Kenneth Faried

Kenneth Bernard Faried Lewis is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Faried attended high school at Technology High School in Newark, New Jersey and played his college basketball for the Morehead State University.

Faried led the Ohio Valley Conference in rebounding in both his sophomore and junior year with 13 rebounds in each season. He scored 15 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in the final of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament and was named the tournament’s MVP. By winning the tournament, the Eagles grabbed a berth in the 2009 NCAA tournament. In his junior year, Faried again helped the Eagles reach the post-season and advance to the second round of the College Basketball Invitation.

He was named OVC Player and Defensive Player of the Year and an AP honorable mention All-American at the end of the season. In his senior year, Faried broke Tim Duncan's modern-era (post-1973) Division I career rebounding record of 1,570 rebounds, which had stood since 1997. He was named a second-team All-American by the United States Basketball Writers Association and by Fox Sports. He was also named the most valuable player of the Reese's College All-Star Game in 2011.

Faried was drafted as the 22nd overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft by the Denver Nuggets. In 46 games in his rookie year, he averaged 10.2 points and 7.7 rebounds in 22.5 minutes per game. He finished third in the NBA Rookie of the Year voting and was also named NBA All-Rookie Team honors for the 2011–12 season. He also became the first player in the shot-clock era to have at least 27 points and 17 rebounds in a game while playing less than 25 minutes.

The 2013-2014 season saw Faried have the best statistical year of his career so far. He averaged 13.7 points and 8.6 rebounds in 80 games. He scored 34 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, becoming the first player in NBA history to record those numbers while playing 27 minutes or less. In the 2014 off-season, Faried signed a multi-year contract extension with the Nuggets. In 2018, Faried was traded, along with a protected 2019 first round draft pick, Darrell Arthur, and a 2020 second round draft pick, to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Isaiah Whitehead.