Luke Ridnour

High school career

Ridnour's father, Rob, was his basketball coach during high school. He was given the keys to the gym by his father during his sophomore year, and he was able to practice during the day; and additionally, late into the night. Subsequently, he was on two state title-winning teams at Blaine High School, and was named a high school All-American by both McDonald's and Parade in 2000, his graduating year.

College career

Ridnour went on to star at the University of Oregon, where he teamed with Luke Jackson and Fred Jones to take the Ducks to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament twice including the Elite 8 in 2002. He set the school season record for assists (218) and made a conference-record 62 consecutive free throws. Luke averaged 19.7 points per game and 6.6 assist per game. Ridnour left Oregon after his junior year, when he was Pac-10 Player of the Year.

Seattle SuperSonics (2003–2008)

Luke was picked 14th in the 2003 NBA draft by the Seattle SuperSonics. Luke played sparingly his rookie season, but became the starting point guard for the Sonics in the 2004–05 season. He participated in the 2005 All-Star weekend, playing in the Rookie Challenge and in the Skills Challenge.

Milwaukee Bucks (2008–2010)

On August 13, 2008, Ridnour was involved in a three-team, six-player deal involving the Sonics (which had become the Oklahoma City Thunder), the Milwaukee Bucks, and the Cleveland Cavaliers that sent Milwaukee's Mo Williams to Cleveland, Cleveland's Joe Smith and Milwaukee's Desmond Mason to Oklahoma City, Cleveland's Damon Jones and Ridnour and Adrian Griffin to Milwaukee, which ended Ridnour's five-year run with the Sonics/Thunder.

Minnesota Timberwolves (2010–2013)

On July 21, 2010, Ridnour signed a four-year, $16 million contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves. In a game in the 2011-12 season with the Timberwolves he scored a buzzer beater with a floater against the Utah Jazz.

Return to Milwaukee Bucks (2013–2014)

On July 11, 2013, Ridnour was reacquired by the Bucks in a three-team transaction that brought Oklahoma City Thunder shooting guard Kevin Martin to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Charlotte Bobcats (2014)

On February 20, 2014, Ridnour was traded to Charlotte along with Gary Neal in exchange for Ramon Sessions and Jeff Adrien.

Orlando Magic (2014–2015)

On July 25, 2014, Ridnour signed with the Orlando Magic.

Later career and retirement (2015–2016)

In June 2015, Ridnour garnered national attention as he was traded four times in the span of six days. On June 24, he was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for the draft rights to Jānis Timma. The next day, the Grizzlies sent him to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Matt Barnes and then, that same day, was traded along with a 2016 second-round draft pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Jeremy Lamb. Lastly on June 30, Ridnour was traded to the Toronto Raptors along with cash considerations in exchange for the draft rights to Tomislav Zubčić. Ridnour later stated in an interview with USA Today that he found the whole situation rather "funny", as he and his family were present at their home in Seattle while the moves were unfolding. On July 9, 2015, he was waived by the Raptors, adding to the list of teams he never visited during the two-week period.

On September 21, 2015, Ridnour announced his decision to sit out the 2015–16 season.

On June 22, 2016, Ridnour announced his retirement from professional basketball.