Grant Golden (born January 15, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for Vanoli Cremona of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). He played college basketball for the Richmond Spiders of the Atlantic 10 Conference.
 Golden in 2018 | |
| Vanoli Cremona | |
|---|---|
| Position | Center |
| League | LBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | January 15, 1998 Richmond, Virginia, U.S.[1] |
| Listed height | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) |
| Listed weight | 255 lb (116 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | |
| College | Richmond (2016–2022) |
| NBA draft | 2022: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2022–present |
| Career history | |
| 2022–2023 | Grand Rapids Gold |
| 2023–present | Vanoli Cremona |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
High school career
After averaging 18.1 points and 7.7 rebounds per game as a sophomore for Sherando High School in Stephens City, Virginia, Golden transferred to St. James School in Hagerstown, Maryland. He suffered a stress fracture in his right foot before his junior season, before breaking his left ankle in his second game and missing the rest of the season.[2][3] As a senior at St. James, Golden averaged 17.2 points, 10.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, leading his team to the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference title. He was named Washington County Co-Player of the Year by The Herald-Mail.[2] He committed to playing college basketball for Richmond over offers from James Madison, San Diego, Wofford and George Washington.[4]
College career
On December 17, 2016, during a game against Texas Tech, Golden collapsed and was briefly unconscious due to an irregular heartbeat.[5] He underwent a cardiac ablation procedure to correct his heart rhythm.[6][7] Golden missed the remainder of the season, after playing nine games, and was granted a medical redshirt by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.[8] As a redshirt freshman, he averaged a team-high 15.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, earning Third Team All-Atlantic 10 and Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team honors. Golden scored 498 points, breaking the program freshman scoring record.[9] On November 21, 2018, he posted a career-high 33 points and nine rebounds in a 68–66 loss to Wyoming.[10] As a sophomore, he averaged 17.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game and was named to the Third Team All-Atlantic 10 for a second time.[11] On January 18, 2020, Golden scored a season-high 25 points in a 97–87 win against George Mason.[12] In his junior season, Golden averaged 13.4 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game, earning Second Team All-Atlantic 10 honors.[13] He led Richmond to a program-record 14 conference wins. Golden declared for the 2020 NBA draft before withdrawing his name and opting to return to Richmond.[14]
On January 18, 2022, Golden passed the 2,000 career point mark in a win against Fordham.[15] Golden collected his 1,000th rebound in the Spiders' 2022 Atlantic 10 tournament semifinal win over Dayton.[16]
Professional career
Grand Rapids Gold (2022–2023)
Following his career at Richmond, Golden signed with the Atlanta Hawks for the 2022 NBA Summer League season.[17] Golden then signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Denver Nuggets for the NBA preseason.[18] Golden was later waived and then re-signed a few days later by the Nuggets.[19] On November 4, 2022, Golden was named to the opening night roster for the Grand Rapids Gold.[20]
Vanoli Cremona (2023–present)
On August 1, 2023, Golden signed with Vanoli Cremona of the Lega Basket Serie A.[21]
Career statistics
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
College
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–17 | Richmond | 9 | 0 | 7.6 | .350 | .200 | .333 | 2.0 | .9 | .0 | .2 | 2.0 |
| 2017–18 | Richmond | 32 | 32 | 30.7 | .498 | .275 | .625 | 6.7 | 2.2 | .6 | 1.2 | 15.6 |
| 2018–19 | Richmond | 33 | 33 | 31.4 | .503 | .296 | .657 | 7.1 | 3.5 | .5 | 1.1 | 17.2 |
| 2019–20 | Richmond | 29 | 29 | 26.0 | .524 | .263 | .713 | 6.9 | 3.4 | .6 | .9 | 13.4 |
| 2020–21 | Richmond | 21 | 21 | 27.3 | .562 | .500 | .667 | 6.0 | 3.5 | .6 | .5 | 12.7 |
| 2021–22 | Richmond | 37 | 37 | 27.6 | .506 | .280 | .706 | 6.0 | 2.9 | .4 | .5 | 13.7 |
| Career | 161 | 152 | 27.5 | .511 | .295 | .665 | 6.3 | 3.0 | .5 | .8 | 14.0 | |
Personal life
Golden's younger brother, Bryce, played four years of college basketball for Butler before transferring to Loyola for his final season.[13][22] His father, Craig, stands 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) and played college basketball for Fairfield and Hartford.[2]