How did Amir Coffey fare in his high school and college career? All you need to know

Amir Coffey will make his first start of the 2022-23 NBA season when the LA Clippers face the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night. Coffey was given the opportunity because of Kawhi Leonard's absence. Leonard previously injured himself again during their game against the Utah Jazz on November 21.

Ironically, Amir Coffey was partly the reason why "The Claw" got hurt. According to SB Nation, Leonard landed on Coffey's foot while trying to make a defensive play. The Clippers star sprained his right ankle and now Coffey is rewarded with a start against the Warriors. Go figure.

But before Coffey's crazy fourth season with the Clippers, let's take a look at what his high school and college basketball career were like.

---

Amir Coffey's basketball journey

Los Angeles Clippers Media Day

Before Amir Coffey was signed by the LA Clippers in 2019, he grew up playing basketball in Minnesota. Coffey attended Hopkins High School where he was able to achieve a number of accolades as a young basketball player. As a senior, Coffey won the Minnesota Mr. Basketball award as well as the State Player of the Year and Metro Player of the Year award from the Associated Press and Star Tribune.

Amir Coffey's senior year in high school was definitely his best basketball season. Aside from all the awards he received, Coffey was named a four-star recruit and ranked 32nd overall in ESPN’s top 100 for the class of 2016. He averaged 19.9 points during his senior season. In 2015, the young Coffey announced that he was going to enroll at the University of Minnesota to represent the Golden Gophers.

He made a significant contribution to the Golden Gophers right away, ending the season as the team's second-leading scorer with 12.2 points per game. Coffey was also the second-leading assist man with 3.1 assists per game. These figures enabled him to earn Big Ten Conference All-Freshman Team honors. He immediately followed through in the following seasons by upping his game.

Amir Coffey raised his scoring numbers in both his sophomore and junior seasons. As a sophomore, Coffey averaged 14 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.3 assists. Then came his final college season during his junior year where he averaged 16.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 3.2 assists. Coffey decided to skip his fourth year in college and announced his entry into the 2019 NBA draft.

Unfortunately, for him, he went undrafted that year. However, the Clippers ended up offering him a contract that same year. Since signing the deal, Coffey has been with the team for four seasons now. As of November 23, he is averaging 5.9 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in his career.