Devonte' Graham

Devonte' Terrell Graham (born February 22, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kansas Jayhawks, where he played point guard.

Devonte Graham
Graham with the Charlotte Hornets in 2020
No. 4 – Charlotte Hornets
PositionPoint guard / Shooting guard
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1995-02-22) February 22, 1995
Raleigh, North Carolina
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight197 lb (89 kg)
Career information
High school
CollegeKansas (2014–2018)
NBA draft2018 / Round: 2 / Pick: 34th overall
Selected by the Atlanta Hawks
Playing career2018–present
Career history
2018–presentCharlotte Hornets
2018–2019→Greensboro Swarm
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  United States
Summer Universiade
2015 Gwangju Team competition

High school career

Graham attended Needham B. Broughton High School in Raleigh, North Carolina, leading the team to the 4A state championship game and a 26-6 record in 2012-13 while he averaged 15.7 points and 5.4 assists per game. Graham was not highly recruited and originally committed to Appalachian State. Because Appalachian State head coach Jason Capel would not allow him to de-commit, Graham elected to play a post-graduate year at Brewster Academy, in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. At Brewster, Graham averaged 17.2 points and 5.0 assists per game and led the team to the national prep championship.[1] At Brewster, Graham was teammates with Donovan Mitchell, Isaac Copeland and Jared Terrell. After a great post-graduate year he de-committed and signed with Kansas.[2]

College career

As a freshman at Kansas, Graham averaged 5.7 points and 2.1 assists per game. He had a season-high 20 points against TCU on February 21, 2015. In the NCAA Tournament, he scored 17 points against Wichita State.[1]

Graham at Kansas.

After scoring a then career-high 27 points on 8-of-13 shooting against Oklahoma, Graham was named Big 12 Player of the Week for the week of February 14, 2016.[3] At the conclusion of the regular season, Graham was named to the Big 12 All-Defensive Team.[4] He was named MVP of the 2016 Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament after scoring 27 points against West Virginia in the championship game.[5] As a sophomore in the 2015-16 season, Graham averaged 11.3 points per game while shooting 46 percent overall and 44 percent from 3 point territory.[6][7]

On February 22, 2017, Graham was arrested for failing to appear in court, resulting from an expired traffic ticket.[8] As a junior, Graham was named to the Second Team All-Big 12.[9] Along with Frank Mason III, Graham formed the backcourt of a Kansas team that went 31-5 but lost in the Elite Eight, as Graham shot 0 for 7 from the field and missed six 3-pointers in a season-ending 74-60 loss to Oregon. For the season, he averaged 13.4 points, 4.1 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game. In April, Graham announced on Twitter that he was returning for his senior year.[10]

In his senior season, Graham was named the preseason Big 12 Player of the Year for the 2017–18 season.[11] On November 28, Graham scored a career high 35 points in a 96-58 win over Toledo.[12] The following game, a 76-60 win over Syracuse, Graham again scored 35 points.[13] Graham would go on to be unanimously selected as the Big 12 Player of the Year, averaging 17.6 points and 7.2 assists per game as a senior.[14] He was also named a consensus member of the First Team All-America by multiple organizations. During his senior season, he averaged about 38 minutes a game.[7]

Professional career

Charlotte Hornets (2018–present)

Graham was drafted in the 2nd round, 34th overall, in the 2018 NBA draft by the Atlanta Hawks but was then traded to the Charlotte Hornets for two second round picks.[15] In the Hornets' first three summer league games, he averaged ten points and six assists per contest. However, he would miss the rest of summer league with a knee injury.[16] Graham made his NBA debut on October 22, 2018, against the Toronto Raptors, recording no points and one assist in five and a half minutes of play.[17] On October 23, 2019, Graham made his regular season debut for the Charlotte Hornets; he scored 23 points to go along with eight assists and four rebounds in the 126–125 win over the Chicago Bulls. Graham hit six three pointers to help the Hornets set a new franchise record for three-point field goals made in a single game.[18] On December 11, Graham scored a career-high 40 points with five rebounds and five assists in a 113–108 win over the Brooklyn Nets.[19]

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
2018–19 Charlotte 46314.7.343.281.7611.42.60.50.04.7
2019–20 Charlotte 635335.1.382.373.8203.47.51.00.218.2
Career 1095626.5.375.357.8102.55.4.8.218.7

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2014–15 Kansas 29017.8.393.425.7241.52.10.90.05.7
2015–16 Kansas 383632.6.460.441.7443.33.71.40.111.3
2016–17 Kansas 363635.3.428.388.7933.14.11.50.213.4
2017–18 Kansas 393937.8.400.406.8274.07.21.60.117.3
Career 14211131.7.422.409.7873.14.51.40.112.3

References
  1. "Devonte Graham". Kansas Jayhawks. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  2. Newell, Jesse (May 12, 2016). "Appalachian State coach who let Devonte' Graham go says he has no regrets". Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  3. "Wins Over Ranked Foes Help Graham, Burton To Weekly Honors". Big 12 Sports. February 15, 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  4. "Nation's Best Lead All-Big 12 Men's Basketball Awards". Big 12 Sports. March 6, 2016. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  5. "No. 1 Kansas overcomes No. 9 West Virginia to capture Big 12 title". ESPN. Associated Press. March 12, 2016. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  6. Bedore, Gary (September 19, 2016). "Devonté Graham's personality and play pleases Self, youngsters alike". Kansas City Star. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  7. Trotter, Jake. In big moments, Devonte' Graham has been Kansas' X factor all season, ESPN, March 26, 2018.
  8. Boone, Kyle (February 23, 2017). "Kansas' Devonte' Graham arrested shortly after Jawhawks clinch Big 12 title". CBS Sports. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  9. "Three Teams Lead Men's Basketball Awards". Big 12 Sports. March 5, 2017. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  10. Galloway, Matt (April 9, 2017). "KU basketball guard Devonte' Graham returning for senior season". Topeka Capital-Journal. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  11. Tait, Matt (October 13, 2017). "KU's Devonté Graham named Big 12 preseason player of the year". kusports.com. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  12. Smith, Benton (November 28, 2017). "Devonte' Graham and No. 2 Jayhawks too hot for Toledo". KUSports.com. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  13. "Graham's 35 carries No. 2 Kansas past Syracuse, 76-60". ESPN. Associated Press. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  14. Trotter, Jake (March 13, 2018). "Devonte' Graham unanimous Big 12 Player of the Year over Trae Young". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  15. Marks, Brenda (June 22, 2018). "Hornets trade up in NBA draft, select NC native in Kansas' Devonte' Graham". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
  16. Bonnell, Rick (July 25, 2018). "There's good news regarding Charlotte Hornets rookie Devonte Graham's knee injury". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
  17. Smith, Benton (October 31, 2018). "Devonte' Graham is headed to the G League". 'Hawks in the NBA. Lawrence Journal-World. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  18. "Hornets rookie Washington nets 27 in 126-125 win over Bulls". ESPN.com. October 23, 2019. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  19. "Graham scores 1, Hornets rally to beat Nets 113-108". ESPN.com. December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
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