Age: 27
Hometown: San Diego, Calif.
Birthday: July 10, 1985
Height: 6-7
Weight: 225
Position: SG/SF
Experience: 5 years
Draft: 2007, 22nd overall by Charlotte
College: Boston College
2012-13 Salary: $4,250,000
Consult our advanced stats page for a glossary and discussion of the preceding metrics.
Season Outlook: After apprenticing under Steve Nash and Grant Hill for the last three and half years, Jared Dudley has assumed a major leadership role for the Phoenix Suns. Jared has long been respected around the league for his dedication, work ethic, and persona. During his time in Phoenix, he has worked his way up from second tier to a starting-caliber player. Now that he has proven himself to the league, Jared is earning his teammates’ respect and trust as well.
Although at this point Dudley is still competing with Shannon Brown for the starting shooting guard spot, in truth the spot seems to be Jared’s to lose. Early in training camp, Dudley is brimming with confidence. His unique skill set is a real asset for Phoenix. On one hand, he is a great shooter from long range. On the other hand, despite his limited athleticism, he is able to use his big body to rebound well for his position and draw fouls. On the defensive side of the ball, Dudley is tenacious and often outworks players who are faster or more agile. Despite all the new faces in town, Jared might be Phoenix’s most important player this season. — Ryan Weisert
Biography: Jared Dudley, AKA “The Junkyard Dog,” has been an underdog his whole career. Despite averaging 23.3 points and 14.0 rebounds per game as a senior at San Diego’s Horizon High School, while amassing San Diego Section Player of the Year honors, he was lightly recruited out of high school.
He eventually coaxed an offer out of Boston College, and he promptly became an ACC Player of the Year in a season in which J.J. Redick was also a standout in the conference. The 2006-07 ACC Player of the Year, Dudley averaged 19.0 points and 8.3 rebounds per game as a senior, finishing fifth on Boston College’s all-time scoring list and seventh in rebounds.
Dudley was then selected with the 22nd pick in the 2007 NBA Draft and soon learned he needed to transform his game to stick in the league due to a lack of athleticism for this level (although he does have some of the most athletic hands in the NBA). After arriving in Phoenix with Jason Richardson and a second-rounder that became Gani Lawal for Boris Diaw, Raja Bell and Sean Singletary, Dudley worked tirelessly in the offseason to become a lethal three-point shooter, ranking fourth in the league in three-point shooting percentage in 2008-09 (45.8 percent). That work eventually led him to a five-year contrast extension from the Suns that pays him $4.25 million a season.
Many Suns players have embraced social media and Twitter, but nobody has to the extent @JaredDudley619 has. Social media has become a major part of the Jared Dudley brand, and that certainly includes his JMZ Twitter videos in which he provides behind the scenes coverage and authentic, fresh interviews with teammates.
Links to ValleyoftheSuns coverage of Dudley:
Jared Dudley continues to showcase his evolution as Suns top Kings with regular rotation
Jared Dudley is the new era Phoenix Suns’ Big Bang
Jared Dudley will continue as Phoenix’s one given
The careful calculation of Jared Dudley
Jared Dudley keeps improving on his journey to a starting spot
Jared Dudley Phoenix Suns offseason improvement video
Jared Dudley shining as starter, Josh Childress splint-less
Pro/Con: The Jared Dudley extension