Theo Pinson

Theophilus Alphonso Pinson (born November 5, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Westchester Knicks of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the University of North Carolina. A 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) swingman, Pinson was the starting shooting guard for the Tar Heels' 2017 NCAA championship team.

Theo Pinson
Pinson with the Brooklyn Nets in 2019
No. 21 – New York Knicks
PositionShooting guard / Small forward
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1995-11-05) November 5, 1995
Greensboro, North Carolina
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight212 lb (96 kg)
Career information
High schoolWesleyan Christian Academy
(High Point, North Carolina)
CollegeNorth Carolina (2014–2018)
NBA draft2018 / Undrafted
Playing career2018–present
Career history
2018–2020Brooklyn Nets
2018–2020→Long Island Nets
2020–presentNew York Knicks
2020–present→Westchester Knicks
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Representing the  United States
FIBA Americas U16 Championship
2011 Mexico National team

High school career
Pinson in the 2014 McDonald's All-American Game

Born and raised in Greensboro, North Carolina, Pinson played high school basketball for Wesleyan Christian Academy in nearby High Point. He was named a McDonald's All-American in his senior year.[1] In the summer of 2011, Pinson was named to the USA Basketball U16 team, where he won the gold medal with future Tar Heel teammate Justin Jackson.[2]

College career

Pinson's college career was marked by injury early, as he broke the fifth metatarsal bone in his left foot and missed 14 games of his freshman season. His sophomore season was injury free, although he broke the same bone (fifth metatarsal) in his right foot, which would cause him to miss the first 16 games of his junior season.[3] While on the court, Pinson's passing, defense and leadership played a key role in the Tar Heels' run to consecutive Final Fours. Pinson was also acknowledged as a positive factor in the locker room for these teams, as he developed a reputation as a prankster in both the locker room and with the media.[4][5] During the Tar Heels' 2017 championship run, Pinson's playmaking helped the team defeat Kentucky in the South Regional Final, as his full-court drive and pass set up a game-winning shot by forward Luke Maye.[6] As a senior, he averaged 10.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists in 29.7 minutes per game.[7]

Professional career

2018–19 season

After going undrafted in the 2018 NBA draft, Pinson joined the Brooklyn Nets for the 2018 NBA Summer League. He posted 11.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game in five summer league games. On August 6, 2018, Pinson signed a training camp contract with the Nets,[7] which was confirmed to be a two-way contract for the 2018–19 season. Under the terms of the deal, he will split time between the Nets and their NBA G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets.[8][9] Pinson made his NBA debut on October 20, 2018, in a 132–112 loss to the Indiana Pacers, scoring two points with a rebound and two assists in six and half minutes of play.[10] On April 10, 2019 the Nets converted Pinson's two-way deal to a full NBA contract.[11][12] On April 15, Pinson made his postseason debut scoring 9 points shooting 3 for 5 from the field and 3 for 4 from 3.[13] On July 8, 2019, the Nets re-signed Pinson to a reported two-year contract,[14][15] after the Nets rescinded their qualifying offer to Pinson on July 6.[16][17]

2019–20 season

In December 2019, Pinson began to see more minutes for the Nets due to an Achilles injury to David Nwaba.[18] On February 4, 2020, Pinson scored 32 points to go with nine rebounds, three assists and two steals in the G League as the Long Island Nets defeated the Wisconsin Herd 117–110.[19] On June 23, Pinson was waived by the Nets.[20]

New York Knicks (2020–present)

Three days later after leaving the Brooklyn Nets, on June 26, 2020, Pinson was claimed off waivers by the New York Knicks.[21]

On November 19, 2020, the Knicks announced that they did not exercise the team option on Pinson, making him a free agent.[22] On November 29, the Knicks re-signed Pinson to a two-way contract with the Westchester Knicks.[23]

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 Brooklyn 18011.7.342.261.8642.01.2.3.04.5
2019–20 Brooklyn 33011.1.290.188.9381.61.7.5.13.6
Career 51011.3.307.214.9381.81.5.5.13.9

Playoffs
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2019 Brooklyn 307.3.375.429—1.01.0.7.03.0
Career 307.3.375.429—1.01.0.7.03.0

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2014–15 North Carolina 24112.5.368.269.6113.01.5.6.22.8
2015–16 North Carolina 40718.7.420.290.6363.22.9.6.34.8
2016–17 North Carolina 211323.8.381.237.7024.63.7.9.26.1
2017–18 North Carolina 373729.7.473.226.8186.55.11.1.510.3
Career 1225821.7.431.257.7344.43.4.8.36.3

References
  1. Walker, Edgar (January 29, 2014). "Three UNC basketball signees named McDonald's All-Americans". Daily Tar Heel. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  2. Durham, Andy (June 13, 2011). "2011 USA Basketball men's U16 national team finalizes roster: Theo Pinson makes the cut". GreensboroSports.com. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  3. Spears, Marc J. (April 4, 2017). "Theo Pinson perseveres to celebrate NCAA title with Tar Heels". USA Today. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  4. Auerbach, Nicole (April 2, 2017). "Infectious both on and off the court, Theo Pinson charges North Carolina". USA Today. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  5. Schnell, Lindsay (March 30, 2016). "The Tar Heels' X-factor? Theo Pinson, who has stolen the spotlight and the podium in UNC's Final Four run". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  6. Rosenberg, Michael (March 27, 2017). "UNC's Luke Maye etches his name in tournament lore with shot to beat Kentucky". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  7. "BROOKLYN NETS SIGN THEO PINSON". NBA.com. August 6, 2018. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  8. Dowd, Tom (September 21, 2018). "Brooklyn Nets Training Camp: What to Watch For". NBA.com. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  9. "Brooklyn Nets Exercise Two-way Player Conversion On Theo Pinson". NBA.com. October 11, 2018. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  10. Nash, Tim (November 30, 2018). "Theo Pinson treats Long Island Nets teammates to home cookin' in Greensboro". Greensboro.com. News & Record. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  11. "Brooklyn Nets Sign Theo Pinson". NBA.com. April 10, 2019. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
  12. "Nets fill 15th roster spot by signing Theo Pinson to standard deal". NetsDaily. April 10, 2019. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  13. "Embiid leads offensive explosion as 76ers tie series with Nets". The Brooklyn Game. April 15, 2019. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  14. "Brooklyn Nets Re-Sign Theo Pinson". NBA.com. July 8, 2019. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  15. "Nets sign Garrett Temple, Wilson Chandler, Theo Pinson". NetsDaily. July 8, 2019. Retrieved July 9, 2019. All three reportedly received two-year deals.
  16. "Nets renounce Theo Pinson Rights, says Yahoo's Smith". NetsDaily. July 6, 2019. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  17. "Nets sign Temple, re-sign Pinson". Reuters. July 8, 2019. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  18. "Nets' Theo Pinson: Re-enters rotation". CBS Sports. December 30, 2019. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  19. "Nets' Theo Pinson: Catches fire in G League". CBS Sports. February 5, 2020. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  20. "Brooklyn Nets Waive Theo Pinson". NBA.com. June 23, 2020. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  21. "New York Knicks Claim Theo Pinson Off Waivers". NBA.com. June 26, 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  22. "Knicks Announce Roster Moves". NBA.com. November 19, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  23. "Knicks Sign Theo Pinson to Two-Way Contract". NBA.com. November 29, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
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