Julian Strawther

Julian Lee Strawther-Cordero (born April 18, 2002) is a Puerto Rican professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs.

High school career
Strawther played basketball for Liberty High School in Henderson, Nevada. As a junior, he averaged 27.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. In his senior season, he averaged 31.5 points, 11.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game, earning Southeast League co-MVP honors. Strawther scored 51 points against Apollo High School at the HoopHall West Invitational, setting an event record. He left as his school's all-time leader in points and rebounds. A consensus four-star recruit, he committed to playing college basketball for Gonzaga over offers from Marquette, Florida and UNLV.

College career
As a freshman at Gonzaga, Strawther averaged 3.4 points per game, serving as the backup to Corey Kispert. His team reached the national championship game. On November 15, 2021, he scored 18 points in an 84–57 win over Alcorn State. As a sophomore, Strawther averaged 11.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. He declared for the 2022 NBA draft following the season before ultimately returning to Gonzaga.

On January 28, 2023, Strawther scored a career-high 40 points in an 82–67 victory over Portland. In the 2023 NCAA tournament against UCLA, he made a 35 ft basket for the lead with six seconds remaining, and Gonzaga held on for the win to advance to the quarterfinals.

National team career
Although a native of Las Vegas, Strawther represents Puerto Rico at the international level due to his mother's Puerto Rican ancestry. At the 2019 FIBA Under-19 World Cup, he averaged 22 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, helping his team finish in sixth place. He recorded 40 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in a loss to Russia in the fifth-place game.

Personal life
Strawther was nine years old when his mother, Lourdes, died from breast cancer. His older sister, Paris, played college basketball for UNLV. Strawther's paternal grandfather, Edward, was a lieutenant colonel who served in World War II, and formed the Las Vegas Sentinel, one of two African-American newspapers in Nevada.