Eric Bledsoe · Biography

The first title of Eric Bledsoe's career came on March 14, 2010, in Nashville: Kentucky beat Mississippi State 75-74 in overtime in the SEC Tournament final, and the freshman guard led the Wildcats with 18 points. Born on December 9, 1989, in Birmingham, Alabama, Bledsoe is an American point guard who played twelve NBA seasons, from 2010 to 2022, with the Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns, Milwaukee Bucks and New Orleans Pelicans. In 2022 he signed with the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association.

Birmingham and Kentucky

He was raised in Birmingham by his mother, Maureen Reddick, who brought up three children on her own. He played at Parker High School, and as a senior in 2008-09 he averaged 20.3 points, 9.4 rebounds and 11.5 assists; Parker finished as Alabama 5A state runner-up. Rivals.com rated him a five-star recruit and the No. 23 player in the 2009 class. He joined John Calipari's Kentucky alongside John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins, and in 2009-10 averaged 11.3 points in 37 games, 35 of them as a starter. The Wildcats went 35-3 and reached the Elite Eight. In the NCAA Tournament he scored 29 points against East Tennessee State with eight three-pointers, a Kentucky tournament record. He made the SEC All-Freshman Team and declared for the draft on April 7, 2010.

Draft and early years with the Clippers

The Oklahoma City Thunder selected him with the 18th pick of the 2010 NBA Draft and traded his rights to the Los Angeles Clippers. As a rookie in 2010-11 he played 81 games, averaged 6.7 points and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. In 2012 he spent a short assignment with the Bakersfield Jam of the D-League, then played the playoffs with the Clippers: 11 games in 2012 and six in 2013. Backing up Chris Paul, he built a reputation for defensive pressure and athleticism, and he took part in the 2013 Slam Dunk Contest.

Starter in Phoenix

On July 10, 2013, a three-team trade sent Bledsoe and Caron Butler to the Phoenix Suns. In his first season as a regular starter he averaged 17.7 points, although a knee injury limited him to 43 games. On September 24, 2014, he re-signed with Phoenix on a five-year, $70 million contract, and in 2014-15 he played 81 games, all as a starter, with his first two career triple-doubles in December 2014. Knee surgery in December 2015 ended his season after 31 games. His best scoring year was 2016-17: 21.1 points and 6.3 assists per game, a career-high 41 points against Denver on January 28, 2017, matched on February 1 against the Clippers, and three 40-point games within eleven days, a franchise record.

Milwaukee and the All-Defensive teams

After three games of the 2017-18 season, Phoenix traded him on November 7, 2017, to the Milwaukee Bucks for Greg Monroe and protected first- and second-round picks. Alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo he averaged 17.8 points in 71 games for Milwaukee that season, scored 39 on March 30, 2018, and played a seven-game first-round series against the Boston Celtics. In March 2019 he agreed to a four-year, $70 million extension. That season he played 78 games for the team with the league's best record, appeared in 15 playoff games and was named to the 2019 NBA All-Defensive First Team. A year later he made the 2020 All-Defensive Second Team; in those playoffs Milwaukee lost to the Miami Heat in five games.

New Orleans, a return to Los Angeles and Portland

On November 24, 2020, he was part of the multi-team trade that sent Jrue Holiday to Milwaukee and moved Bledsoe to the New Orleans Pelicans, where he averaged 12.2 points in 71 games in 2020-21. In August 2021 a deal routed through the Memphis Grizzlies returned him to the Clippers in exchange for Patrick Beverley, Rajon Rondo and Daniel Oturu. He played 54 games in 2021-22 and on February 4, 2022, was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers in the Norman Powell and Robert Covington deal. An Achilles injury kept him from debuting for Portland, which waived him on July 6, 2022. He finished his NBA career with 756 regular-season games, averages of 13.7 points, 4.7 assists and 3.9 rebounds, and 48 playoff games.

Shanghai Sharks

On November 19, 2022, he signed with the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association, his first professional stint outside the NBA. With the Shanghai club he won the CBA Club Cup and was named Finals MVP of that competition in 2025.