Maurice Baker

Maurice Baker (born July 28, 1979) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA Development League. He played college basketball for Dixie State College and Oklahoma State University, and has spent time in the NBA with the Los Angeles Clippers and the Portland Trail Blazers. He has also played professionally in Russia, Syria, Mexico, Lithuania, France, Puerto Rico, Philippines, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic.

Maurice Baker
Personal information
Born (1979-07-28) July 28, 1979
Madison, Illinois
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High schoolMadison (Madison, Illinois)
College
NBA draft2002 / Undrafted
Playing career2002–2016
PositionPoint guard
Career history
2002–2003Avtodor Saratov
2004Al-Ittihad
2004Correcaminos Matamoros
2004–2005Dakota Wizards
2005Los Angeles Clippers
2005Portland Trail Blazers
2005–2006Dakota Wizards
2006Lietuvos Rytas
2006–2008Dakota Wizards
2008Paris-Levallois
2008–2009Dakota Wizards
2009Atléticos de San Germán
2009–2010Dakota Wizards
2010Indios de Mayagüez
2010Ola Verde de Poza Rica
2011Dakota Wizards
2011Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters
2011Guaiqueríes de Margarita
2011–2012Dakota Wizards
2012Cañeros del Este
2012–2016Santa Cruz Warriors
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com

Baker has been one of the Santa Cruz Warriors' greatest club servants, dating back to their Dakota Wizards days, having played every season since 2004 in the Continental Basketball Association and the NBA Development League. Baker has appeared in the second-most D-League games (356) in league history,[1] and is the Warriors' franchise all-time leader in points, minutes played, rebounds, assists, steals, and field goals made.[2]

Professional career

Over his first two professional seasons, between 2002 and 2004, Baker played in Russia, Syria and Mexico. His first stint in the United States came during the 2004–05 season, when he joined the Dakota Wizards of the Continental Basketball Association. After averaging 16.9 points, 6.7 assists and 5.4 rebounds in 30 games for Dakota, he was called up to the NBA by the Los Angeles Clippers in February 2005.[3] The following month, he garnered another NBA stint, this time with the Portland Trail Blazers. Over two 10-day contract periods with the Clippers and Trail Blazers, Baker appeared in five games with limited court time.[4]

Baker returned to the Dakota Wizards for the 2005–06 season, playing with them until January 2006 when he moved to Lithuania to play for Lietuvos Rytas. In 12 league games for Rytas, he averaged 6.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.7 steals per game.

In the summer of 2006, Baker underwent ankle surgery, and was deemed "about 80 percent of the player he was before" the surgery.[5] For the 2006–07 season, Baker returned to the Dakota Wizards, with the team now playing in the NBA Development League. In their first D-League season, Baker helped the Wizards win the championship.[6] He again played for Dakota in 2007–08, departing the team in January 2008 to join Paris-Levallois of the LNB Pro A.

In 2008–09, Baker again played in the NBA Development League for the Dakota Wizards, earning All-Star honors for the first time.[7] Following the season with Dakota, Baker moved to Puerto Rico for the 2009 BSN season, joining Atléticos de San Germán. He returned to Dakota for the 2009–10 season, before again playing in Puerto Rico in the off-season, this time joining Indios de Mayagüez.

For the 2010–11 season, Baker moved to Mexico where he played for Ola Verde de Poza Rica. In January 2011, he returned to the Dakota Wizards for the rest of the season.[2] He later had stints in the Philippines for the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters,[8] and in Venezuela for Guaiqueríes de Margarita.

Baker again played for the Dakota Wizards in 2011–12. He then played in the Dominican Republic during the 2012 off-season for Cañeros del Este.[9][10][11]

In 2012, the Wizards were moved from North Dakota to California by their NBA affiliate team, the Golden State Warriors.[12] The team was subsequently renamed the Santa Cruz Warriors, and Baker continued on with Santa Cruz. Between 2012 and 2016, Baker has been a consistent presence on the Santa Cruz roster, earning his second D-League championship in 2014–15.[13]

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
2004–05 L.A. Clippers 101.0.000.000.000.0.0.0.0.0
2004–05 Portland 404.5.000.000.000.5.3.3.0.0
Career 503.8.000.000.000.4.2.2.0.0

References
  1. Santa Cruz Warriors Re-Acquire Moe Baker
  2. Veteran Guard Returns To Dakota Wizards
  3. Clippers Sign Baker, Place Livingston On IL
  4. Maurice Baker 2004-05 Game Log
  5. D-League showcase: Maurice Baker might help a contender at this point
  6. An Ode to the Importance of NBA D-League Veteran Maurice Baker
  7. NBA D-League All-Star 2009 Archived 2016-02-06 at the Wayback Machine
  8. The New Import Of Talk 'n Text Tropang Texters For Governor's Cup 2011: Maurice Baker
  9. MAURICE BAKER DEBUTA HOY CON CAÑEROS DEL ESTE Archived 2016-10-06 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish)
  10. Cañeros del Este se sacuden ante Metros Santiago (in Spanish)
  11. Mario West le da vida a los Cañeros del Este (in Spanish)
  12. Dakota Wizards to Santa Cruz? Makes sense for both the Warriors and Surf City
  13. "Title Wave: Santa Cruz Wins NBA D-League Championship". NBA.com. April 26, 2015. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
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