Caleb Swanigan

Caleb Sylvester Swanigan (April 18, 1997 – June 20, 2022) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Purdue Boilermakers. He was ranked among the top prep players in the national class of 2015 by Rivals.com, Scout.com and ESPN. He completed his senior season in the 2014–15 academic year for Homestead High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana, who went on to win the first state championship in the school's history. Swanigan was named Indiana's Mr. Basketball and a McDonald's All-American.

Swanigan originally committed to Michigan State University, but later decommitted and committed to Purdue University. He was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week three times, a record at Purdue. He was also named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team and also received a National Freshman of the Week award. Swanigan finished the season with 10.2 points per game and 8.3 rebounds per game.

During his sophomore year, Swanigan was named the Big Ten Player of the Year and first-team All-Big Ten, and was a unanimous first-team All-American. He was a finalist for the 2017 Karl Malone Award, given to the nation's top power forward. He was selected 26th overall in the first round of the 2017 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers. Over his three-year NBA career, Swanigan had two stints with the Trail Blazers; he also played for the Sacramento Kings.

Early life Swanigan grew up in an unstable home due to his father, Carl Swanigan Sr., who had a crack cocaine addiction. Swanigan's mother, Tanya, had six children. Swanigan moved between Utah and Indianapolis during his youth, spending time in homeless shelters.

Swanigan inherited two key features from his biological father—height and a tendency to obesity. The elder Swanigan, who died in 2014 from complications from diabetes, was and weighed nearly at his death. By the time Swanigan was entering eighth grade, he was and . When it came to selecting his high school, Swanigan's guardian Barnes said, "When he chose his high school, his high school had never really done much in the tournament, and his goal was to win a state championship at a school where that had never been done before." He was named a McDonald's All-American. Swanigan averaged 22.6 points and 13.7 rebounds as a senior. Academically, Swanigan maintained a 3.1 GPA and graduated in three years instead of the usual four. Swanigan played in the U17 World Championship Game. The team finished with a 7–0 record and earned a gold medal in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, extending the USA's total record at the U17 World Championship Game to 23–0.

Before starting his freshman season at Purdue, on June 18, 2015, Swanigan was announced as a member of the 12-man 2015 USA Basketball Men's U19 World Championship Team for the 2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship that won a gold medal in Heraklion, Crete. On making the team, Swanigan said, "I always set goals for myself. I set goals for this spring. One of my goals is to make this team to end my high school career." He was one of five players returning from the gold medal-winning U17 squad. Swanigan's teammate Vince Edwards was also in the running to make the team, but was cut at the round of 16. The team finished 7–0, and Swanigan averaged 6.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.

College career

Recruiting Swanigan had several teams recruit him and offer scholarships; Arizona, Kentucky, Cal and Duke were among the schools that gave Swanigan an offer. Caleb Swanigan verbally committed to Michigan State on April 10, 2015, but decommitted on May 7. He said, "I just felt like it was better basketball-wise for me." Swanigan announced his decision by tweeting "#BoilerUp". Swanigan was Purdue's first Indiana's Mr. Basketball recruit since Glenn Robinson in 1991, and was the first McDonald's All-American for Purdue since 1996. Swanigan joined Ryan Cline and Grant Weatherford in Purdue's 2015 recruiting class.

After his freshman season, Swanigan was one out of 162 underclassmen to enter their names for the 2016 NBA draft. However, despite being one of 63 invitees for the NBA draft combine that year, he ultimately decided to return to college on May 25, which was also the new date set for players to withdraw their names from the draft and try again for another year. An NBA scout said, "I think he has a chance if he can improve his jump shot and help defense. Big-time rebounder, works hard on his own. He's still more undersized center than power forward, though."

As of March 6, 2017, Swanigan was second in the nation in rebounds per game (12.6) and led the nation in double doubles (25) for the 2016–17 season. He was rated first in CBS National Player of the Year voting. In his sophomore season, Swanigan broke several Purdue records, including rebounds in a season, double-doubles in a season, and an NCAA record with four 20–20 performances. Purdue finished as the regular season Big Ten Champions, but were knocked out in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament by Michigan, the eventual tournament champions.

Purdue entered the 2017 NCAA men's basketball tournament as the 4th seed in the Midwest bracket and played Vermont in the first round. Purdue came away with an 80–70 win for their first tournament win in five years, with Swanigan posting a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Purdue continued its tournament run against Iowa State in the second round. Swanigan flirted with a triple-double with 20 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists in Purdue's 80–76 win. In the Sweet Sixteen, Purdue squared off against Kansas. Swanigan was 3-for-4 from the three-point line, finishing with 18 points and seven rebounds. Purdue ended their tournament run in a loss to the Jayhawks, 98–66.

At the conclusion of the season, Swanigan announced he would declare for the NBA draft and not hire an agent, therefore maintaining his college eligibility for at least one more year, if necessary. Swanigan was expected to go in the late first or early second round of the NBA draft. Swanigan finished his academic career with a 3.60 GPA during his last semester, and maintained a cumulative GPA of 3.34. Swanigan broke the single-season record for double-doubles at Purdue against #25 Northwestern by recording his 19th double-double. All Big Ten players combined for the last twenty years have two 20–20 games, and Swanigan had four in a single season. On June 22, 2020, the Big Ten Network named Swanigan to the "All-Decade Basketball Team", placing him on their Third Team. Swanigan was one of 16 players honored by the Network for accomplishments between 2010 and 2019.

Professional career

Portland Trail Blazers (2017–2019) On June 22, 2017, Swanigan was drafted in the first round (26th overall) by the Portland Trail Blazers. On being drafted, Swanigan said: "Being selected tonight in the NBA draft is a dream come true. I have been thinking of this moment for a long time. I know this is only the first step in my professional career, but I am extremely excited for to begin this journey." Boilermakers coach Matt Painter said, "We are thrilled that Biggie has achieved his lifelong dream of being selected in the NBA draft. It's been an incredibly tough road for him to get to this point and no one deserves it more than he does." Swanigan was the first Purdue basketball player to be drafted at the sophomore level or lower. During the 2017 NBA Summer League, Swanigan earned All-Summer League First Team honors for leading the Trail Blazers into the Summer League Finals, despite not winning the final.

Swanigan received his first NBA G League assignment, starting December 22, 2017, with the Canton Charge. On February 4, 2018, Portland recalled Swanigan back to the Trail Blazers. On December 30, he was assigned again to the G League, this time with the Texas Legends.

Sacramento Kings (2019–2020) On February 7, 2019, Swanigan was traded to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Skal Labissière. He was assigned to the G League franchise the Stockton Kings on December 16.

Return to the Trail Blazers (2020) On January 20, 2020, Swanigan was traded back to the Portland Trail Blazers along with Trevor Ariza and Wenyen Gabriel in exchange for Kent Bazemore, Anthony Tolliver and two future second-round picks. He opted out of playing with the Trail Blazers in the 2020 NBA Bubble for personal reasons.

Post-basketball career and death Following his departure from the NBA, Swanigan was charged with misdemeanor drug possession in 2021. A photo went viral around that time which showed he had regained significant weight. The photo and Damian Lillard's defense of Swanigan against online criticism received significant media coverage.

On June 20, 2022, Swanigan died in a Fort Wayne, Indiana hospital at age 25. The Allen County Coroner's Office reported that Swanigan "died of natural causes".

Career statistics Sources:

College

NBA Regular season

NBA G League

Regular season

Playoffs

Awards and honors

High school

Swanigan was named Indiana's Mr. Basketball and also was selected as a McDonald's All-American. He was selected as the Gatorade Player of the Year and the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association Underclass All-State first team. He was the All-USA Today Indiana Player of the year, and was selected to the Associated Press All-State Third Team.

During his sophomore season, Swanigan was selected to the Preseason All-Big Ten Team. Swanigan received the Big Ten Player of the Week award six times, the second most in a season in conference history. Swanigan also was selected unanimously for the Big Ten Player of the Year in the coaches poll, the fourth in Purdue's history, and the AP Big Ten Player of the Year. He was named the Basketball Times National Player of the Year and to five All-America teams: USBWA, Sporting News, USA Today, Sports Illustrated and NBC Sports. Swanigan was a unanimous selection for first-team All-Big Ten in both the coaches and media polls.