Keljin DeShawn Blevins (born November 24, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Pacific Caesar of the Indonesian Basketball League (IBL). He played college basketball at Southern Mississippi and Montana State.
.jpg) Blevins with the Portland Trail Blazers in 2022 | |
| No. 21 – Pacific Caesar | |
|---|---|
| Position | Shooting guard / point guard |
| League | IBL |
| Personal information | |
| Born | November 24, 1995 Hot Springs, Arkansas, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Listed weight | 200 lb (91 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school |
|
| College |
|
| NBA draft | 2019: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2019–present |
| Career history | |
| 2019–2020 | Northern Arizona Suns |
| 2020–2022 | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 2022–2023 | Rapid București |
| 2023–2024 | Sudbury Five |
| 2024-present | Pacific Caesar |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
Early life and high school
editBlevins was born and grew up in Hot Springs, Arkansas and initially attended Lakeside High School. He averaged 10 points and 7.3 rebounds per game and helped lead the Rams to a 5A-South conference title as a junior. Blevins transferred to Bishop O'Connell High School in Arlington County, Virginia for his senior year and was named honorable mention All-Washington Catholic Athletic Conference.[1]
College career
editBlevins began his collegiate career at Southern Mississippi. He averaged 1.8 points and 1.8 rebounds in 25 games in his freshman season. As a sophomore, Blevins averaged 5.8 points and 3.4 rebounds in 22.3 minutes over 29 games, 24 of which he started.[2] After the season, he decided to transfer to Montana State University.[3]
After sitting out one year due to NCAA transfer rules, Blevins entered his redshirt junior season as a starter for the Bobcats and averaged 9.7 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.[1] In the final game of his college career on March 14, 2019, Blevins scored a career-high 27 points in a 90–84 loss to Eastern Washington.[4] As a redshirt senior, he averaged 11.8 points and a team-high 5.9 rebounds per game.[5]
Professional career
editNorthern Arizona Suns (2019–2020)
editAfter going unselected in the 2019 NBA draft, Blevins played on the Portland Trail Blazers Summer League team and signed a training camp contract with the team on September 30, 2019.[6][7] He was waived at the end of training camp.[8]
After being waived, Blevins was selected with the 15th overall pick in the 2019 NBA G League Draft by the Northern Arizona Suns.[9] He averaged 4.3 points and 2.8 rebounds in 35 games in his first professional season.[10]
Portland Trail Blazers (2020–2022)
editBlevins was signed by the Trail Blazers to a two-way contract on November 25, 2020.[11] Blevins made his NBA debut on December 23, 2020, playing four minutes while shooting 0-for-2 from the field with one assist in the fourth quarter of a 100–120 loss to the Utah Jazz in the Blazers' season opener. The appearance made him the first former Montana State player to play in an NBA game.[12]
On September 23, 2021, Blevins signed another two-way contract with the Trail Blazers.[13]
Rapid București (2022–2023)
editIn 2022, Blevins joined Rapid București of the Liga Națională, averaging 4.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game. He was released on March 3, 2023.[14]
Sudbury Five (2023–present)
editOn November 25, 2023, Belvins signed with the Sudbury Five.[15][16]
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 |
NBA
editRegular season
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020–21 | Portland | 17 | 0 | 4.4 | .250 | .250 | – | .6 | .2 | .1 | .0 | .7 |
| 2021–22 | Portland | 31 | 1 | 11.3 | .306 | .292 | .545 | 1.5 | .6 | .4 | .0 | 3.1 |
| Career | 48 | 1 | 8.8 | .298 | .288 | .545 | 1.1 | .5 | .3 | .0 | 2.2 | |
Playoffs
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Portland | 2 | 0 | 2.0 | .500 | .000 | – | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 1.0 |
Personal life
editBlevins is the cousin of former Portland Trail Blazers and current Milwaukee Bucks All-Star point guard Damian Lillard.[17] He also was teammates with Lillard from 2020 to 2022 while in Portland.
References
edit- ^ a b "Big Sky is no limit: Blevins looks to finish college career on high note". Hot Springs Sentinel-Record. November 29, 2018. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
- ^ Nuanez, Colter (August 17, 2016). "Southern Miss transfer Blevins officially a Bobcat". skylinesportsmt.com. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
- ^ Gabriel, Parker (August 14, 2016). "Southern Mississippi guard Blevins transferring to Montana State". Bozeman Daily Chronicle. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
- ^ "Peatling lifts EWU to 90–84 win in Big Sky quarterfinal". ESPN. Associated Press. March 15, 2019. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
- ^ "Former Montana State forward Keljin Blevins signs with Portland Trail Blazers". Independent Record. September 30, 2019. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
- ^ Koch, Aunica (July 4, 2019). "Bobcats' Keljin Blevins makes Trail Blazers summer league roster". SWX Right Now. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
- ^ "TRAIL BLAZERS SIGN KELJIN BLEVINS TO TRAINING CAMP CONTRACT". NBA.com. September 30, 2019. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
- ^ Goldberg, Jamie (October 18, 2019). "Portland Trail Blazers waive Blevins, Caupain, Perrantes, officially convert Moses Brown to 2-way contract". The Oregonian. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
- ^ Morgan, Madison (October 26, 2019). "MSU Billings Basketball alumni drafted to the NBA G-League". KTVQ.com. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
- ^ Withee, Jacob (June 15, 2020). "Keljin Blevins Provided the Spark When the Suns Called". GLeague.NBA.com. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
- ^ Warner, Jonathan (November 25, 2020). "Damian Lillard's cousin Keljin Blevins signs two-way contract with Trail Blazers". NBC Sports Northwest. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
- ^ "Keljin Blevins becomes first former Bobcat to play in NBA regular season game". Bozeman Daily Chronicle. December 24, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
- ^ "Trail Blazers announce Training Camp roster". NBA.com. September 23, 2021. Retrieved September 23, 2021.[dead link]
- ^ Beres, Arnold (March 3, 2023). "Rapid cut Blevins". Eurobasket. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
- ^ "Keljin Blevins Signs with FIVE". TheFive.ca. November 25, 2023. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
- ^ Lesson, Ben (November 25, 2023). "Five add NBA experience, 'excellent two-way play' with Blevins signing". TheSudburyStar.com. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
- ^ Koch, Aunica (February 1, 2019). "Bobcats' Keljin Blevins plays through heartache with help of Damian Lillard". SWX Right Now. Retrieved November 28, 2020.