Duane Washington Jr.

Duane Eddy Washington Jr. (born March 24, 2000) is a German-American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Westchester Knicks of the NBA G League. The son of former NBA player Duane Washington, he played college basketball for the Ohio State Buckeyes.

For his father, also a basketball player, see Duane Washington.

Duane Washington Jr.
Washington with Indiana Pacers in 2022
No. 4 – New York Knicks
PositionPoint guard / shooting guard
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (2000-03-24) March 24, 2000
Frankfurt, Germany
NationalityGerman-American
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight197 lb (89 kg)
Career information
High school
CollegeOhio State (2018–2021)
NBA draft2021: undrafted
Playing career2021–present
Career history
2021–2022Indiana Pacers
2021–2022→Fort Wayne Mad Ants
2022–2023Phoenix Suns
2023Westchester Knicks
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com

Early life and high school career

Washington was born in Frankfurt, Germany, while his father was playing for Skyliners Frankfurt.[1] Washington was raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and went to high school for his first three years at Grand Rapids Christian High School.[2] He averaged 13.1 points and 4.5 assists as a junior.[3] Washington transferred to Sierra Canyon School in Los Angeles before his senior season of high school. He transferred to go to his uncle Derek Fisher's basketball camp and live with Fisher.[4] During his time at Sierra Canyon, he played with Scotty Pippen Jr., Cassius Stanley, and Kenyon Martin Jr.[5] He averaged 15.5 points per game, 4.5 rebounds per game, and 3.8 assists per game as a senior.[3]

Recruiting

Washington was considered a four-star recruit by ESPN and a three-star recruit by 247Sports and Rivals. On September 20, 2017, Washington committed to play college basketball for Ohio State over offers from teams such as Michigan, UCLA, and Butler.[6]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Duane Washington Jr.
PG / SG		 Grand Rapids, MI Sierra Canyon School (CA) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sep 20, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 80
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 146  247Sports: 195  ESPN: —
  • 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:

  • "Ohio State 2018 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  • "2018 Ohio State Buckeyes Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  • "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 20, 2021.

College career

In Washington's second game at Ohio State against Purdue Fort Wayne, Washington scored 20 points in 21 minutes off the bench.[7] For the year, he played in 35 games, starting two of them.[3] He averaged 7 points per game, 2.5 rebounds per game, and 17.2 minutes per game.[3]

During his sophomore year, Washington scored 20 points in a game two times, matching his career–high at the time.[8][9] He, along with small forward Luther Muhammad, were suspended for the Nebraska game on January 14, 2019, for "failure to meet program standards".[9] In total, he played in 28 games and started 15 of them. He averaged 11.5 points per game, which ranked second on the team.[3]

Washington scored a career–high 30 points in an 87–92 loss against Michigan during his junior season.[10] In the final seconds of Ohio State's overtime 2021 NCAA tournament first-round matchup against Oral Roberts, Washington missed what would've been a buzzer–beating three–pointer to tie the game and force double–overtime.[11] Washington averaged 16.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game.[12]

On March 31, 2021, Washington declared for the 2021 NBA draft while initially maintaining his college eligibility.[13] However, on June 29, he announced he was remaining in the draft.[14]

Professional career

Indiana Pacers (2021–2022)

After going undrafted in the 2021 NBA draft, Washington signed a two-way contract with the Indiana Pacers on August 5, 2021, splitting time with their G League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.[15] On January 24, 2022, Washington scored a team-high 21 points, knocking down seven 3-pointers, setting a franchise record for most threes by a rookie while becoming the 36th rookie in the league history to hit seven threes in a game.[16][17] On April 7, the Pacers converted his two-way contract into a standard one.[18]

On July 14, 2022, Washington was waived by the Pacers.[19]

Phoenix Suns (2022–2023)

On August 3, 2022, Washington signed a two-way contract with the Phoenix Suns.[20][21] On December 27, he scored a career-high 26 points, alongside four rebounds and eight assists, in a 125–108 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.[22] On February 1, 2023, Washington was waived by the Suns.[23]

New York / Westchester Knicks (2023)

On February 28, 2023, Washington signed a two-way contract with the New York Knicks,[24] but was waived on July 24.[25] Six days later, he re-signed with the Knicks,[26] but was waived on October 21.[27]

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  Bold  Career high

NBA
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2021–22 Indiana 48720.2.405.377.7541.71.8.5.19.9
2022–23 Phoenix 31312.7.367.360.6671.22.0.2.17.9
Career 791017.2.391.371.7291.51.9.4.19.1

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2018–19 Ohio State 35217.1.370.306.6472.51.1.3.07.0
2019–20 Ohio State 281524.9.403.393.8332.81.4.4.111.5
2020–21 Ohio State 313132.2.410.374.8353.42.9.4.016.4
Career 944824.4.397.361.8002.91.8.4.011.4

Personal life

Washington's father, Duane Washington Sr., and his uncle, Derek Fisher, both played in the NBA.[28][29] Through his uncle, he became close with the late Kobe Bryant.[29] Washington's cousin, Setric Millner Jr., is a basketball player and lived together while they attended Grand Rapids Christian High School.[30] He is a dual citizen of the United States and Germany.[31]

References
  1. Quinn, Brendan (August 17, 2017). "Reclaiming a name: the trials of two Duane Washingtons". The Athletic.
  2. Wallner, Peter (July 20, 2017). "What makes Grand Rapids Christian's Duane Washington Jr. a hot recruit?". MLive.
  3. "Duane Washington Jr. - Ohio State Men's Basketball". Ohio State Athletics. July 9, 2018.
  4. Kaminski, Steve (August 9, 2017). "Michigan recruit Duane Washington of Grand Rapids Christian transferring to California school". MLive.
  5. "Roster - Sierra Canyon (2017–2018)". MaxPreps.
  6. Landis, Bill (September 21, 2017). "3-star guard Duane Washington Jr. commits to Ohio State basketball: Buckeyes recruiting". Cleveland.com.
  7. "Second-half burst helps Buckeyes rout Purdue Fort Wayne". Daily Astorian.
  8. "No. 23 Buckeyes surge late to beat No. 19 Michigan 77-63". USA Today.
  9. "Duane Washington Jr addresses suspension after loss at Penn State". Columbus Dispatch.
  10. "No. 4 Ohio State falls to No. 3 Michigan 92-87". 10WBNS. February 21, 2021.
  11. Jardy, Adam. "Stunned: Ohio State falls to No. 15 seed Oral Roberts in NCAA Tournament". BuckeyeXtra.
  12. "Duane Washington Jr. College Statistics". Sports Reference.
  13. Gulick, Brendan. "Duane Washington Jr. Declares for 2021 NBA Draft". Buckeye Nation FN.
  14. Borzello, Jeff (June 29, 2021). "Duane Washington Jr. staying in NBA draft, won't return to Ohio State for senior season". ESPN. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  15. "Pacers Sign Washington Jr., Sykes, Taylor". NBA.com. August 5, 2021. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  16. Wheat Hotchkiss [@Wheat_Hotchkiss] (January 25, 2022). "Per Pacers PR, Duane Washington Jr.'s seven 3-pointers tonight are a team rookie record. Chuck Person and Chris Duarte each had a game with six threes" (Tweet). Retrieved January 24, 2022 – via Twitter.
  17. Tony East [@TEastNBA] (January 25, 2022). "Duane Washington is the 36th rookie in NBA history to hit 7 threes in a game" (Tweet). Retrieved January 24, 2022 – via Twitter.
  18. "Pacers Sign Terry Taylor And Duane Washington, Jr". NBA.com. April 7, 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  19. "Pacers Waive Four Players". NBA.com.
  20. "Suns sign Duane Washington Jr". NBA.com. August 3, 2022. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  21. Anderson, Jake (August 3, 2022). "Phoenix Suns sign guard Duane Washington Jr. to 2-way contract". Arizona Sports. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  22. "Washington scores 26 as banged-up Suns beat Grizzlies". ESPN. December 27, 2022. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  23. Rankin, Duane (February 1, 2023). "Phoenix Suns sign Saben Lee to two-way deal, waive Duane Washington Jr". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  24. "Knicks Sign Duane Washington Jr. to Two-Way Contract". NBA.com. February 28, 2023. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  25. Kirschenbaum, Alex (July 24, 2023). "Duane Washington Cut By Knicks". HoopsRumors.com. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  26. "Knicks Sign Duane Washington Jr". NBA.com. July 30, 2023. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  27. NY_KnicksPR [@NY_KnicksPR] (October 21, 2023). "Knicks waive Mamadi Diakite, Brandon Goodwin, Isaiah Roby and Duane Washington Jr" (Tweet). Retrieved October 22, 2023 – via Twitter.
  28. Jardy, Adam. "For Ohio State's Duane Washington Jr., growth is all 'mental' this basketball season". BuckeyeXtra.
  29. Jardy, Adam. "Duane Washington Jr. not drafted, but signs with Indiana". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
  30. Easton, Steve (February 16, 2023). "Setric Millner Jr. Taking Full Advantage of Opportunity with Rockets". University of Toledo Athletics. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  31. Padilla, Lenny. "Washington, Tillman team to lead No. 9 Grand Rapids Christian past Wyoming, 79-62". State Champs Network.
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