Damion James

Damion James

James shooting a free throw while playing for Texas
Free agent
Position Small forward / Shooting guard
Personal information
Born October 7, 1987
Hobbs, New Mexico
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight 225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High school Nacogdoches (Nacogdoches, Texas)
College Texas (2006–2010)
NBA draft 2010 / Round: 1 / Pick: 24th overall
Selected by the Atlanta Hawks
Pro career 2010–present
Career history
2010–2012 New Jersey Nets
2012–2013 Bakersfield Jam (D-League)
2013 Brooklyn Nets
2013–2014 Bakersfield Jam (D-League)
2014 Texas Legends (D-League)
2014 San Antonio Spurs
2014–2015 Texas Legends (D-League)
2015 Alaska Aces (Philippines)
Career highlights and awards

Damion Marquez Williams James (born October 7, 1987) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Alaska Aces of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

High school career

Considered a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, James was listed as the No. 7 small forward and the No. 17 player in the nation in 2006.[1] He had initially signed to play college basketball at the University of Oklahoma for head coach Kelvin Sampson but when Sampson took the head coaching position at Indiana University, the administration at OU released James from his letter of intent and he switched his decision to Texas.

College career

Freshman season

James started all 35 games, along with fellow freshmen Kevin Durant and D. J. Augustin, in leading the Longhorns to a 25–10 record. James averaged 25.9 minutes per contest, with 7.6 points and 7.2 rebounds.[2]

Sophomore season

James averaged 13.2 points and 10.3 rebounds,[2] helping Texas win a share of the Big 12 regular season title. While talking about the Texas Longhorns on Selection Sunday, Dick Vitale said that James may be the most athletic player in all of college basketball. He also shot 43.6% from behind the arc.

Junior season

James, along with A. J. Abrams and Justin Mason, started all 35 games for the Texas Longhorns that went 23–12 and advanced to the second round of the 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. He averaged 15.4 points and 9.2 rebounds with double doubles in 16 of the games on his way to earning a spot on the All-Big 12 Conference Second Team.[2] On April 15, 2009, James entered his named into the 2009 NBA draft, without hiring an agent, and thus retaining his NCAA eligibility.[3] On June 13, 2009, it was reported that James pulled his name from the draft after not being guaranteed a first-round draft position.

Senior season

As a senior, James averaged 18.0 points, 10.3 rebounds, and one assist per game.[2]

Professional career

James was selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the 24th overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft. His rights were later traded to the New Jersey Nets for the rights of the 27th pick Jordan Crawford and 31st pick Tibor Pleiß. On July 15, 2010, he signed a multi-year deal with the Nets and subsequently joined them for the 2010 NBA Summer League. On December 9, 2010, James got his first career start against the Dallas Mavericks.

In January 2012, it was announced that James would miss the rest of the 2011–12 NBA season after undergoing surgery to replace the screw that had been inserted in the broken right foot he suffered the previous season.[4]

On September 12, 2012, he signed with the Atlanta Hawks. However, he was later waived by the Hawks on October 27, 2012.

On November 1, 2012, James was acquired by the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA D-League.[5]

On January 13, 2013, he signed a 10-day with the Brooklyn Nets.[6] On January 23, 2013, he returned to the Jam.[7]

On February 4, 2013, James was named to the Prospects All-Star roster for the 2013 NBA D-League All-Star Game.[8]

In July 2013, James joined the Brooklyn Nets for the Orlando Summer League and the Miami Heat for the Las Vegas Summer League. On September 30, 2013, James signed with the Denver Nuggets.[9] However, he was later waived by the Nuggets on October 26, 2013.[10]

On December 5, 2013, James was reacquired by the Bakersfield Jam.[11] On February 20, 2014, he was traded to the Texas Legends.[12] On April 3, 2014, he signed a 10-day contract with the San Antonio Spurs.[13] On April 13, 2014, he signed with the Spurs for the rest of the season.[14] On June 15, 2014, he won his first NBA championship after the Spurs defeated the Miami Heat 4 games to 1 in the 2014 NBA Finals.

In July 2014, James joined the Detroit Pistons for the 2014 NBA Summer League. On September 29, 2014, he signed with the Washington Wizards.[15] However, he was later waived by the Wizards on October 25, 2014.[16] On November 3, 2014, he was reacquired by the Texas Legends.[17] On February 17, 2015, he terminated his contract with the Legends. The next day, he signed with the Alaska Aces as an import for the 2015 PBA Commissioner's Cup.[18]

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2010–11 New Jersey 25 9 16.1 .447 .000 .643 3.4 .8 .6 .5 4.4
2011–12 New Jersey 7 7 24.3 .371 .000 .667 4.7 .4 1.0 1.0 4.9
2012–13 Brooklyn 2 0 .0 .000 .000 .000 .5 .0 .0 .0 .0
2013–14 San Antonio 5 1 10.0 .222 .000 1.000 2.4 .6 .0 .2 1.2
Career 39 17 16.0 .415 .000 .667 3.4 .7 .6 .5 3.8

See also

References

External links