Gary Trent Jr.’s dad recalls the time on the clock of his mother’s Cadillac, which read 3:17 a.m. when she dropped a young Gary Trent Sr. off on his first day at work. The former NBA forward was not headed to some part-time job at a 24-hour restaurant. He was selling drugs to help support his struggling family.

“I remember looking at the tape deck on her [Cadillac] Fleetwood and it was 3:17 a.m. And I got out the car. She dropped me off at 3:17 in the morning and said, ‘See you when you get home,” he told Undefeated. That day on his first day of work, Trent Sr. made $180 before he decided to head back home at around 5 in the morning.

From that day onwards, Gary Trent Sr. decided he would never let his children live such a nightmarish childhood no matter what. Fast forward to now, he has raised 4 sons, including the Milwaukee Bucks star, Gary Trent Jr. for whom his dad has made sure they have a much easier lifestyle.

“He talks about his childhood all the time,” says the Bucks guard, who through his hard work and dad’s help has made it to the NBA following Trent Sr.’s footsteps. Let’s dive deeper into Gary Trent Jr.’s family roots and get to know about the Milwaukee star’s ethnicity, nationality, and more.

Where is Gary Trent Jr. from? What is the Milwaukee Bucks star’s nationality?

Gary Trent Jr. hails from Apple Valley, Minnesota, and is a citizen of the United States, where the Bucks guard was born to parents Gary Trent Sr. and Roxanne Holt on January 18th, 1999. After Trent Jr. was born, his father wanted to be the dad he never had and was available to his son since his arrival in the world. He would often stretch out his son’s arms and legs to create what he calls “muscle memory”.

Soon, Gary Trent Jr. picked up a liking for basketball as he attended Apple Valley High School before transferring to Prolific Prep and representing their basketball program. He led his high school team to an impressive 29-3 season as a senior, where he averaged a mind-blowing 31.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3.8 assists.

Following this, he was named the No. 1 shooting guard and No. 7 overall recruit from the class of 2017 by ESPN. Furthermore, the guard was also awarded the Minnesota Player of the Year honors alongside being named to the McDonald’s All-American team in 2017. He went on to have a successful career at Duke before eventually being picked by the Kings, after which he was immediately traded to the Trail Blazers throughout which his dad has been tremendously influential.

Has Gary Trent Jr. represented the U.S. National Team?

Being born and brought up in the United States, Gary Trent Jr. was eligible to represent the American National Team. His journey for the U.S. started at the FIBA Americas Under-16 Championship, where he was part of the gold medal-winning team. Furthermore, his next achievement while playing for his nation came at the FIBA Under-17 World Championship, where he once again struck gold.

As per his college profile, Gary Trent Jr. was pivotal in both campaigns, as he averaged 12.7 points and 3.9 rebounds at the FIBA Under-17 World Cup. And was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 2015 at the FIBA Americas Under-16 World Cup. As for the senior men’s team, that remains a feat Gary Trent Jr. is yet to achieve but it could be soon as he still has a long road in the NBA ahead of him.