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Darius Jamar Thompson (born May 4, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for Anadolu Efes of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL) and the EuroLeague. Standing at 193 cm (6 ft 4 in), he plays at the point guard position.

Early life

Thompson was born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and is the son of Lonnie Thompson, who played basketball for Middle Tennessee State, and Felicia Thompson.[1]

Playing for Blackman High School, Thompson was an 2013 McDonald's All-American Game nominee and was ranked the no. 4 best combo guard in the country by 247Sports.com. In his senior year with Blackman, he averaged 16.4 points and 6.4 assists.[1]

College career

Professional career

ZZ Leiden

In August 2017, Thompson signed a one-year contract with ZZ Leiden of the Dutch Basketball League (DBL) and FIBA Europe Cup.[2] On October 27, 2017, Thompson scored 32 points in a 73–78 win over Den Helder Suns.[3] On November 7, Thompson led Leiden to a win over Sakarya BB in the FIBA Europe Cup by scoring 36 points.[4] On March 31, Thompson won the NBB Cup with Leiden, after scoring 25 points in the final.[5] On April 24, 2019, Thompson won the DBL Most Valuable Player award.[6]

Brindisi

On July 23, 2019, Thompson signed a one-year contract with an option for a second season with Happy Casa Brindisi of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and Basketball Champions League (BCL).[7]

Lokomotiv Kuban

On July 1, 2021, Thompson left Brindisi after two years and signed in the VTB United League for the Russian team Lokomotiv Kuban.[8] He left the team after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[9]However he said that participation in this team was pleasant.

Baskonia

On August 12, 2022, Thompson signed a two-year (1+1) contract with Baskonia of the Spanish Liga ACB and the EuroLeague.[10]

Thompson had a breakout season in 2022-23 with Baskonia. He led the EuroLeague in assists per game (averaging 6.7 per game) and was named to the All-EuroLeague Second Team.[11] Thompson was also voted the Best Newcomer by the EuroLeague Players' Association (ELPA).[12]

On July 7, 2023, Thompson parted ways with the Spanish club.

Anadolu Efes

On July 7, 2023, Thompson signed a three-year (2+1) contract with Turkish powerhouse Anadolu Efes, where he replaced star point guard Vasilije Micić who left the club for the Oklahoma City Thunder.[13]

National team career

Thompson has been recruited by the Italy national team, as he is eligible for an Italian passport because of his Italian wife.[14]

Career statistics

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  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high

EuroLeague

* Led the league
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2022-23 Baskonia 34 33 26.9 .497 .384 .756 3.2 6.7* 1.7 .4 12.6 17.1
2023-24 Anadolu Efes 35 21 26.0 .443 .328 .838 2.0 2.8 1.0 .5 10.9 9.6
Career 69 54 26.4 .470 .355 .793 2.6 4.7 1.3 .5 11.7 13.3

EuroCup

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2021-22 Lokomotiv Kuban 12 12 29.8 .580 .333 .800 3.0 5.8 1.7 .5 13.2 17.2
Career 12 12 29.8 .580 .333 .800 3.0 5.8 1.7 .5 13.2 17.2

Basketball Champions League

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2019-20 Brindisi 13 13 27.5 .538 .344 .700 3.6 3.5 1.6 .5 11.6
2020-21 12 12 26.6 .500 .407 .706 3.0 4.9 .7 .5 12.1
Career 25 25 27.0 .520 .373 .704 3.3 4.2 1.2 .5 11.8

FIBA Europe Cup

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2018-19 ZZ Leiden 14 14 37.9 .513 .286 .803 4.8 3.7 2.1 .3 22.2
Career 14 14 37.9 .513 .286 .803 4.8 3.7 2.1 .3 22.2

Domestic leagues

Year Team League GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2018-19 Netherlands ZZ Leiden DBL 38 35.2 .540 .399 .820 4.1 5.4 2.6 .4 19.0
2019-20 Italy Brindisi LBA 21 26.3 .480 .460 .711 2.6 2.9 1.3 .4 11.6
2020-21 Italy Brindisi LBA 31 28.7 .495 .306 .735 2.9 5.4 1.7 .7 12.7
2021-22 Russia Lokomotiv Kuban VTBUL 11 28.2 .462 .273 .640 4.4 5.7 2.1 .6 9.8
2022-23 Spain Baskonia ACB 34 22.0 .500 .408 .826 2.5 6.1 1.1 .4 10.2
2023-24 Turkey Anadolu Efes BSL 25 27.7 .498 .412 .717 2.6 4.5 1.1 .5 12.7

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2013-14 Tennessee 37 10 16.8 .381 .195 .733 2.0 2.4 1.0 .2 2.5
2015-16 Virginia 37 10 17.5 .537 .390 .722 1.2 1.4 .7 .2 4.3
2016-17 Virginia 33 14 20.8 .448 .351 .605 1.6 2.2 .8 .4 6.2
2017-18 Western Kentucky 38 37 35.6 .463 .355 .736 4.2 4.8 1.5 .5 13.6
Career 145 71 22.8 .461 .338 .712 2.3 2.7 1.0 .3 6.7

Honors

ZZ Leiden

References

  1. ^ a b "Darius Thompson - Men's Basketball". University of Tennessee Athletics. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  2. ^ "Darius Thompson naar ZZ Leiden". Unity NU is de nieuwssite voor de regio Leiden [www.unity.nu]. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
  3. ^ "Incompleet ZZ Leiden pakt winst". basketballleague.nl. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
  4. ^ "Het mirakel van de Vijf Meihal". basketballleague.nl. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
  5. ^ "Basketballers ZZ Leiden veroveren nationale beker". nos.nl. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  6. ^ "Darius Thompson is MVP van de DBL". basketballleague.nl. Archived from the original on April 25, 2019. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  7. ^ "Il top scorer Darius Thompson alla corte della Happy Casa Brindisi". July 23, 2019. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  8. ^ ""Локо" подписал контракт с Дариусом Томпсоном" (in Russian). lokobasket.com. July 1, 2021.
  9. ^ "Leave or stay: American players in Russia". basketnews.com.
  10. ^ "Baskonia signs Darius Thompson". Sportando. August 12, 2022. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  11. ^ "Here is your 2022-23 All-EuroLeague Second Team! | EuroLeague". Euroleague Basketball. May 15, 2023. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  12. ^ "Darius Thompson being voted "Best Newcomer" by ELPA Players". Eurohoops. June 5, 2023. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  13. ^ "Darius Thompson will replace Vasilije Micic in Efes". basketnews.com. July 5, 2023. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  14. ^ "Italian national team calling Darius Thompson with Milan watching". Eurohoops. June 26, 2023. Retrieved July 5, 2023.

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