Antonio Lee "A. J." Davis Jr. (born March 15, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Niagara River Lions of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL). He played college basketball for Tennessee and UCF.
 | |
| No. 8 – Niagara River Lions | |
|---|---|
| Position | Power forward / small forward |
| League | CEBL |
| Personal information | |
| Born | March 15, 1995 Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
| Listed weight | 215 lb (98 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Buford (Buford, Georgia) |
| College | |
| NBA draft | 2018: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2018–present |
| Career history | |
| 2018 | Prishtina |
| 2019 | Brisbane Bullets |
| 2019 | Delaware Blue Coats |
| 2019 | Stockton Kings |
| 2020 | Real Estelí |
| 2020–2021 | BC Luleå |
| 2021 | Charilaos Trikoupis |
| 2021 | Mauricio Báez club |
| 2021–2022 | Nürnberg Falcons |
| 2022 | Niagara River Lions |
| 2022–2023 | Apollon Patras |
| 2023 | Niagara River Lions |
| 2023–2024 | Leuven Bears |
| 2024–present | Niagara River Lions |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
Early life and high school
editDavis was born in Indianapolis, Indiana while his father was playing for the Indiana Pacers and moved around often during his father's career until settling in Atlanta after his retirement. He began high school at Greater Atlanta Christian School, where he helped the Spartans win back-to-back Georgia High School Association (GHSA) state titles, before transferring to Buford High School before his junior year.[1]
College career
editTennessee
editDavis began his collegiate career at Tennessee and averaged 1.3 points, 1.6 rebounds and 9.4 minutes in 25 games as a freshman. He announced that he would be transferring to the University of Central Florida after the end of his freshman season.[2]
UCF
editAfter sitting out his sophomore season due to NCAA transfer rules, Davis played three seasons for the Knights. As a redshirt senior, he averaged 12.2 points, 7.6 rebounds (3rd-best in the AAC) and 2.2 assists per game in 33 games (all starts) and was named honorable mention All-American Athletic Conference.[3] Over the course of his collegiate career, Davis scored 1,030 points (33 at Tennessee, 997 at UCF) and finished 8th in UCF history with 633 rebounds and 7th with 319 made free throws.[4] Following his redshirt senior season, Davis participated in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament.[5]
Professional career
editPrishtina
editDavis signed with KB Prishtina of the Kosovo Basketball Superleague on September 5, 2018.[6] Davis averaged 8.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists in nine Superleague games, 11.8 points and 3.5 rebounds in eight FIBA Europe Cup games and 21 points and 7.0 rebounds in two Champions League games.[7]
Brisbane Bullets
editDavis signed with the Brisbane Bullets of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) on January 4, 2019.[8] He averaged 3.8 points and 1.8 rebounds in 12 games for the Bullets.
Delaware Blue Coats
editOn March 7, 2019, the Delaware Blue Coats of the NBA G League announced that they had acquired Davis off waivers.[9] Davis appeared in two games with Delaware, scoring three points with six rebounds, while staying on their roster through the end of the 2018-19 NBA G League season.[10] Following the season the Philadelphia 76ers named Davis to their Summer League roster.[11]
Stockton Kings
editDavis was acquired from the G League player pool by the Stockton Kings on November 25, 2019.[12]
Real Estelí
editDavis signed with Real Estelí Baloncesto of the Nicaraguan Liga Superior de Baloncesto on January 4, 2020.[13]
BC Luleå
editOn September 25, 2020, Davis signed with BC Luleå of the Swedish league.[14]
Charilaos Trikoupis
editDavis spent the latter half of the 2020–2021 season with Greek club Charilaos Trikoupis.
Mauricio Báez club
editDavis was part of the team that was crowned champion of the Dominican Torneo Superior de Baloncesto, after beating the team of the San Lázaro club 78–73. Davis with 26 points, six rebounds and four assists in the final.[15]
Niagara River Lions
editOn April 26, 2022, Davis signed with the Niagara River Lions of the CEBL.[16]
Apollon Patras
editOn August 20, 2022, Davis returned to Greece after his brief stint with Trikoupis in early 2021, signing this time around with Apollon Patras. In 22 league games, he averaged 9.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2 assists, playing around 33 minutes per contest.
Niagara River Lions (second stint)
editOn March 23, 2023, Davis agreed to return to the Niagara River Lions.[17]
Leuven Bears
editOn December 12, 2023, Davis signed with Leuven Bears of the BNXT League.[18]
Niagara River Lions (third stint)
editOn February 29, 2024, Davis agreed to return to the Niagara River Lions for a third stint.[19]
Personal life
editDavis is the son of former NBA All-Star Antonio Davis.[20] His twin sister, Kaela Davis, currently plays for the Dallas Wings of the WNBA.[21]
References
edit- ^ Brown, Patrick (June 24, 2013). "Vols freshman A.J. Davis trying to get back to NBA". Chattanooga Times Free Press. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
- ^ Bass, Ryan (June 11, 2014). "UCF lands Tennessee transfer Davis". 247Sports.com. Retrieved February 6, 2019.[dead link]
- ^ Stephens, Jerry (June 9, 2018). "Charlotte Hornets to work out Antonio Davis' son, A.J. Davis". SwarmAndSting.com. FanSided. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
- ^ "A.J. Davis: 2018 Draft Prospect". NBA.com. June 7, 2018. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
- ^ Green, Shannon (March 23, 2018). "UCF's A.J. Davis prepares to show off his skills to NBA scouts at Portsmouth Invitational". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
- ^ Beede, Jason (September 6, 2018). "UCF's AJ Davis to begin pro basketball career in Kosovo". 247Sports.com. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
- ^ McAuliffe, Hugh (January 4, 2019). "A.J. Davis (ex Prishtina) signs at Bullets". AustraliaBasket.com. Eurobasket Data Center. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
- ^ Ward, Roy (January 5, 2019). "Melbourne United look to reload against Bullets". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
- ^ "Delaware Blue Coats Acquire A.J. Davis". NBA.com. March 7, 2019. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
- ^ "A.J. Davis G-League Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
- ^ Hamilton, Moke (June 23, 2019). "Deshon Taylor and A.J. Davis will suit up for Sixers in summer league". Sixers Wire. USA Today. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
- ^ "Stockton Kings Acquire AJ Davis and Kevin Young". Stockton.GLeague.NBA.com. November 25, 2019. Archived from the original on November 27, 2019. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
- ^ "A.J. Davis: Latches on in Nicaragua". CBSSports.com. RotoWire. January 4, 2020. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
- ^ "BC Lulea signs A.J. Davis, ex Mauricio Baez". Eurobasket. September 25, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
- ^ El Mauricio Báez se proclamó campeón del Torneo de Baloncesto Superior del Distrito tras derrotar al San Lázaro Franklin Nuñez (Proceso.com.do), 7 June 2021. Accessed 11 June 2021.(in Spanish)
- ^ "River Lions Sign American Forward AJ Davis". CEBL.com. April 26, 2022. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
- ^ "River Lions Re-Sign American Forward AJ Davis". CEBL.ca. March 23, 2023. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
- ^ Buyse, Peter (December 12, 2023). "Leuven adds A.J. Davis". Eurobasket.com. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
- ^ "River Lions Welcome Back Top 4 Leading Scorers from 2023". RiverLions.ca. February 29, 2024. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
- ^ VanTryon, Matthew (June 8, 2018). "Could Antonio Davis' son continue father's legacy with Pacers? 'It would be an honor.'". The Indianapolis Star. Gannett. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
- ^ Breiner, Ben (May 13, 2017). "Kaela Davis and Allisha Gray ready to make impact in first WNBA seasons". The State. Retrieved February 7, 2019.