Shaun Livingston

Early years

Livingston was born in Peoria, Illinois. He led Concordia Lutheran Grade School to LSA state titles in 1999 and 2000. Livingston played competitive basketball in high school at Richwoods High School for two years and then transferred to Peoria Central High School, where he led his team to Class AA state titles in 2003 and 2004. He was named Illinois Mr. Basketball in 2004.

He played in the 2004 McDonald's High School All-American game, and was named co-MVP of the game.

In 2007, Livingston was voted one of the "100 Legends of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament," recognizing his superior performance in his appearances in the tournament.

Considered a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, Livingston was listed as the No. 1 point guard and the No. 2 player in the nation in 2004. Livingston committed to play college hoops at Duke, but opted instead to make the jump to the NBA straight out of high school.

Early career (2004–2006)

Livingston signed with Duke, but opted to skip college and enter the 2004 NBA Draft, in which the Clippers selected him with the 4th overall pick.

Livingston, who has a 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) wingspan, is tall for point guard standards (6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)) and, due to the addition of Sam Cassell to the Clippers' roster, saw playing time at shooting guard. He was an integral part of one of the Clippers' best seasons in franchise history in the 2005–06 season. Livingston recorded a career-high 14 assists on February 23, 2007 against the Golden State Warriors.

In his first two NBA seasons, playing in a total of 91 games, Livingston averaged 6.3 points per game. In his third season, he averaged a career high 9.3 points per game, being one of the few Clippers to improve from the 2005-06 season. His breakout year was interrupted by a knee injury that led him to miss 39 games.

Knee injury (2007)

In a game against the Charlotte Bobcats on February 26, 2007, Livingston suffered a debilitating knee injury, dislocating his left kneecap after landing awkwardly following a missed layup, resulting in the left leg snapping laterally. Livingston injured almost every part of his knee, tearing the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), and the lateral meniscus, badly spraining his medial collateral ligament (MCL), and dislocating his patella and his tibio-fibular joint. The injury was so severe that ESPNEWS warned viewers of the graphic nature of the video clip before airing it. Livingston was told by a medical professional at the hospital that there was a chance that his leg would have to be amputated. He required months of rehabilitation to be able to walk again.

Livingston was riddled by injuries during the first three years of his professional career, missing 101 of 246 regular season games.

Return from injury (2008–2013)

Livingston's contract with the Clippers expired after the 2007-08 season, and the Clippers did not make Livingston a $5.8 million qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent.

On June 16, 2008, doctors allowed Livingston to resume basketball activities; during the 2008 offseason, he tried to find a guaranteed contract to finalize his comeback. The Minnesota Timberwolves and Portland Trail Blazers were interested in his services, but he eventually signed a reported two-year deal with the Miami Heat on October 3, 2008. In 4 games with the Heat, he averaged 2.3 points in 10.3 minutes.

On January 7, 2009, he was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies along with cash considerations for a conditional 2012 second-round pick. He was waived later that same day.

On March 7, 2009, Livingston signed with the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA D-League, owned by the Oklahoma City Thunder of the NBA. After three weeks with the 66ers, Livingston signed a multi-year deal with the Thunder on March 31, 2009. On December 22, 2009, Livingston was waived by the Thunder.

On February 26, 2010, he signed the first of two 10-day contracts with the Washington Wizards. He was then signed by the Wizards for the remainder of the season.

On July 20, 2010, Livingston signed a two-year contract worth $7 million with the Charlotte Bobcats.

On June 23, 2011, he was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks as part of a three-way deal among the Sacramento Kings and Charlotte Bobcats.

On June 26, 2012, Livingston was traded to the Houston Rockets for Samuel Dalembert along with teammates Jon Leuer and Jon Brockman. Before the beginning of the season, however, they were all waived.

On November 15, 2012, Livingston signed with the Washington Wizards. He was waived by the Wizards on December 23, 2012.

On December 25, 2012, the Cleveland Cavaliers claimed Livingston off waivers after releasing Donald Sloan. Livingston made his debut for the Cavaliers on January 2, 2013, recording two points, two rebounds, and one assist in 13 minutes of action off the bench.

Brooklyn Nets (2013–2014)

On July 11, 2013, Livingston signed with the Brooklyn Nets. His season high of 23 points came in a 98-108 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on November 18, 2013. Initially billed as a backup, Livingston performed well enough to join Deron Williams in the starting lineup following the season-ending injury to Brook Lopez. With Livingston on the floor, the Nets proved to be 8.5 points per 100 possessions better defensively, earning him the third most minutes on the team. On March 17, Livingston set a career high for both minutes played and points scored in a season. At the end of the season Livingston had played in a career high 76 games (starting a career high 54 games) averaging 8.3 points, 3.2 assists, and 1.2 steals.

Golden State Warriors (2014–present)

On July 11, 2014, Livingston signed with the Golden State Warriors to a reported three-year, $16 million contract. On August 15, 2014, he was ruled out for six to eight weeks after having arthroscopic surgery on the big toe of his right foot. He recovered in time to make his debut for the team in their season opener, and served as a key player off the bench for the Warriors in their run to the 2015 NBA Championship.

In 2015–16, Livingston helped the Warriors win an NBA record 73 games to eclipse the 72 wins set by the 1995–96 Chicago Bulls. During Game 4 of the 2016 Western Conference semi-finals, Livingston was ejected late in the second quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers. He had moved into the starting lineup to accommodate for the injured Stephen Curry. In the Western Conference Finals, the Warriors overcame a 3–1 deficit to defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder in seven games and advance to the 2016 NBA Finals. In Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Livingston scored a playoff career-high 20 points, leading the Warriors to a 104–89 win. Despite the Warriors going up 3–1 in the series following a Game 4 win, they went on to lose the series in seven games to become the first team in NBA history to lose the championship series after being up 3–1.

Livingston helped the Warriors finish the 2016–17 regular season with 67 wins. The Warriors went on to win the 2017 NBA Championship after defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers 4–1 in the NBA Finals.

On July 25, 2017, Livingston re-signed with the Warriors on a three-year, $24 million contract.

Personal life

Livingston is a Lutheran. In April 2016, he donated $1 million to his former grade school, Concordia Lutheran School, in Peoria, Illinois.

Career highs