Byron James "B. J." Mullens (born February 14, 1989)[1] is a British-American professional basketball player. Born in the United States, he holds British citizenship due to his English mother.[2] He was drafted 24th overall by the Dallas Mavericks and immediately traded to the Thunder in the 2009 NBA draft.
 Mullens with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2013 | |
| Free Agent | |
|---|---|
| Position | Power forward / center |
| Personal information | |
| Born | February 14, 1989 Canal Winchester, Ohio, U.S. |
| Nationality | American / British |
| Listed height | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) |
| Listed weight | 270 lb (122 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Canal Winchester (Canal Winchester, Ohio) |
| College | Ohio State (2008–2009) |
| NBA draft | 2009: 1st round, 24th overall pick |
| Selected by the Dallas Mavericks | |
| Playing career | 2009–present |
| Career history | |
| 2009–2011 | Oklahoma City Thunder |
| 2009–2011 | Tulsa 66ers |
| 2011–2013 | Charlotte Bobcats |
| 2013–2014 | Los Angeles Clippers |
| 2014 | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 2014 | Shaanxi Wolves |
| 2015–2016 | Sioux Falls Skyforce |
| 2016 | Torku Konyaspor |
| 2016–2017 | Al Wasl Dubai |
| 2017–2018 | Sanat Naft Abadan |
| 2018 | Lakeland Magic |
| 2018 | Guangxi Rhinos |
| 2018–2019 | Levanga Hokkaido |
| 2019–2020 | Busan KT Sonicboom |
| 2020 | Movistar Estudiantes |
| 2020 | London Lions |
| 2022–2024 | New Taipei Kings |
| 2024 | Winnipeg Sea Bears |
| 2024 | Taipei Taishin Mars |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
High school career
editMullens played competitively at Canal Winchester High School and was ranked as one of the top college recruits in the nation from the class of 2008. He was ranked No. 1 in the nation by Rivals.com and No. 3 by Scout.com.[3]
Mullens was offered and accepted a scholarship to Ohio State by the Buckeyes' head basketball coach, Thad Matta, in 2004, which was the summer between Mullens' 8th and 9th grade year.[4]
In his senior year of high school, he averaged 26 points and 15 rebounds,[5] including 29 points and 18 rebounds in his final high school game.[6]
He was a member of the 2008 McDonald's All-American Team and he was a part of the 2008 Jordan Brand Classic at Madison Square Garden, where he had 12 points.
College career
editIn November 2007, Mullens signed a letter of intent to play basketball at Ohio State University. Mullens averaged 8.8 points a game at a 64.2 shooting percentage during his freshman year with Ohio State.[7] Mullens was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team and earned the Big Ten's Sixth Man of the Year award.[8] Mullens only played one year for the Buckeyes before declaring eligibility for the NBA draft.
College statistics
edit| Season | Team | Games | Minutes | Points | FG % | Rebounds | Blocks | Fouls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008–09 | Ohio State Buckeyes | 33 | 20.3 | 8.8 | 64.2 | 4.7 | 1.1 | 2.1 |
Professional career
editComing out of Ohio State, Yahoo! Sports' Rivals 150 projected Mullens to be a clear first pick in the draft, "Size, athleticism and skill are the big three that separate Mullens from the rest of this class."[9]
Mullens was drafted 24th overall by the Dallas Mavericks in the 2009 NBA draft. His draft rights were traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Rodrigue Beaubois, the 25th overall pick, and a future 2nd-round draft pick. In mid-2009, Mullens requested that all media personnel refer to him as "Byron" rather than by his prior nickname "B. J."[10]
During the 2011 NBA lockout, Mullens signed with Panionios B.C.[11] However, he left the team after a month in Greece, saying that he wanted to join his Oklahoma City teammates for their voluntary practice sessions.[12]
On December 19, 2011, Mullens was traded to the Charlotte Bobcats for a 2013 second-round draft pick.[13] In his first game as a Bobcat, Mullens set a new career high with 10 points against the Milwaukee Bucks on December 26, 2011.
Mullens had what appeared to be a breakthrough game against the Atlanta Hawks on January 6, 2012, when he scored 17 points on 8–13 from the floor (.615 FG%), collected five rebounds and had one blocked shot in 24 minutes off the bench.
He made his first career start on January 12, 2012, against the Atlanta Hawks. He played in a career-high 33 minutes, going 8–16 from the floor scoring 21 points and collecting 4 rebounds. On April 6, 2012, Mullens set new career highs by scoring 31 points (on 14–23 shooting) and grabbing 14 rebounds (9 offensive) in 43 minutes against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Entering the 2012–13 season, Mullens played as Charlotte's starting power forward. The acquisition of center Brendan Haywood was part of the decision to play Mullens primarily at power forward instead of center.
On July 22, 2013, Mullens signed with the Los Angeles Clippers.[14]
On February 20, 2014, Mullens was traded, along with a 2018 second-round draft pick, to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for a top-55-protected 2014 second-round draft pick.[15][16]
In July 2014, Mullens joined the Shaanxi Wolves of the Chinese National Basketball League where he played four games for the club. On August 11, 2014, he signed with Shanxi Zhongyu of the Chinese Basketball Association[17] but later left the club before appearing in a game for them.
On February 14, 2015, Mullens was acquired by the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA Development League,[18] and reacquired as a returning player on November 2.[19]
On March 1, 2016, Mullens signed a deal with Turkish club Torku Konyaspor until the end of the 2016–17 season.[20] At the end of the 2015–16 season he left Konyaspor.
In October 2016, Mullens signed with Al Wasl Dubai of the UAE National Basketball League.[21]
In October 2017, Mullens signed with Sanat Naft Abadan of the Iranian Basketball Super League.[22]
On February 22, 2018, the Sioux Falls Skyforce acquired a 2018 second round draft pick from Lakeland Magic for Mullens and Sioux Falls' 2018 fourth round draft pick.[23]
On December 23, 2018, Levanga Hokkaido announced that they had signed Mullens.[24]
He signed with KT Sonicboom of the Korean Basketball League for the 2019–20 season.[25]
On March 2, 2020, he signed with Movistar Estudiantes of the Spanish Liga ACB.[26]
On August 20, 2020, Mullens signed with the London Lions in Great Britain for the 2020–21 BBL season.[27]
On April 1, 2022, Mullens signed with the New Taipei Kings of the P. LEAGUE+.[28]
On May 8, 2024, Mullens signed with the Winnipeg Sea Bears of the Canadian Elite Basketball League.[29] Mullens would be granted his release from the team to "pursue opportunities in the Asian market" on June 28.[30]
On August 30, 2024, Mullens signed with the Taipei Taishin Mars of the Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL).[31] On November 5, the Taipei Taishin Mars terminated the contract relationship with Mullens.[32]
NBA career statistics
edit| 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
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009–10 | Oklahoma City | 13 | 0 | 4.2 | .368 | .000 | .000 | .8 | .1 | .2 | .0 | 1.1 |
| 2010–11 | Oklahoma City | 13 | 0 | 6.5 | .321 | .000 | .500 | 1.8 | .0 | .2 | .2 | 1.9 |
| 2011–12 | Charlotte | 65 | 25 | 22.5 | .425 | .235 | .821 | 5.0 | .9 | .3 | .8 | 9.3 |
| 2012–13 | Charlotte | 53 | 41 | 26.9 | .385 | .317 | .646 | 6.4 | 1.5 | .6 | .6 | 10.6 |
| 2013–14 | L.A. Clippers | 27 | 0 | 6.2 | .406 | .333 | .333 | 1.2 | .2 | .2 | .1 | 2.5 |
| 2013–14 | Philadelphia | 18 | 0 | 13.7 | .465 | .400 | .571 | 3.3 | .4 | .5 | .4 | 6.8 |
| Career | 189 | 66 | 18.2 | .408 | .319 | .706 | 4.2 | .8 | .4 | .5 | 7.4 |
Playoffs
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Oklahoma City | 1 | 0 | 4.0 | .000 | .000 | .500 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 1.0 |
International career
editMullens was included in the preliminary Great Britain squad for the 2012 Summer Olympics. He left the team in June 2012 due to a toe injury.[33]
References
edit- ^ Byron Mullens NBA & ABA Stats
- ^ MULLENS TO JOIN GB'S OLYMPIC TILT
- ^ Scout.com Class of 2008 Basketball Rankings
- ^ "Accepting OSU Scholarship". Archived from the original on October 24, 2008. Retrieved September 2, 2008.
- ^ "Senior year Stats". Archived from the original on April 26, 2010. Retrieved September 2, 2008.
- ^ "More Stats". Archived from the original on July 3, 2009. Retrieved September 2, 2008.
- ^ "DraftExpress NBA Draft Prospect Profile: B.J. Mullens, Stats, Comparisons, and Outlook". Archived from the original on December 23, 2008. Retrieved September 28, 2009.
- ^ Lesmerises, Doug (March 10, 2009). "Turner, Buford, Mullens honored". The Plain Dealer. Archived from the original on March 12, 2009. Retrieved March 16, 2009.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "B.J. Mullens is now referred to as Byron Mullens. We like it!". OKC Thunder official Twitter page. Retrieved February 4, 2010.
- ^ Mullens Signs One-Year Deal With Panionios
- ^ Thunder's Byron Mullens leaves Greek League team
- ^ "Bobcats Acquire Byron Mullens from Thunder". NBA.com. December 19, 2011. Archived from the original on November 18, 2012. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
- ^ CLIPPERS SIGN CENTER BYRON MULLENS
- ^ "Sam Hinkie's First Trade Deadline With The Sixers Was A Busy One". CBSLocal.com. February 20, 2014. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
- ^ "CLIPPERS FINALIZE TRADES WITH HAWKS AND 76ERS". NBA.com. February 20, 2014. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
- ^ Byron Mullens officially signs with Shanxi Brave Dragons
- ^ Skyforce Acquire Mullens and Re-Acquire Dawkins
- ^ "Skyforce Announces 2015-16 Training Camp Roster". OurSportsCentral.com. November 2, 2015. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
- ^ "Byron Mullens signs with Konyaspor". Sportando.com. March 1, 2016. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
- ^ "Byron Mullens (ex Konyaspor) agreed terms with Al Wasl !!". Eurobasket.com. October 22, 2016. Archived from the original on January 9, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
- ^ Byron Mullens inks with Naft Abadan
- ^ "Welcome to Lakeland, Byron Mullens!". Twitter.com. February 22, 2018. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
- ^ Cauchi, Orazio (December 23, 2018). "Byron Mullens inks with Levanga Hokkaido Sapporo". Sportando. Archived from the original on December 4, 2021. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
- ^ "Byron Mullens Player Profile, London Lions, News, Stats - Asia-Basket".
- ^ "Byron Mullens is a newcomer of Movistar Estudiantes". Sportando. March 2, 2020. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
- ^ "Byron Mullens Is London's 2nd NBA Star". www.thelondonlions.com. August 20, 2020. Retrieved August 21, 2020.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Yen, William (April 1, 2022). "NBA veteran Byron Mullens joins P. LEAGUE+'s New Taipei Kings". Central News Agency. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
- ^ "Sea Bears sign former NBA first round draft pick, Byron Mullens". www.seabears.ca. May 8, 2024. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
- ^ "Sea Bears release centre Byron Mullens". www.seabears.ca. June 28, 2024. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
- ^ "牧倫斯回歸台籃當戰神！今年球場暴走已深刻反省". ETtoday. August 30, 2024. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
- ^ "戰神4連敗後Thank You牧倫斯 解約原因曝已鎖定新洋將". ETtoday. November 5, 2024. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
- ^ Brendan Gallagher. "London 2012 Olympics: Byron Mullens pulls out but Team GB basketball squad are hopeful Ben Gordon will play". The Telegraph. June 21, 2012. Retrieved on June 24, 2012.
External links
edit- Career statistics from NBA.com and Basketball Reference
- FIBA.com profile