NBA History: Best NBA player born in each state
Best NBA player born in New Hampshire: Matt Bonner
Forward Matt Bonner is the only player born in the state of New Hampshire to have an NBA career. Bonner quietly snuck into the NBA, first with the Toronto Raptors, but he found his way as a solid role player with the San Antonio Spurs, winning two NBA titles in the process.
Bonner played his college basketball with the Florida Gators from 1999-03, averaging 12.0 points and 5.9 rebounds per contest while shooting 39.5 percent from 3-point range. He was taken 45th overall in the 2003 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls before being traded to the Toronto Raptors on draft night.
He honed his skills overseas during the 2003-04 season and in his return, found his way soon enough with the Spurs. He was traded to San Antonio during the 2006 offseason.
Bonner wasn’t a guy you wanted to let get hot or leave open from 3-point land. He made a career-high seven 3-pointers during the 2010-11 season with the Spurs in a Nov. 14 game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Bonner finished the game a perfect 7-of-7 from behind the arc with 21 points in the 117-104 victory. During that same season, Bonner led the league in 3-point field goal percentage at 45.7 percent.
In 10 seasons with the Spurs, Bonner averaged just 5.5 points per game but shot 41.3 percent from 3-point range. As one of the best 3-point shooters off the bench, Bonner was always one to make his presence felt when he touched the floor. In January 2017, Bonner announced his retirement from the NBA.