Adris Geraldo De León Jiménez (born July 10, 1984) is a Dominican professional basketball player for Metros de Santiago of the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto. He has previously played in Canada, Spain, Puerto Rico and Poland, and is well known in Australia, having played for the Gold Coast Blaze, Wollongong Hawks and Adelaide 36ers while claiming the NBL Best Sixth Man Award in 2013.

Adris De León
De León with Spójnia Stargard in 2019
No. 10 – Metros de Santiago
PositionPoint guard
LeagueLiga Nacional de Baloncesto
Personal information
Born (1984-07-10) July 10, 1984 (age 40)
Dominican Republic
NationalityDominican
Listed height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Listed weight165 lb (75 kg)
Career information
High schoolLouis D. Brandeis
(New York City, New York)
College
NBA draft2009: undrafted
Playing career2010–present
Career history
2010Halifax Rainmen
2010–2011CDP Domingo Paulino Santiago
2010Indios de San Francisco
2010La Cancha
2011Palencia Baloncesto
2011–2012Gold Coast Blaze
2012–2014Metros de Santiago
2012–2013Wollongong Hawks
2013Vaqueros de Bayamón
2014Piratas de Quebradillas
2016–2018CDP Domingo Paulino Santiago
2016Atenienses de Manatí
2016–2018Metros de Santiago
2017Las Fieras de La Villa
2018Adelaide 36ers
2019MKS Dąbrowa Górnicza
2019–2020Spójnia Stargard
2020–presentMetros de Santiago
Career highlights and awards

Early life and streetball fame

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De León was born in the Dominican Republic, but his family emigrated to the United States and settled down in Washington Heights, Manhattan. De León attended Louis D. Brandeis High School on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, but rarely attended class. He did not play basketball seriously until the summer for his senior year, when he played on the AAU team and traveled the country.[1] He attended the College of the Siskiyous in California and the College of Southern Idaho before eventually graduating from Eastern Washington University in 2009.[1] From there, he carved out his niche at the Dyckman Park, West 4th, Rucker Park, Pro City and Hoops in the Sun summer leagues. His play earned him the nickname, "2 Hard 2 Guard". In 2011, De León and NBA player Brandon Jennings competed against each other for the moniker of "2 Hard 2 Guard". De León led his East squad to a 78–55 win over Jennings and his West team, which included fellow NBA player DeMar DeRozan. Both players went at each other throughout the night but in the end, De León outplayed and outscored Jennings.[1]

Professional career

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In December 2009, De León joined Canadian team the Halifax Rainmen for the 2010 PBL season.[2][3][4] He left the team halfway through the season to train with the Dominican Republic national team.[5] In 10 games, he averaged 9.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.

Throughout 2010, De León played in multiple leagues in his home country of the Dominican Republic, including most notably the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto. It began an annual tradition, with yearly stints playing for CDP Domingo Paulino Santiago and Metros de Santiago.

In February 2011, De León signed with Spanish team Palencia Baloncesto for the rest of the 2010–11 season.[6][7][8] In seven games, he averaged 2.4 points per game.[9]

In October 2011, De León signed with Australian team the Gold Coast Blaze for the 2011–12 NBL season.[10][11][12] In his debut for the Blaze on October 29, De León recorded two points and one steal in just under 14 minutes against the Townsville Crocodiles. In his second game on November 12, he recorded 21 points and eight assists against the Perth Wildcats. He went on to register two more 20-plus point games to round out November. On December 2, he recorded 17 points and a season-high 11 rebounds against the Cairns Taipans. On February 10, he recorded 29 points and eight assists against the Sydney Kings. On March 4, he scored a season-high 33 points against the Kings. In 28 games for the Blaze, he averaged 16.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.6 steals per game.[13]

On August 27, 2012, De León signed with the Wollongong Hawks for the 2012–13 NBL season.[14][15][16][17] He earned the NBL Best Sixth Man Award, becoming the first ever Hawks player to win the award.[18] In 30 games for the Hawks, he averaged 16.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game.[13]

In 2013, De León played in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional for Vaqueros de Bayamón. The following year, he played for Piratas de Quebradillas.[19]

On August 10, 2018, De León signed with the Adelaide 36ers for the 2018–19 NBL season.[20] On November 10, 2018, he parted ways with the 36ers.[21]

In January 2019, De León signed with Polish team MKS Dąbrowa Górnicza.[22]

On December 2, 2019, he has signed with Spójnia Stargard of the PLK.[23]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Torres, Adry (28 August 2011). "Adris DeLeon Holds His Own Against Locked Out NBA Players". FoxNews.com. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  2. ^ "Updated roster for Halifax Rainmen". metro.us. 8 December 2009. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  3. ^ "ADRIS DE LEON SERÁ TITULAR CON HALIFAX RAINMEN EN LA PBL DE CANADA". basketdominicano.blogspot.com (in Spanish). 18 December 2009. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  4. ^ Wuest, Matthew (21 December 2009). "Rainmen open pre-season with pair of wins". metro.us. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  5. ^ Wuest, Matthew (13 August 2010). "Rainmen submit protected list". metro.us. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  6. ^ "Palencia se refuerza con Adris de León". baloncestoconp.es (in Spanish). 17 February 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  7. ^ "Adris De León refuerza a Palencia". solobasket.com (in Spanish). 17 February 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  8. ^ "Adris de León reforzará a Palencia Baloncesto". feb.es (in Spanish). 17 February 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  9. ^ "LEON JIMENEZ, ADRIS DE". feb.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  10. ^ "Adris de León firma con el Gold Coast Blaze de Australia". basketdominicano.blogspot.com (in Spanish). 17 October 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  11. ^ Martin, Greg (28 October 2011). "New guard blazes in". centraltelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  12. ^ Meers, Daniel (28 October 2011). "New Yorker Adris DeLeon joins Blaze". goldcoast.com.au. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  13. ^ a b "Player statistics for Adris Deleon". SportsTG.com. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  14. ^ Hawks sign 2Hard2Guard
  15. ^ Deleon signs with Wollongong
  16. ^ Era of the new guards as Deleon joins Hawks roster
  17. ^ I'll share ball, vows Adris Deleon
  18. ^ "NBL Award winners". Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  19. ^ Adris de León jugará con los Piratas de Quebradillas (in Spanish)
  20. ^ "DeLeon Links With Wright Again in Adelaide". NBL.com.au. 10 August 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  21. ^ "Adris De Leon, Adelaide Part Ways". NBL.com.au. 10 November 2018. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  22. ^ Wasiek, Karol (16 January 2019). "Energa Basket Liga pod lupą Charlesa (16): Stelmet pytał o Harpera, Blassingame chce wrócić". sportowefakty.wp.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  23. ^ "Adris De Leon inks with PGE Spojnia Stargard". Sportando. 2 December 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
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