He was also named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team and also received a National Freshman of the Week award.

[2] Over his three-year NBA career, Swanigan had two stints with the Trail Blazers; he also played for the Sacramento Kings.

Swanigan moved between Utah and Indianapolis during his youth, spending time in homeless shelters.

The elder Swanigan, who died in 2014 from complications from diabetes, was 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) and weighed nearly 500 pounds (230 kg) at his death.

[3] His father had many brushes with the law, battled drug addiction for most of his adult life, and physically assaulted his wife.

According to a story in Bleacher Report, Swanigan was accidentally dropped by his mother as an infant, leaving a bruise on his face; this incident led her to move with her children to Salt Lake City.

For the next decade, the family bounced between Indianapolis and Utah; he recalled that he lived in five different homeless shelters and attended 13 different schools by the time he was 13.

[3] When his mother decided to move the family to Houston, his older brother Carl Jr., concerned that Caleb would keep gaining weight if he moved with his mother, called his former AAU basketball coach, Roosevelt Barnes, a former three-sport star at Purdue who played on the school's 1980 Final Four team and now a successful sports agent.

Barnes, living in Fort Wayne, Indiana, agreed to take Caleb in if he could adopt him and raise him as his own son.

[4] As a senior, he was named Indiana Mr. Basketball and led Homestead to a first-ever state title.

[10] Swanigan qualified for the 2014 U17 World Championship Team, beating out twenty other players vying for a spot to make the 12-man squad.

[12] Before starting his freshman season at Purdue, on June 18, 2015, Swanigan was announced as a member of the 12-man 2015 USA Basketball Men's U19 World Championship Team for the 2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship that won a gold medal in Heraklion, Crete.

Swanigan's teammate Vince Edwards was also in the running to make the team, but was cut at the round of 16.

[5] Swanigan joined Ryan Cline and Grant Weatherford in Purdue's 2015 recruiting class.

He scored six points and grabbed 10 rebounds in #4 Purdue's loss to #13 Arkansas–Little Rock in the 2016 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, and did not play at all during the overtime period.

Swanigan set his personal record for points against Norfolk State with 32, while shooting 83% from the field.

[25][26] Purdue entered the 2017 NCAA men's basketball tournament as the 4th seed in the Midwest bracket and played Vermont in the first round.

[30] At the conclusion of the season, Swanigan announced he would declare for the NBA draft and not hire an agent, therefore maintaining his college eligibility for at least one more year, if necessary.

[34] All Big Ten players combined for the last twenty years have two 20–20 games, and Swanigan had four in a single season.

Boilermakers coach Matt Painter said, "We are thrilled that Biggie has achieved his lifelong dream of being selected in the NBA draft.

[38] Swanigan received his first NBA G League assignment, starting December 22, 2017, with the Canton Charge.

[43] On January 20, 2020, Swanigan was traded back to the Portland Trail Blazers along with Trevor Ariza and Wenyen Gabriel in exchange for Kent Bazemore, Anthony Tolliver, and two future second-round picks.

The photo and Damian Lillard's defense of Swanigan against online criticism received significant media coverage.

He was selected as the Gatorade Player of the Year and the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association Underclass All-State first team.

He was the All-USA Today Indiana Player of the year, and was selected to the Associated Press All-State Third Team.

Swanigan received the Big Ten Player of the Week award six times, the second most in a season in conference history.

[22] Swanigan was a unanimous selection for First Team All Big Ten in both the coaches and media polls.