Justin Nicholas Patton (born June 14, 1997) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Taipei Fubon Braves of the P. League+. He played college basketball for the Creighton Bluejays. Patton was selected with the 16th overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls, but was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves. He has also played for the Philadelphia 76ers and Oklahoma City Thunder. In 2021-22, he led the Israeli Basketball Premier League in blocks per game.

Justin Patton
Personal information
Born (1997-06-14) June 14, 1997 (age 26)
Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight241 lb (109 kg)
Career information
High schoolOmaha North (Omaha, Nebraska)
CollegeCreighton (2016–2017)
NBA draft2017: 1st round, 16th overall pick
Selected by the Chicago Bulls
Playing career2017–present
PositionCenter
Career history
20172018Minnesota Timberwolves
2017–2018Iowa Wolves
2018–2019Philadelphia 76ers
2018–2019Delaware Blue Coats
2019–2020Oklahoma City Thunder
2019–2020Oklahoma City Blue
2020Wisconsin Herd
2021Westchester Knicks
2021Houston Rockets
2021–2022Hapoel Eilat
2022–2023Cholet Basket
2023Shanxi Loongs
2024Taipei Fubon Braves
Career highlights and awards
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com

Early life and education edit

Patton was born to Tora Patton. He has three siblings, Terrel Steen, Kendall Patton, and Raven Bryson. He was a social work major at Creighton, and is the cousin of Creighton's former basketball player Donnie Johnson.[1]

High school career edit

Patton attended Omaha North High School in Omaha, Nebraska.[2] He played with the Omaha Sports Academy Crusaders on the AAU circuit.[3] He was rated by Scout.com as a five-star recruit and was recruited by Creighton University basketball.[4]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Justin Patton
C
Omaha, Nebraska Omaha North 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jun 17, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:    ESPN grade: 80
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 24   Rivals: 45
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2015 Creighton Basketball Commitment List". Rivals.com.
  • "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

College career edit

Patton redshirted his first year at Creighton in 2015.[5][6] Greg McDermott, his coach, had considered a redshirt for many different reasons. Patton was young for a freshman and still needed to develop his game. Patton also would have to play limited minutes behind Creighton's other big, 7-foot-center Geoff Groselle. McDermott believed that Patton needed to learn how to compete at this level, and learn the importance of a healthy diet and sleep.[7] In his first college game in 2016, he scored 12 points and had eight rebounds.[8][9] He scored a season high 25 points against St. John's on January 4. 2017. He had 13 straight games in double-figures before breaking it in a loss against Xavier on February 4, 2017. During his freshman season he was named Big East Freshman of the Year, and Second Team All-Big East.[10] On April 5, 2017, Patton relinquished his college eligibility by declaring for the NBA draft and signing with an agent.[11]

Professional career edit

Minnesota Timberwolves (2017–2018) edit

Patton was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 16th pick in the 2017 NBA draft. On draft night his rights were traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves along with Jimmy Butler in exchange for Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn, and the draft rights to Lauri Markkanen, the seventh pick. On July 4, 2017, Patton signed with the Timberwolves.[12] Patton was to participate in the 2017 NBA Summer League, however, he suffered an injury during the workout and underwent an immediate surgery to repair his broken left foot, and was sidelined indefinitely.[13] Patton made his NBA debut on April 1, 2018, against the Utah Jazz, scoring two points on two shots and made one steal in his only game with the Timberwolves. Patton remained with the team for the rest of their season.[14] On April 18, 2018, Patton underwent surgery on his left foot to encourage further healing of the injury he suffered the previous summer. The team announced he would be sidelined indefinitely. Patton spent the majority of his rookie season with the Iowa Wolves, and started in 38 games, while averaging 12.7 points and 5.4 rebounds in 23.2 minutes per game.[15] On September 18, 2018, Patton underwent surgery for a broken right foot.[16]

Philadelphia 76ers (2018–2019) edit

On November 12, 2018, Patton was traded, along with Jimmy Butler, to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Robert Covington, Dario Šarić, Jerryd Bayless, and a 2022 second-round draft pick. On April 3, 2019, Patton was waived by the 76ers after appearing in 3 games.[17]

Oklahoma City Thunder (2019–2020) edit

On August 13, 2019, Patton signed with the Thunder.[18] On January 14, 2020, while on assignment for the Oklahoma City Blue, Patton scored a G League-high 45 points to go with 13 rebounds, nine assists, and six blocks in a 149–140 win over the South Bay Lakers.[19]

On January 24, 2020, Patton was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Isaiah Roby and cash considerations.[20] He was waived the next day when the team obtained Willie Cauley-Stein.[21]

Wisconsin Herd (2020) edit

On February 20, 2020, the Wisconsin Herd announced that they had acquired Patton off waivers.[22] Patton played seven games for the Herd before the season was ended early due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He averaged 12 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.4 blocks per game with the team.

On June 26, 2020, the Detroit Pistons announced they had signed Patton.[23]

Without appearing in an official game with the Pistons, on November 19, 2020, Patton was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in a three-team trade.[24] He was waived without appearing in a game for the team.[25]

On December 3, 2020, Patton was signed to a training camp deal by the Milwaukee Bucks.[26] He was waived on December 17.[27]

Westchester Knicks (2021) edit

On January 11, 2021, Patton was selected ninth overall by the Westchester Knicks in the first 2021 NBA G League draft.[28]

Houston Rockets (2021) edit

On February 19, 2021, the Houston Rockets signed Patton to a two-way contract with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.[29] However, he was waived on April 3.[30]

Hapoel Eilat (2021–2022) edit

On August 26, 2021, Patton signed with Hapoel Eilat of the Israeli Basketball Premier League.[31] In 2021-22, he led the league in blocks average, averaging 1.6 per game.[32]

Cholet Basket (2022–2023) edit

On August 3, 2022, he has signed with Cholet Basket of the French LNB Pro A.[33]

Shanxi Loongs (2023–present) edit

On September 1, 2023, he signed with Shanxi Loongs of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).[34]

Career statistics edit

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

NBA edit

Regular season edit

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2017–18 Minnesota 1 0 4.0 .500 .0 .0 1.0 .0 2.0
2018–19 Philadelphia 3 0 7.0 .286 .000 .500 2.0 1.0 .7 .0 1.7
2019–20 Oklahoma City 5 0 4.8 .400 .250 1.0 .4 .0 .0 1.8
2020–21 Houston 13 6 19.0 .414 .265 .750 3.8 1.1 .9 1.1 5.4
Career 22 6 13.8 .404 .250 .667 2.7 .9 .7 .6 3.9

NBA G League edit

Regular season edit

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2017–18 Iowa 38 28 23.1 .476 .300 .764 5.4 1.6 1.0 1.3 12.7
2018–19 Delaware 11 2 18.5 .500 .167 .625 5.6 1.6 .9 2.0 8.7
Career 49 30 22.1 .480 .286 .735 5.4 1.6 1.0 1.5 11.8

College edit

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17 Creighton 35 34 25.3 .676 .533 .517 6.2 1.2 .9 1.4 12.9

Player profile edit

At 7'0, 250 pounds, with a 7'2 ½ wingspan, Patton was initially recruited to Creighton as a defensive center.[citation needed] He is a strong rim-runner, and his passing ability has been compared to that of Vlade Divac.[35] He is able to effectively play above the rim, as a strong finisher. He has sometimes struggled with positioning for rebounds.[36] He is sometimes late to challenge shots at the basket, and sometimes needlessly swipes at the ball, which leads to foul trouble.[36]

References edit

  1. ^ "Justin Patton". gocreighton.com. March 17, 2017. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  2. ^ writer, Jon Nyatawa / World-Herald staff. "Blue Christmas: Homegrown talents Justin Patton, Khyri Thomas making sure holidays are anything but depressing for Creighton".
  3. ^ Walsh, Peter (May 17, 2017). "Out The Mud". slam.com. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  4. ^ Today, Bluejays. "Creighton commit Justin Patton named No. 24 prospect in country".
  5. ^ writer, Steven Pivovar / World-Herald staff. "Creighton freshman Justin Patton will redshirt".
  6. ^ "Creighton's Justin Patton earning title no one expected: one-and-done NBA prospect". January 6, 2017.
  7. ^ "Inside the rapid rise of Bluejays big man Justin Patton". Sports Illustrated. January 18, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  8. ^ Planos, Josh (January 6, 2017). "Justin Patton's meteoric rise isn't done yet".
  9. ^ "Why Justin Patton will be key for a potential Creighton Final Four run – Fox Sports". December 8, 2016.
  10. ^ "Justin Patton – 2016–17". Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  11. ^ Nathan, Alec (April 5, 2017). "Justin Patton Declares for 2017 NBA Draft, Will Sign an Agent". Bleacher Report. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  12. ^ "Timberwolves Sign Justin Patton". National Basketball Association. July 4, 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  13. ^ "Justin Patton Injury Update". National Basketball Association. July 4, 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  14. ^ "Former Creighton, Omaha North star Justin Patton makes NBA debut with Minnesota Timberwolves". omaha.com/creighton/. April 2, 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  15. ^ "Timberwolves' rookie Justin Patton sidelined indefinitely after another foot surgery". twincities.com. April 19, 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  16. ^ "Timberwolves' Justin Patton again has surgery on broken foot". USA Today. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
  17. ^ "Team Acquires Four-Time All-Star Jimmy Butler". National Basketball Association. November 12, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  18. ^ "Thunder Signs Justin Patton". National Basketball Association. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  19. ^ Nyatawa, Jon (January 15, 2020). "Former Bluejay Justin Patton scores G League-high 45 points Tuesday". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
  20. ^ "Mavericks deal Roby to OKC, reportedly eyeing Warriors' Cauley-Stein". CBS Sports. January 24, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  21. ^ "Mavericks acquire Willie Cauley-Stein from Warriors". nba.com. January 24, 2020. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
  22. ^ "WISCONSIN HERD ACQUIRES CENTER JUSTIN PATTON". NBA.com. February 20, 2020. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  23. ^ "Pistons Sign Center Justin Patton". NBA.com. June 26, 2020. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  24. ^ "LA Clippers Acquire Kennard, Patton, Scrubb and Four Second-Round Picks In Three-Team Deal". NBA.com. November 19, 2020.
  25. ^ Greif, Andrew (November 25, 2020). "Clippers waive Justin Patton to open room under salary cap". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  26. ^ "Milwaukee Bucks Finalize Training Camp Roster". NBA.com. December 3, 2020. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  27. ^ Hill, Arthur (December 16, 2020). "Bucks Waive EJ Montgomery, Justin Patton". Hoops Rumors. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  28. ^ "Westchester Knicks Select Justin Patton No. 9 Overall". NBA.com. January 11, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  29. ^ "ROSTER UPDATE: The Houston Rockets today announced they have called up center Justin Patton from the Westchester Knicks of the NBA G League". Houston Rockets on Twitter.com. February 19, 2021. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  30. ^ "Rockets Sign Armoni Brooks to Two-Way Contract". NBA.com. April 3, 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  31. ^ Mor, Lior (August 26, 2021). "H.Eilat inks Justin Patton". Eurobasket. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  32. ^ "Israeli BSL Stats - RealGM". basketball.realgm.com.
  33. ^ "Cholet Basket inks former NBA first-round pick Justin Patton". Sportando. August 3, 2022. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  34. ^ "Justin Patton signs with Shanxi". Sportando. September 12, 2023. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  35. ^ Frederick, Jace (February 19, 2018). "Timberwolves rookie Justin Patton flashing a high hoops IQ in Iowa". twincities.com. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  36. ^ a b Schmitz, Mike; Riddell, Josh (May 2, 2017). "Justin Patton Nba Draft Scouting Report And Video Analysis". draftexpress.com. Retrieved April 19, 2018.

External links edit