Damion Marquez Williams James (born October 7, 1987) is an American former professional basketball player who last played for Vaqueros de Bayamón of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). He played college basketball for Texas.

Damion James
James shooting a free throw while playing for Texas
Personal information
Born (1987-10-07) October 7, 1987 (age 37)
Hobbs, New Mexico, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High schoolNacogdoches (Nacogdoches, Texas)
CollegeTexas (2006–2010)
NBA draft2010: 1st round, 24th overall pick
Selected by the Atlanta Hawks
Playing career2010–2018
PositionSmall forward
Career history
20102012New Jersey Nets
2012–2013Bakersfield Jam
2013Brooklyn Nets
2013–2014Bakersfield Jam
2014Texas Legends
2014San Antonio Spurs
2014–2015Texas Legends
2015Alaska Aces
2015Le Mans Sarthe Basket
2015Sydney Kings
2016Cangrejeros de Santurce
2016Guaros de Lara
2017Cariduros de Fajardo
2017Hapoel Eilat
2018Capitanes de Arecibo
2018Cariduros de Fajardo
2018Vaqueros de Bayamón
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

High school career

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Considered a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, James was listed as the No. 7 small forward and the No. 17 player in the nation in 2006.[1] He initially signed to play college basketball at the University of Oklahoma for head coach Kelvin Sampson. When Sampson took the head coaching position at Indiana University, the administration at Oklahoma released James from his letter of intent and he switched his decision to Texas.

College career

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Freshman season

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James started all 35 games, along with fellow freshmen Kevin Durant and D. J. Augustin, in leading the Longhorns to a 25–10 record. James averaged 25.9 minutes per contest, with 7.6 points and 7.2 rebounds.[2]

Sophomore season

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James averaged 13.2 points and 10.3 rebounds,[2] helping Texas win a share of the Big 12 regular season title. While talking about the Texas Longhorns on Selection Sunday, Dick Vitale said that James may be the most athletic player in all of college basketball. He also shot 43.6% from behind the arc.

Junior season

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James, along with A. J. Abrams and Justin Mason, started all 35 games for the Texas Longhorns that went 23–12 and advanced to the second round of the 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. He averaged 15.4 points and 9.2 rebounds with double doubles in 16 of the games on his way to earning a spot on the All-Big 12 Conference Second Team.[2] On April 15, 2009, James entered his name into the 2009 NBA draft, without hiring an agent, and thus retaining his NCAA eligibility.[3] On June 13, 2009, it was reported that James pulled his name from the draft after not being guaranteed a first-round draft position.

Senior season

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As a senior, James averaged 18.0 points, 10.3 rebounds, and one assist per game.[2]

Professional career

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James was selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the 24th overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft. His rights were later traded to the New Jersey Nets for the rights of the 27th pick Jordan Crawford and 31st pick Tibor Pleiß. On July 15, 2010, he signed a multi-year deal with the Nets and subsequently joined them for the 2010 NBA Summer League. On December 9, 2010, James got his first career start against the Dallas Mavericks.

In January 2012, it was announced that James would miss the rest of the 2011–12 NBA season after undergoing surgery to replace the screw that had been inserted in the broken right foot he suffered the previous season.[4]

On September 12, 2012, he signed with the Atlanta Hawks. However, he was later waived by the Hawks on October 27, 2012.

On November 1, 2012, James was acquired by the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA D-League.[5]

On January 13, 2013, he signed a 10-day with the Brooklyn Nets.[6] On January 23, 2013, he returned to the Jam.[7]

On February 4, 2013, James was named to the Prospects All-Star roster for the 2013 NBA D-League All-Star Game.[8]

In July 2013, James joined the Brooklyn Nets for the Orlando Summer League and the Miami Heat for the Las Vegas Summer League. On September 30, 2013, James signed with the Denver Nuggets.[9] However, he was later waived by the Nuggets on October 26, 2013.[10]

On December 5, 2013, James was reacquired by the Bakersfield Jam.[11] On February 20, 2014, he was traded to the Texas Legends.[12] On April 3, 2014, he signed a 10-day contract with the San Antonio Spurs.[13] On April 13, 2014, he signed with the Spurs for the rest of the season.[14] On June 15, 2014, he won his first NBA championship after the Spurs defeated the Miami Heat 4 games to 1 in the 2014 NBA Finals.

In July 2014, James joined the Detroit Pistons for the 2014 NBA Summer League. On September 29, 2014, he signed with the Washington Wizards.[15] However, he was later waived by the Wizards on October 25, 2014.[16] On November 3, 2014, he was reacquired by the Texas Legends.[17] On February 17, 2015, he terminated his contract with the Legends. The next day, he signed with the Alaska Aces as an import for the 2015 PBA Commissioner's Cup.[18]

On August 4, 2015, James signed a one-year deal with Le Mans Sarthe Basket of the LNB Pro A.[19] On November 20, 2015, he parted ways with Le Mans after appearing in six league games and five Eurocup games.[20] On December 9, 2015, he signed with the Sydney Kings as an injury replacement for Josh Childress.[21] He was released on December 29 following the return of Childress. James' tenure with the Kings was considered sub-par, as he helped the team win just one game and from the field, he shot a mere 22%. His 11 baskets from 49 shots and below-par defence reflected how much he struggled in his five-game NBL stint. In five games for the Kings, James averaged 7.0 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.[22] On January 26, 2016, he signed with the Cangrejeros de Santurce of Puerto Rico for the 2016 BSN season.[23]

In August 2016, James signed with Guaros de Lara.[24]

On November 4, 2017, James signed with the Israeli team Hapoel Eilat for the 2017–18 season, joining his former teammate Mike Rosario.[25] However, on December 13, 2017, he was released by Eilat after appearing in four games.[26] On December 31, he signed with Capitanes de Arecibo of Puerto Rico.[27]

On May 17, 2018, James signed with Vaqueros de Bayamón of Puerto Rico after a two-game stint with Cariduros de Fajardo.[28]

NBA career statistics

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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
 †  Won an NBA championship

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2010–11 New Jersey 25 9 16.1 .447 .000 .643 3.4 .8 .6 .5 4.4
2011–12 New Jersey 7 7 24.3 .371 .000 .667 4.7 .4 1.0 1.0 4.9
2012–13 Brooklyn 2 0 .0 .5 .0 .0 .0 .0
2013–14 San Antonio 5 1 10.0 .222 .000 1.000 2.4 .6 .0 .2 1.2
Career 39 17 16.0 .415 .000 .667 3.4 .7 .6 .5 3.8

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Damion James Recruiting Profile
  2. ^ a b c d Damion James Stats Archived February 21, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ James to declare for NBA Draft
  4. ^ Nets announce Damion James will miss the rest of the season
  5. ^ Full List of 2012 Returning, Affiliate and Local Tryout Players Invited to NBA D-League Training Camps Archived December 18, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Nets Sign Damion James to 10-Day Contract
  7. ^ Damion James Player Profile – RealGM
  8. ^ 2013 NBA Development League All-Star Game Rosters Announced Archived October 22, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ "Denver Nuggets add Reginald Becton, Kyle Fogg, Damion James to training camp". Archived from the original on October 17, 2013. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
  10. ^ Denver Nuggets waive Damion James
  11. ^ Bakersfield Acquires Damion James
  12. ^ Five Former NBA Players Traded in Three-Team Deal Archived March 1, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ Spurs Sign Damion James to 10-Day Contract
  14. ^ Spurs Sign Damion James for Remainder of Season
  15. ^ Wizards Sign Six for Training Camp
  16. ^ WIZARDS WAIVE JAMES, LUCAS, SILAS
  17. ^ "Training Camp Roster". NBA.com. November 3, 2014. Archived from the original on November 6, 2014. Retrieved November 8, 2014.
  18. ^ "Alaska taps 'experienced' Damion James to replace import DJ Covington". Archived from the original on February 19, 2015. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
  19. ^ "DAMION JAMES POUR BOUCLER LA RAQUETTE". MSB.fr (in French). August 4, 2015. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  20. ^ "DAMION JAMES QUITTE LE MSB". MSB.fr (in French). November 20, 2015. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  21. ^ "KINGS SIGN DAMION JAMES AS INJURY REPLACEMENT". SydneyKings.com. December 9, 2015. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  22. ^ Decent, Tom (December 29, 2015). "Josh Childress to return for Sydney Kings as Damion James taken off roster". TheAge.com.au. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
  23. ^ Damion James signs with Cangrejeros de Santurce
  24. ^ "Guaros ink Damion James, ex Santurce". Latinbasket.com. August 7, 2016. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  25. ^ "סגל הזרים הושלם: דמיון ג'יימס חתם באילת" (in Hebrew). Sport5.co.il. November 4, 2017. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
  26. ^ "מוקדם מהצפוי: אילת שחררה את דמיון ג'יימס" (in Hebrew). one.co.il. December 13, 2017. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
  27. ^ "DAMION JAMES Y CUATRO JUGADORES NACIONALES REFORZARÁN A CAPITANES DE ARECIBO EN LA LIGA DE LAS AMÉRICAS". CanchaLatina.com (in Spanish). December 31, 2017. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  28. ^ "Damion James reemplazará a Ricky Ledo en Bayamón". ElNuevoDia.com (in Spanish). May 17, 2018. Retrieved May 19, 2018.
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