Tim Hardaway Jr.

High school career

Hardaway, who is the son of Yolanda and former NBA All-Star Tim Hardaway, spent his freshman year at Palmer Trinity School before transferring to Miami Palmetto High School. As a freshman, he played high school football for a year before focusing on basketball. As he focused on basketball, he had a tumultuous relationship with his father, who acted like a second coach, and was overlooked by most college basketball programs. Michigan was the first school to contact him, communicating by mail during his sophomore year. During his junior year, Michigan head coach John Beilein invited him on an unofficial visit to watch Michigan play #4 Duke on December 6 to see unranked Michigan pull an upset. The 81–73 victory was an important win for the program. Following his junior season, Hardaway began training with Ed Downs, with whom he would work every summer until he became an NBA draftee. In the summer before his senior season, he attended Beilein's Elite Camp in Ann Arbor, Michigan, receiving an offer that he accepted. At the time, Hardaway was unranked in the Rivals.com Top-150 and his only other offers were from Minnesota and Kansas State. He was a first team All-City selection in 2009 and 2010 after being a third team selection in 2008. During his 2009–10 senior season, he averaged 31.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists. In the Florida state championships against Pine Crest School, he posted 42 points against Brandon Knight who had 36. ESPN rated him as the 93rd best player and 28th best shooting guard in the class of 2010. Scout.com rated him as the 36th best shooting guard in his class. He was not top-ranked by Rivals.com. Hardaway has played summer Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball for both the South Florida Heat and Chicago's Mac Irvin Fire, where he teamed with 7-foot (2.13 m) Meyers Leonard and McDonald's All-American Jereme Richmond.

Freshman year

Hardaway joined the team that had just lost Manny Harris who had declared for the 2010 NBA draft, and he began his season in the starting lineup for the 2010–11 Wolverines on November 13 against South Carolina Upstate. Although Hardaway led the team in scoring in his first career game and the season opener with 19 points, he was soon in a shooting slump that saw him shoot 4 for 30 on his field goals in late November games against Syracuse and UTEP. These games marked the beginning of a slump during which he went 13 consecutive games without achieving a 50% field goal percentage and 19 games without exceeding that number.

Hardaway earned four Big Ten Freshman of the week awards. On December 27, the Big Ten Conference named Hardaway co-freshman of the week along with Jared Sullinger. On December 23, 2010, against Bryant University, the team tied its December 13, 2008 single-game school record of 16 three-point field goals made, and Hardaway was one of three Wolverines to make 4 three-point shots. It was Hardaway's first 20-point game. On February 14, Hardaway earned his second Big Ten Conference Freshman of the week recognition for his first career double-double on February 9 against Northwestern (17 points and career-high 10 rebounds) and a career-high 26 points on February 12 against Indiana. The following week, Hardaway earned a third Big Ten Conference Freshman of the week award as he became the first Michigan freshman to score thirty points in a game in eight years. His thirty points came in a 75–72 February 19 overtime victory over Iowa. He had also scored 10 points and added 5 assists in a 54–52 loss to Illinois. On February 28, Hardaway earned his third consecutive and fourth overall Big Ten Conference Freshman of the week recognition. During the week, Hardaway extended his double-digit scoring streak to eleven by posting 22 points against Minnesota on February 26 after scoring 16 against #12 Wisconsin on February 23. For the week, he shot 9 for 15 on his three-point shots.

As a result of the three consecutive freshman of the week performances and a final week in which he scored 20 in the team's only game, he averaged 20.1 points during the final 7 games of the regular season while the team won six of its final eight, which enabled it to finish tied for fourth for the conference standings and earn the fourth seed in the 2011 Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Tournament. He led the team in scoring during the 18-game conference schedule of the 2010–11 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, edging out teammate Darius Morris by a 268–263 (14.9–14.6 points per game) margin. He also led the team in steals (1.17/game), free throw percentage (71.2%, min 2.0 made/game), three point shooting percentage (44.2%, min 1.0 made/game), and three-point shots made per game (2.56) over the course of the conference schedule. Following the Big Ten Conference season, Hardaway was an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection by both the coaches and the media. Hardaway was also one of two unanimous All-Freshman team selections by the coaches. He was one of 21 players selected to the 2011 Collegeinsider.com Freshmen All-America selection.

In the semifinals of the 2011 Big Ten Tournament against Ohio State, he set the Michigan freshman single-season three-point shots made record of 74. For the season, Hardaway led the team in three-point shots made per game and free throw percentage (among qualifying players). He finished the season with 16 consecutive double digit scoring efforts.

Following the season he was invited to the June 17 – 24, 2011 17-man tryouts for the 12-man FIBA Under-19 World Championship team by USA Basketball. The 12 selected players competed as Team USA in the 2011 FIBA U19 World Championships in Latvia from June 30 – July 10, 2011. He was selected to the team.

Sophomore year

As a sophomore, he was a preseason top 50 watchlist selection for the John R. Wooden Award and the Naismith College Player of the Year. In the 3-game November 21–23 2011 Maui Invitational Tournament, Hardaway scored 60 points against the #8 Memphis Tigers, #6 Duke Blue Devils, and 2011–12 Pac-12 season favorite UCLA Bruins, which helped the team finish in third place and earned him a place on the All-Tournament team. For his performance at the Maui Classic, he earned the Big Ten Player of the Week. In addition, he was named Big Ten Player of the Week by College Sports Madness. In the subsequent game, he picked up two fouls against Virginia in the first 5:33 and sat the final 14:27 of the first half. He finished the November 29 contest with just 5 points, snapping a 22-game double-digit scoring streak. On December 29, he opened the 2011–12 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season with 26 points against Penn State, despite making only 1 of 7 three-point shots. On January 8, 2012, he had his second career double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds against 19th ranked Wisconsin. By early February, he was in a deep shooting slump. He posted his second double-double of the season and third of his career on March 1 against Illinois with 25 points and a career-high 11 rebounds. As a sophomore, he earned the 2011–12 All-Big Ten 3rd team recognition by the coaches and media. The team earned a share of the 2011–12 Big Ten Conference season regular season championship.

Junior year

CBS Sports listed him as the 35th best player in its preseason top 100. He was a preseason John R. Wooden Award top 50 selection. During the season, Trey Burke and Hardaway were constantly referred to as the best backcourt in college basketball. The praise came from a variety of leading media outlets such as FOX Sports, ESPN color commentator Dick Vitale, ESPN journalists such as Miles Simon, Bleacher Report columnist Zach Dirlam (who included backcourt depth provided by Nik Stauskas), as well as lots of local press.

Hardaway began the season with a double-double by scoring 25 points (including 5-for-5 three point shooting) and adding 10 rebounds. His fourth career double-double earned him his second Big Ten Player of the Week award. Hardaway earned the NIT Season Tip-Off MVP with 39 points total in the November 21 semifinal and November 23 final against Pittsburgh and Kansas State, respectively. On December 20, he posted a career-high 7 assists against Eastern Michigan. Hardaway suffered an ankle injury that caused him to miss the December 29 game against Central Michigan and that broke his 81 consecutive games played streak that went back to the beginning of his Michigan career. In the subsequent game on January 3, he returned to the lineup for the 2012–13 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season opener against Northwestern with 21 points and four assists in a 94–66 victory. Two games later on January 9, he tied a career high with 11 rebounds and added 15 points for his fifth career double-double. On January 17, Michigan defeated Minnesota (#9 AP/#12 Coaches) at Williams Arena, marking the first time Michigan defeated a top-10 team on the road since a December 6, 1996 victory by the 1996–97 team over Duke. Hardaway earned a second Big Ten Player of the Week Award following a 21-points performance on 7-for-8 shooting (4-for-5 three-point shot) with 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks. On January 28, Michigan was ranked number one in the AP Poll with 51 of the 65 first place votes. It marked the first time Michigan ranked atop the AP Poll since the Fab Five 1992–93 team did so on December 5, 1992. On February 5, Hardaway tallied a career high 6 three-point shots, including three on consecutive possessions to give Michigan its first lead of the second half in an overtime victory against Ohio State.

Prior to the 2013 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com named Michigan with Hardaway first among tournament teams in terms of having the most future NBA talent on its roster (in the absence of Kentucky who was relegated to the 2013 National Invitation Tournament). As a number four seed, Michigan defeated its first NCAA tournament opponent, South Dakota State, 71–56. Hardaway established a new NCAA tournament career-high with 21 points. The 27th victory of the season gave the team its most wins in 20 years and matched head coach John Beilein's career high. In the regional finals on March 31 against Florida, freshman Nik Stauskas made all 6 of his three-point shot attempts, pushing his single-season total to 79 and surpassing Hardaway's single-season freshman school record. Following the regional championship postgame prayer and with Mrs. Beilein's consent, Hardaway and Mitch McGary gave head coach John Beilein a gatorade shower. In the April 6 national semifinal against Syracuse, Hardaway contributed a team-high 13 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Two nights later, Michigan lost in the championship game to Louisville by an 82–76 margin as Hardaway contributed 12 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.

Honors and awards

Following the 2012–13 Big Ten season he was a 1st team All-Big Ten selection by the coaches and a 2nd team selection by the media. On March 12, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association named Hardaway to its 2012–13 Men's All-District V (OH, IN, IL, MI, MN, WI) Team, based upon voting from its national membership. He was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches Division I All‐District 7 first team on March 26, as selected and voted on by member coaches of the NABC, making him eligible for the State Farm Coaches’ Division I All-America team.

2013 NBA draft

At 12:21 PM ET on April 4, Forbes sports business reporter Darren Heitner tweeted that Hardaway and teammate Burke would declare for the 2013 NBA draft. At 2:23 PM, Heitner tweeted that Hardaway Sr. said his son was undecided. On April 9 before boarding the airplane to return from the NCAA Final Four, Beilein met with Burke, Hardaway, Robinson and McGary to direct them to seek the advice of the NBA advisory committee. The draft board has until April 15 to develop each individual report and the players have until April 28 to enter the draft. On April 12, ESPN journalist Myron Medcalf predicted Hardaway would enter the draft noting that the 2014 draft was likely to be wing-heavy. On April 17, Hardaway declared for the NBA draft. Hardaway signed with sports agent Mark Bartelstein, the father of a former Michigan teammate who represents 37 NBA players. Hardaway was one of 60 players invited to the NBA Draft Combine. At the combine, Hardaway strengthened his draft stock with his physical measurements and his athletic results.

Hardaway was drafted 24th by the New York Knicks, who had entered draft day with only two guards under contract. Burke and Hardaway became the first Michigan duo selected in the first round since Juwan Howard and Jalen Rose in the 1994 NBA draft. Hardaway joined his father (14th in 1989 NBA draft) as a first round selection.

2013–14 season

Hardaway tweeted that he chose to wear jersey number 5 because that was his father's number as a rookie. On July 8, the Knicks announced that Hardaway signed a 4-year $6.1 million contract, clearing the way for him to play in the 2013 NBA Summer League. In the second game of the summer league on July 14, he suffered a bruised wrist. At the time, ESPNNewYork.com journalist Jared Zwerling noted that Hardaway had shown strong half court offensive skills, such as the ability to drive off of a pick and roll and an explosive first step, but that his lateral defensive skills needed development. His Summer League season ended with the injury although the injury only had a short-term impact. In the Knicks' first preseason game, which came on October 9 against the Boston Celtics in Providence, Rhode Island, Hardaway scored 16 points, 10 of which came in the fourth quarter, including the game winning shot with just over 8 seconds left. During the preseason, Hardaway shot 18-44 (40.9%) on his three-point shots. As a result of his performance and a 5-game suspension for J. R. Smith, he began the 2013–14 NBA season with what Sporting News described as a well earned role on the team.

Hardaway made his regular season debut in the 2013–14 Knicks season opener on October 30 at home against Milwaukee with 5 points on a 2–2 shooting night and 2 assists during a 15 minutes of playing time. In his second game, on October 31 against the Chicago Bulls, he played 27 minutes totalling 10 points and 3 rebounds. After Smith returned to the lineup, Hardaway scored 11 points against the San Antonio Spurs on November 10 and 14 points against the Atlanta Hawks on November 13 for sequential career highs. He posted his first 3-assist game on November 16 in another contest against the Hawks. On December 1 against the New Orleans Pelicans, Hardaway had a career-high 21 points. When Kenyon Martin sat out against the Boston Celtics on December 8, Hardaway earned his first NBA start. With Carmelo Anthony and Raymond Felton sitting out the Christmas Day game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Hardaway matched his career high with 21 points. Hardaway was one of three nominees for Eastern Conference NBA Rookie of the Month for December. Hardaway received a lot of publicity for a January 9 dunk over Ray Allen. On January 29, he was named a Rising Stars Challenge participant as part of the 2014 NBA All-Star Game weekend. The following night Hardaway set a career high with a game high (tied with Carmelo Anthony) 29 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Hardaway was one of four nominees for Eastern Conference NBA Rookie of the Month for January. In the February 14 Rising Stars Challenge, Hardaway had 36 points, including 7 three point shots, many coming in a one-on-one battle with Dion Waiters. Hardaway was one of three finalists for February Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month, but he lost to Victor Oladipo. After stringing together three consecutive 20-point games, Hardaway was a finalist for NBA Player of the Week on March 17 and for Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month in March. He was also a finalist for Eastern Conference Player of the Month in April. Hardaway finished fifth in the NBA Rookie of the Year Award balloting. As a result of his fifth-place finish in the separate NBA All-Rookie Team voting he was a first team NBA All-Rookie selection.

2014–15 season

Hardaway committed to represent the Knicks in 2014 NBA Summer League. In five summer league games, he averaged 22.8 points per game, which was second in the league. He earned NBA All-Summer League second team recognition. On July 18, he was named to practice with the USA Basketball National Select Team from July 28 — 31.

Hardaway began the season getting sparse minutes behind starting shooting guard Iman Shumpert and Smith. However, on November 7, the Knicks shuffled the lineup, moving Hardaway into the starting lineup against the Brooklyn Nets. The move came two nights after Hardaway scored a team-high 20 points off the bench against the Detroit Pistons. As the Knicks continued to lose games, Hardaway was moved out of the starting lineup for Quincy Acy on November 12 as head coach Derek Fisher experimented with his lineup. He replaced Anthony in the starting lineup on December 10 and had a team-high 23 points against the San Antonio Spurs. With both Smith and Shumpert injured in mid-December, Hardaway was again inserted into the starting lineup. He endured a mild concussion in the December 31 game against the Los Angeles Clippers causing him to sit on January 2 against the Detroit Pistons. He returned to the lineup on January 4 against the Milwaukee Bucks when the team endured a franchise record 10th consecutive home loss. On January 24, Hardaway posted a season-high 25 points along with 6 rebounds and 5 assists against the Charlotte Hornets. On March 7, Hardaway experienced back spasms while playing against the Indiana Pacers. He missed the next two games. He then returned to the lineup on March 12, to lead the team to victory over the Los Angeles Lakers by scoring 22 points. Then after playing two minutes against the Phoenix Suns, Hardaway injured his wrist on March 15. He then missed the next 9 games before returning to the lineup on April 3 against the Washington Wizards. He again posted 25 points in the season finale on April 15 against Detroit.

Atlanta Hawks (2015–present)

On June 25, 2015, Hardaway was traded to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for the draft rights to Jerian Grant. Despite averaging 24 points in the Hawks' final two preseason contests, Hardaway was listed as inactive for the season opener. However, on the same day that they announced he would be inactive for the opener, the Hawks announced that they picked up the team option for the 2016–17 season. He was expected to battle Kyle Korver, Kent Bazemore, and Thabo Sefolosha for playing time as the season progressed. Hardaway also found himself competing with Lamar Patterson and Justin Holiday for time as he adjusted to his new team and their new gameplan. As a result, Hardaway did not debut with the Hawks until November 24 against the Boston Celtics in the team's 16th game.

On December 3, 2015, using the flexible assignment rule, the Hawks assigned Hardaway to the Canton Charge, the D-League affiliate of the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was recalled by the Hawks three days later. On December 28, again using the flexible assignment rule, he was assigned this time to the Austin Spurs, the affiliate of the San Antonio Spurs. On January 3, 2016, he was recalled by the Hawks. Two days later, he played in his first game for the Hawks since November 28, scoring three points in 12 minutes off the bench in a 107–101 loss to the New York Knicks. He eventually moved into a backup role with the team, playing in 25 consecutive games by the end of February.

Hardaway made his first start for Atlanta on March 17, 2016 against the Denver Nuggets. He posted a season-high 21 points, seven rebounds, four assists, a steal and no turnovers in a season-high 29 minutes, far surpassing his February 3 season best of 13 points against Philadelphia 76ers.

In the Hawks' season opener on October 27, 2016, Hardaway scored 21 points off the bench in a 114–99 win over the Washington Wizards. 12 of his points came in the final quarter as the Hawks extended their 1-point lead. He exhibited increased production in his second year with Atlanta and started a pair of games in place of an injured Bazemore in December. On January 1, 2017, he matched his career high with 29 points, including a tying three-pointer with 3.3 seconds remaining in regulation, nine points in overtime and the go-ahead free throw with 10.8 seconds remaining in overtime, to help the Hawks defeat the San Antonio Spurs 114–112. Hardaway contributed 19 points (including 9 in the fourth quarter) as a starter in the quadruple overtime January 29 victory over the New York Knicks, playing 58 minutes. On February 2, Hardaway contributed 23 of his career-high 33 points in the fourth quarter, as he helped his team rally from as many as 20 points down against the Houston Rockets to win the contest. On March 3, he made five of nine three-pointers and scored a career-high 36 points in a 135–130 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Personal life

He has a sister named Nia, a dog named Tito, and is the son of five-time NBA All-Star Tim Hardaway. During the 2012–13 season, Hardaway memorialized deceased friends on his left shoe and deceased family members on his right shoe.