Justin Kier

Justin Kier (born May 30, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Austin Spurs of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Arizona Wildcats of the Pac-12 Conference. He also played for the George Mason Patriots and the Georgia Bulldogs.

Justin Kier
Kier with Arizona in 2021
No. 5 – Austin Spurs
PositionShooting guard
LeagueNBA G League
Personal information
Born (1998-05-30) May 30, 1998
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High schoolSpotswood
(Penn Laird, Virginia)
College
NBA draft2022: undrafted
Playing career2022–present
Career history
2022–presentAustin Spurs
Career highlights and awards
  • Second-team All-Atlantic 10 (2019)
  • Atlantic 10 Most Improved Player (2019)

High school career

Kier attended Spotswood High School. In his career, he scored 1700 points for Spotswood and earned Valley District Player of the Year honors.[1] He committed to George Mason over scholarship offers from Coastal Carolina, UNC Greensboro, Radford and Fairfield.[2]

College career
Kier with Georgia in 2021

Kier made an immediate impact at George Mason as a freshman, averaging 5.8 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.[2] He averaged 11.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game as a sophomore.[3] On December 3, 2018, he scored a career-high 32 points in a 72–67 loss to Vermont.[4] As a junior, Kier averaged 14.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game while shooting 47.1 percent from the field.[5] He was named to the Second Team All-Atlantic 10 as well as the Atlantic 10 Most Improved Player.[6] He suffered a stress fracture in the offseason that caused him to miss the first six games of his senior season. Kier missed a game with an unrelated injury in December 2019. On January 15, 2020, he reinjured his stress fracture which caused him to miss the remainder of the season.[7] In nine games, he averaged 9.6 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.[8]

On April 8, 2020, Kier decided to enter the transfer portal after being granted a fifth season of eligibility.[6] He announced he was transferring to Georgia on April 26 and will be eligible immediately as a graduate transfer.[5] Kier chose the Bulldogs over offers from Minnesota and NC State.[8] He averaged 9.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.7 steals per game while shooting 39.4 percent from the field. Kier transferred to Arizona Wildcats for his final season of eligibility.[9] Kier led his team to the Sweet 16 in the 2022 March Madnes, where they lost to the Houston Cougars 72 - 60.

Professional career

Austin Spurs (2022–present)

On October 24, 2022, Kier joined the Austin Spurs training camp roster.[10]

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

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17 George Mason 332927.7.428.386.7444.51.1.6.25.8
2017–18 George Mason 333233.2.451.174.7844.62.31.3.111.0
2018–19 George Mason 333134.8.471.371.7696.52.61.6.314.5
2019–20 George Mason 9222.6.464.458.8463.61.3.7.29.6
2020–21 Georgia 252531.0.394.366.7503.72.41.7.19.5
2021–22 Arizona 36620.1.444.358.8303.12.3.6.06.9
Career 16912528.8.444.351.7814.42.11.1.29.5

Personal life

At the age of seven, Kier's mother Keley suffered a heart attack while driving a car, crashed into a tree and is now paralyzed, blind and cannot speak. Kier was in the automobile with her but was not injured, escaping through a window. As a consequence of the accident and with his father not in his life, Kier and his older brother, Rasheed, came into the custody of their grandmother, Evelyn.[11]

See also

References
  1. Flum, Alex (April 26, 2020). "Former Spotswood star Justin Kier transferring to Georgia". WHSV. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  2. Goff, Steven (December 28, 2017). "A small town in Virginia embraced a child. Now it cheers his rise in college basketball". Washington Post. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  3. Sang, Orion (April 21, 2020). "Grad transfer Justin Kier includes Michigan basketball in final list of suitors". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  4. "Duncan, Lamb each score 19 as Vermont holds off George Mason". ESPN. Associated Press. December 3, 2018. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  5. Wilson, Brent (April 26, 2020). "Former George Mason guard, Justin Kier commits to Georgia Basketball". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  6. Byrum, Tyler (April 8, 2020). "George Mason grad transfer Justin Kier enters transfer portal, could return to Patriots". NBC Sports. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  7. Byrum, Tyler (January 15, 2020). "George Mason loses senior Justin Kier to another foot injury". NBC Sports. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  8. Page, Fletcher (April 26, 2020). "George Mason transfer Justin Kier commits to UGA". Athens Banner-Herald. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  9. Scheer, Jason (May 26, 2021). "Former Georgia guard Justin Kier headed to Arizona". 247 Sports. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  10. "Austin Spurs Announce 2022-23 Training Camp Roster". oursportscentral.com. October 24, 2022. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  11. Cristodero, Damian (February 16, 2020). "For senior, 'some light coming into a dark place'". George Mason University. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
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