BIOGRAPHY
Frank Kaminsky was born on April 4, 1993, in Lisle, Illinois. He is a power forward in the NBA.
Kaminsky's father, Frank Jr., played basketball at Lewis University. His mother, Mary, played volleyball at Northwestern. Kaminsky, who is of Serbian ancestry, grew up in Woodridge, Illinois. In 1998, when he was 5 years old, his aunt and uncle worked for the Chicago Bulls and he had access to the practice facility when Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman and Randy Brown were on the team.
Kaminsky attended Benet Academy in Lisle, Illinois. He was named first-team all-state by the Chicago Sun-Times and IBCA and second-team all-state by the AP after averaging 14.2 points, 8.7 rebounds, 4.2 blocks and 2.8 assists during his senior season. He led the Redwings to a 29-1 season after being defeated in the Sectional Semifinals by the East Aurora Tomcats that were led by Connecticut Huskies superstar and National Champion Ryan Boatright. He was also named all-area, all-conference and East Suburban Catholic Conference Player of the Year. Kaminsky's jersey number, 44, was retired in a ceremony at Benet Academy on November 18, 2017.
Ahead of the 2014 season, Kaminsky was named the Big Ten preseason player of the year. The Badgers were unanimously picked to win the Big Ten Championship.
The Badgers and Kaminsky validated those predictions. The Badgers had a 36-3 record in games Kaminsky played. They won the Big Ten regular season title with a 16-2 record and the Big Ten tournament title. After becoming the first NCAA tournament 1-seed in school history, they made their way to their second consecutive Final Four. There, they avenged their previous season's loss to Kentucky, upsetting the 38-0 Wildcats 71-64 behind Kaminsky's 20 points and 11 rebounds. In the Badgers' first national championship game in 74 years, they lost a 9-point second-half lead and were defeated 68-63 by the Duke Blue Devils. Kaminsky finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds. For the season, he finished with 18.8 PPG and 8.2 RPG, despite playing for a team that ranked 346th out of 351 in adjusted tempo. He led the nation in PER, an efficiency-based stat. Wisconsin boasted the highest adjusted offensive efficiency in KenPom history.
Kaminsky was named consensus first-team All-American. On March 31, 2015, he was named the National Association of Basketball Coaches Player of the Year. On April 3 he was named Associated Press College Basketball Player of the Year, the first Wisconsin player to receive the award since its creation in 1961. He also received the Oscar Robertson Trophy as the United States Basketball Writers Association College Player of the Year. On April 5, he was named the Naismith College Player of the Year. On April 10, he won both the John R. Wooden Award and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award. On June 12 Kaminsky was named University of Wisconsin's Male Athlete of the Year.
On June 25, 2015, Kaminsky was selected with the ninth overall pick by the Charlotte Hornets in the 2015 NBA draft. He averaged 9.8 points and 4 rebounds in 22.2 minutes over the course of 4 years.
On July 17, 2019, Kaminsky signed a two-year deal with the Phoenix Suns.
On February 9, 2023, Kaminsky, Justin Holiday, and 2 future second-round draft picks were traded to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Bruno Fernando and Garrison Mathews.
