Mojave King

Mojave King (born 11 June 2002) is a New Zealand-American professional basketball player. He began his career in the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) in 2020 where he played a season for the Cairns Taipans and Adelaide 36ers. After a season in the NBA G League with the NBA G League Ignite, he was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 47th overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft.

Mojave King
King with the NBA Global Academy in 2020
Free agent
PositionShooting guard
Personal information
Born (2002-06-11) 11 June 2002
Dunedin, New Zealand
NationalityNew Zealand / American
Listed height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High schoolBrisbane State
(Brisbane, Queensland)
NBA draft2023: 2nd round, 47th overall pick
Selected by the Los Angeles Lakers
Playing career2018–present
Career history
2018Brisbane Capitals
2019BA Centre of Excellence
2020–2021Cairns Taipans
2021–2022Adelaide 36ers
2022Southland Sharks
2022–2023NBA G League Ignite
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com

Early life and career

King was born in Dunedin, New Zealand.[1] He was named after the Mojave Desert in the southwestern United States.[2]

In 2007, at the age of four, King moved with his family to Mackay, Queensland, when his father accepted a role to coach the Mackay Meteors in Australia's semi-professional Queensland Basketball League (QBL).[3] The family settled in Brisbane four years later when King's father accepted a position to coach the Brisbane Spartans in the South East Australian Basketball League.[4] There he attended Brisbane State High School.[4]

In 2018, King played one game in the QBL for the Brisbane Capitals.[5]

In 2019, King joined the NBA Global Academy, a training center at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra. In association with the academy, he played for the BA Centre of Excellence in the NBL1, an Australian semi-professional league.[4] Later that year, King represented Queensland South at the Australian Under-18 Championships, where he led the competition in scoring with 26.6 points per game.[4] At the NBA Academy Games in Atlanta, Georgia in July 2019, he averaged a tournament-high 19.2 points per game.[2]

Professional career

On 12 March 2020, at the age of 17, King signed with the Cairns Taipans of the National Basketball League (NBL) as a part of the league's Next Stars program to develop NBA draft prospects.[6][7] By joining the NBL, he turned down offers from several NCAA Division I programs, including Arizona, Baylor, Oregon and Virginia.[8] During the 2020–21 season, King averaged 6.2 points and 2.4 rebounds.[9]

On 14 July 2021, King was transferred to the Adelaide 36ers for the final year of his Next Stars contract.[10]

On 19 April 2022, King signed with the Southland Sharks for the 2022 New Zealand NBL season.[11]

On 7 September 2022, King signed a contract with the NBA G League Ignite.[12] He was named to the G League's inaugural Next Up Game for the 2022–23 season.[13]

King was selected with the 47th overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers. His draft rights were then immediately traded to the Indiana Pacers. He became just the third New Zealand-born player to be picked in the NBA draft, following Sean Marks and Steven Adams.[14] He subsequently played for the Pacers in the 2023 NBA Summer League.[15]

Personal life

King is the son of Leonard and Tracey King (née Paul).[1] His father is from the United States and played in New Zealand and coached in Australia.[1][2][16] His mother is a New Zealand native and played NCAA basketball for Duquesne.[17] His older sister, Tylah, played for Pacific in the NCAA.[2] King's maternal grandfather, John Paul, coached basketball in Otago for over 50 years and is one of the region's most prominent basketball figures.[1]

Nationality and citizenship

King is a dual citizen of New Zealand and the United States.[18] As of 2019, he did not hold an Australian passport.[18] He has signalled his intentions to represent the Australian national team.[18][17]

References
  1. Cheshire, Jeff (10 April 2019). "Young Dunedin-born player turning heads in US". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  2. Glier, Ray (8 August 2019). "From Down Under, With a Nod to the Mojave Desert, Comes a New Hoops Star". OZY Media. Archived from the original on 8 August 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  3. Payne, Charlie (13 January 2011). "Gypsy king moving on from Mackay". Daily Mercury. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  4. "Meet Mojave King: Brisbane's next NBA prospect". The Pick and Roll. 11 November 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  5. "Player statistics for Mojave King". Queensland Basketball League. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  6. "Mojave King Joins Cairns Taipans as NBL Next Star". NBL. 12 March 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  7. Uluc, Olgun (13 March 2020). "Mojave King signs with Cairns Taipans as part of NBL's Next Stars program". Fox Sports. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  8. Daniels, Evan (12 March 2020). "Mojave King bypasses college options to sign with NBL". 247Sports. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  9. "Mojave King". NBL.com.au. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  10. "Mojave King Moves to Adelaide 36ers for NBL22". NBL.com.au. 14 July 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  11. "Sharks score coup to sign NBA prospect King". sharksbasketball.co.nz. 19 April 2022. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  12. "Mojave King, Leonard Miller Sign With NBA G League Ignite". ignite.gleague.nba.com. 7 September 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  13. "Wolves' Garza And Ignite's Henderson Named Captains For NBA G League Next Up Game". NBA G League. 8 February 2023. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  14. Labuschagne, Reece (23 June 2023). "Basketball: New Zealand-born Mojave King drafted into NBA, becomes just third all time". newshub.co.nz. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  15. "Mojave King". realgm.com. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  16. Kossatch, Nick (6 December 2015). "Elite coach praises local basketball talent". Gladstone Observer. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  17. Santamaria, Liam (11 April 2019). "Meet Mojave King: Australian Basketball's Next Big Thing". NBL.com.au. Archived from the original on 23 June 2023. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  18. "Meet Mojave King: Brisbane's next NBA prospect". pickandroll.com.au. 11 November 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
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