Outside of serious Washington Wizards enthusiasts, Garrett Temple is not a name most NBA fans are likely to have heard of. But with Bradley Beal out of action with a broken wrist, Temple is suddenly making a name for himself.
Coming out of LSU in 2009, Temple, a 6’6″ shooting guard, went undrafted. He caught on with the Houston Rockets summer league squad, then was eventually assigned to their D-League affiliate. In February 2010, Temple inked a 10-day deal with the Rockets, his first of many such contracts over the next two seasons.
From 2010-11 Temple played in a total of 51 NBA games with five different franchises.
When the lockout delayed the 2011-12 season, Temple took his talents across the Atlantic to Italy. He was back in the NBA summer league in 2012, but couldn’t crack an opening night roster. After another stint in the D-League, Temple finally signed with the Wizards on Christmas Day 2012.
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He started 36 games for Washington that year, averaging 5.1 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 22.7 minutes per game.
However, in 2013-14 Temple fell out of the Wizards’ regular rotation, playing just 8.5 minutes a night.
With Beal now sidelined to start the 2014-15 season, the 28-year-old Temple is back–and in a big way. Temple has started all seven contests thus far for the 5-2 Wizards. He’s averaging 33.7 minutes per game, which is second on the club only to All-Star point guard John Wall.
Temple is shooting 43 percent from long range, and his 15 made 3-pointers are the most on the team. During a recent four-game winning streak, Temple scored in double-figures on each occasion while shooting 57 percent on 3s and averaging 15.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 steals.
Temple did not seem surprised by his recent run of success, saying (via Randy Rosetta of The Times-Picayune):
"I was talking to somebody the other day about always being kind of a late bloomer and that is still true. When I was 13, I didn’t play much on my AAU team and that’s when my dad was the coach. I was smaller than other guys and honestly, I wasn’t as good as the other players yet, so he had it right. But I kept working hard and got better."
In his last two games Temple has come back down to earth, possibly due to a minor wrist injury he sustained in Washington’s loss to the Toronto Raptors. He shot a combined 1-for-10 from the floor and scored just three points in each outing. He’ll look to get back on track against the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday.
The Wizards are currently tied with the Miami Heat for third place in the Eastern Conference. Washington’s hot start without Beal can be partially attributed to a soft early schedule (their five wins have come against opponents with a combined 12-28 record), but the surprising contributions of Garrett Temple are clearly a significant factor as well.