Dakota Mathias

Dakota Mathias (born July 11, 1995) is an American professional basketball who last played for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Purdue University.

Dakota Mathias
Mathias with Joventut in 2018
Free agent
PositionShooting guard
Personal information
Born (1995-07-11) July 11, 1995
Lima, Ohio
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High schoolElida (Elida, Ohio)
CollegePurdue (2014–2018)
NBA draft2018 / Undrafted
Playing career2018–present
Career history
2018–2019Joventut
2019–2020Texas Legends
2020–2021Philadelphia 76ers
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing the  United States
Summer Universiade
2017 TaipeiTeam

High school career

Mathias is the son of Dan Mathias and has two older brothers. Mathias was a star basketball player at Elida High School. He entered the starting lineup as a freshman and scored over 1,000 points and broke the school scoring record with 1,902.[1] Mathias scored 28 points a game as a senior at Elida and was First Team All-Ohio twice. He committed to Purdue in November 2013.[2]

College career

Prior to Mathias's freshman season at Purdue, he suffered from mononucleosis and threw up before every practice. By the time his health was better, he suffered injuries to both ankles. Despite this, he never missed any games as a freshman but was not at full strength.[1] He averaged 4.8 points and 2.1 rebounds per game as a freshman but shot just 32.2 percent from 3-point range.[3] He had a procedure to correct sinus issues and a deviated septum prior to his second year.[1] As a junior, Mathias averaged 9.7 points a game, led the team in three-pointers and started every game. He developed a reputation as a coach on the floor, with players frequently going to him if they did not understand something basketball-related.[2] He was an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention and was named to the conference Defensive Team.[4][5]

As a senior, Mathias evolved into one of the best defensive players in the Big Ten Conference. He scored 23 points against Fairfield on November 29, 2017.[1] In the Round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament, he hit the critical 3-pointer with 13 seconds remaining that decided Purdue's 76–73 victory over Butler.[6] As a senior, he averaged 12.0 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game on a 30–7 squad. Mathias finished sixth in the NCAA in 3-point field goal percentage at 46.6 percent and owns the Purdue record for career 3-pointers with 250.[7] He was again an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention and named to the conference Defensive Team.[8]

Professional career

After going undrafted in the 2018 NBA draft, Mathias signed a partially guaranteed contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers, joining the team for Summer League.[9] On August 1, 2018, he signed with Divina Seguros Joventut of the Liga ACB in Spain.[10] After an ankle injury that sidelined him between October and December, some pain remained which prevented him from playing regularly, and on March 3, 2019, he and the club agreed to cancel their contract.[11]

On July 26, 2019, Mathias signed a training camp contract with the Dallas Mavericks.[12] He was waived on October 16, 2019,[13] but later added to the roster of the Mavs’ NBA G League affiliate, the Texas Legends.[14] He scored 30 points in a win over Sioux Falls Skyforce on November 27.[15] Mathias scored 30 points in a victory over the Oklahoma City Blue on December 9.[16] Mathias averaged 18.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal per game.[17]

On December 3, 2020, Mathias signed a two-way contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, splitting time with their G League affiliate the Delaware Blue Coats.[18] He was waived on January 18, 2021.

National team career

Mathias was a part of the Purdue team chosen to represent the United States in the 2017 Summer Universiade in Taipai, Taiwan.[19] The U.S. received a silver medal after losing in the title game to Lithuania.[20]

Personal life

Mathias married Gabby Gary, daughter of Mercer head coach Greg Gary, in August 2019.[6][21]

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
2020–21 Philadelphia 8215.4.396.308.333.91.6.1.46.0
Career 8215.4.396.308.333.91.6.1.46.0

References
  1. Baird, Nathan (November 21, 2017). "Purdue's Dakota Mathias still a role model, but more than a role player". Journal & Courier. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  2. Naveau, Jim (February 3, 2018). "Elida graduate Mathias, Purdue chasing a championship". The Lima News. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  3. Baird, Nathan (April 16, 2015). "Purdue's Dakota Mathias hopes for healthy summer". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  4. "Men's Basketball Postseason Honors: Purdue's Swanigan named Big Ten Player of the Year". BigTen.org. CBS Interactive. March 6, 2017. Archived from the original on March 7, 2017. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
  5. "2016–17 All-Big Ten Men's Basketball Team" (PDF). CSTV.com. March 6, 2017. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
  6. Baird, Nathan (March 21, 2018). "Dakota Mathias sets the tone for Purdue basketball with his calm intensity". Journal & Courier. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  7. "Purdue's Mathias picked for 3-Point Championship roster". The Journal Gazette. March 26, 2018. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  8. "View the 2017–18 All-Big Ten Men's Basketball Team". Big Ten Network. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  9. Baird, Nathan (June 22, 2018). "Former Purdue guard Dakota Mathias excited about his fit with Cleveland Cavaliers". Lafayette Journal & Courier. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  10. "Dakota Mathias signs with Badalona". Sportando. August 1, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  11. Prat, Jordi (March 3, 2019). "Dakota Mathias deixa de ser jugador del Divina Joventut". L'Esportiu (in Catalan). Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  12. Sefko, Eddie (July 26, 2019). "Mavericks sign former Purdue star Mathias". Mavs.com. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  13. "Dakota Mathias: Waived by Dallas". cbssports.com. October 16, 2019. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  14. "Legends hand Skyforce first home loss". KSFY. November 27, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  15. "Dakota Mathias: Drops 30 points in win". CBS Sports. November 27, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  16. "Dakota Mathias: Drops 30 points in win". CBS Sports. December 9, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  17. Schmidt, Dakota (May 27, 2020). "Dakota Schmidt And Santa Cruz Play By Play Man Kevin Danna Select Their G League All-Star Teams". Ridiculous Upside. SB Nation. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  18. "Team Signs Mathias to Two-Way Contract". NBA.com. December 3, 2020. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  19. DeCourcy, Mike (August 28, 2017). "World University Games 2017: Purdue 40 minutes from gold after wrecking Serbia". Sporting News. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  20. Botkin, Mike (August 29, 2017). "Medal Up". Indianapolis Monthly. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
  21. "Gabby Gary and Dakota Mathias". RegistryFinder.com. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
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