Michael Kidd-Gilchrist

Against 4th-ranked Louisville, he turned in his most dominating performance of the season with 24 points and 19 rebounds, shooting a career-high 13 free throws and having his first zero-turnover game at Kentucky.

This was enough to lead Kentucky to a 69–62 victory in Lexington.

He became only the second player in NBA history to post two games with at least 25 points and at least 12 rebounds before his 20th birthday and became just the fourth player in 20 years to record two such games in the first 25 games of his career.

Michael Anthony Edward Kidd-Gilchrist Jr. ( Gilchrist; born September 26, 1993) is an American former professional basketball player.

In July 2010, Gilchrist, along with future Kentucky teammate Marquis Teague, were a part of the gold medal-winning team in the FIBA U-17 World Championships in Hamburg, Germany.

Gilchrist's senior year at St. Patrick High School was a pivotal storyline in the HBO documentary Prayer for a Perfect Season.

Kidd-Gilchrist committed to attend the University of Kentucky on April 14, 2010.

He played for the University of Kentucky men's basketball team from 2011 to 2012.

Kidd-Gilchrist was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Somerdale, New Jersey.

He was raised by his mother, Cindy Richardson, and his stepfather, Vincent Richardson, after Kidd-Gilchrist's father died before Michael's third birthday.

While attending basketball powerhouse St. Patrick High School in Elizabeth, New Jersey (where he played with Kyrie Irving), he was considered one of the best basketball players in the United States.

He was ranked as the #3 player by ESPN.com, and Rivals.com; while Scout.com ranked him as the #1 player at his position.

In the first game of the 2011–12 season and his career as a Wildcat, Kidd-Gilchrist was a starter and scored 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting against Marist.

In his second game against 11th-ranked Kansas, he scored 12 points and pulled down nine rebounds in a 75–65 victory at Madison Square Garden.

Kidd-Gilchrist was drafted second overall by the Charlotte Bobcats in the 2012 NBA draft.

In April 2012, Kidd-Gilchrist declared for the 2012 NBA draft.

On June 28, he was drafted second overall by the Charlotte Bobcats.

On July 7, 2012, the Bobcats signed Kidd-Gilchrist to a rookie scale contract.

On November 10, 2012, in just his fifth NBA game, Kidd-Gilchrist had 25 points and 12 rebounds in a 101–97 win over the Dallas Mavericks, marking Charlotte's first-ever win over Dallas in the franchise's nine-year history, ending a 16-game losing streak against the Mavericks.

He had a second 25-point, 12-rebound effort on December 19, 2012, against the Phoenix Suns.

On April 5, 2013, he had a season-high 14 rebounds against the Miami Heat.

On May 14, 2013, he was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.

In 2013–14, Kidd-Gilchrist missed 19 games mid-season due to injury.

He scored a season-high 16 points three times, all in November, and had a season-high 12 rebounds twice during the second half of the season.

Over the 2014 offseason, Kidd-Gilchrist worked with Hornets' assistant coach Mark Price to help re-develop his jump shot.

Kidd-Gilchrist's 2014–15 season started slow as he missed 14 of Charlotte's first 20 games because of rib and foot injuries.

During this stretch, the Hornets were just 3–11 without Kidd-Gilchrist on the court, who returned on December 10 against the Boston Celtics.

Kidd-Gilchrist's best play came in January when he averaged 11.4 points and 9.4 rebounds leading the way for a Hornets team that went 10–4 during the month.

He scored in double figures ten times in January, and also recorded five double-doubles, which was just one shy of matching his career best for an entire season.

He later missed a pair of games right before the All-Star Break with a hamstring strain and sat out Charlotte's final 11 games because of a sprained left ankle he suffered against the Washington Wizards on March 27.

Despite a career-low 55 games, Kidd-Gilchrist averaged personal bests in points (10.9) and rebounds (7.6).

On August 26, 2015, Kidd-Gilchrist signed a four-year, $52 million contract extension with the Hornets.

On October 3, 2015, he suffered a separated right shoulder in a preseason contest against the Orlando Magic.

On February 11, he was deemed unlikely to play again in 2015–16 due to another right shoulder injury.

He was ruled out for the rest of the season five days later after his torn labrum required another round of surgery.

He subsequently missed four months of action, making his season debut on January 29, 2016, against the Portland Trail Blazers.

In the Hornets' season opener on October 26, 2016, Kidd-Gilchrist recorded 23 points and 14 rebounds in a 107–96 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

Both were season-high marks.

On the year, Kidd-Gilchrist finished with 9.2 points on 47.7 percent shooting, a team-high 7.0 rebounds (1.9 offensive boards) and 1.4 assists to go along with career-best marks in free-throw percentage (78.4 percent), steals (1.0), blocks (1.0) and turnovers (0.7).

In a rivalry game against 5th-ranked North Carolina at Rupp Arena, Kidd-Gilchrist led Kentucky in scoring with 17 points and had 11 rebounds, giving him his first double-double as a Wildcat.