the Brooklyn Nets. On April 10, he recorded 18 points and a career-high 11 rebounds in a 113–98 loss to the Washington Wizards. The Hornets finished the regular season as the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference with a 48–34 record. In the first round of the playoffs, the Hornets faced the third-seeded Miami Heat, and in a Game 3 win on April 23, Kaminsky recorded 15 points and 6 rebounds.

On June 28, 2016, Kaminsky was ruled out of the 2016 NBA Summer League after requiring a minor procedure to repair a small pocket of air in his chest wall, with an expected recovery time of six weeks. He made his 2016–17 season debut in the team's third game of the season on October 29, recording 11 points and four rebounds off the bench in a 104–98 loss to the Boston Celtics. On November 21, he tied a career high with 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting against the Memphis Grizzlies, but his night ended badly when he left with less than three minutes to play with a sprained left ankle. On February 1, 2017, he set a new career high with 24 points off the bench in a 126–111 loss to the Golden State Warriors. He topped that mark on February 15, 2017, scoring 27 points in a 90–85 loss to the Toronto Raptors.