Danny Granger Jr. was born on April 20, 1983 in New Orleans, Louisiana to Danny and Janice Granger. He is an American professional basketball player for the NBA's Indiana Pacers. He is mainly a small forward, though he does log time at the power forward position. Before his professional career, he went to Grace King High School in Metairie, Louisiana where he was a McDonald's All-American before his senior year. He was an academic student who scored at 30 on the ACT and was offered a partial scholarship to attend Yale University. He also played for Bradley University and the University of New Mexico.

Granger started his collegiate career at Bradley University where he played the 2001–2002 and 2002–2003 seasons. After a lackluster 12–18 season in 2002–2003, he would transfer to the University of New Mexico for the 2003–2004 and 2004–2005 seasons. In 2004–2005, he became the first player in school history to get 60 assists, 60 blocks, and 60 steals in a season. He would win the Mountain West Conference tournament MVP and lead the Lobos to the March Madness tournament.

Granger was selected 17th overall in the 2005 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers, as the organization included former Lobo Mel Daniels and Hall of Famer Larry Bird, who was coached in college by the father of New Mexico Lobo Basketball, coach Bob King.