Robert Whaley

Whaley was selected by the Utah Jazz with 51st overall pick in the 2005 NBA draft, becoming the most recent player drafted out of an NAIA school, as of 2018. As a rookie in 2005–06, Whaley appeared in 23 games and averaged 2.1 points and 1.9 rebounds per game. He scored a career-high 11 points on December 23, 2005 against the New York Knicks.[2] On January 26, 2006, he was ruled out indefinitely with torn cartilage in his right knee.[3] He returned to action in March 2006, but appeared in just one further game after returning to injury.[2]

On December 11, 2005, Whaley and teammate Deron Williams got into an altercation with a group of Denver Nuggets fans who were harassing them outside a Park City club. Both Whaley and Williams gave police false names at that time, and both were cited for providing false information to police. Whaley, who sustained a 6-inch cut on his hand at the bar that night, was suspended one game by the Jazz for lying about how he received the injury.[4][5][6] On June 8, 2006, Whaley was traded, along with Kris Humphries, to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Rafael Araújo.[7] He was later waived by the Raptors on June 21, 2006.[8]

After being released by the Toronto Raptors, Whaley moved to the Dominican Republic where he played briefly with Metros de Santiago. For the 2006–07 season, he joined the Twin City Ballers of the American Basketball Association. In March 2007, he left the Ballers and joined Petrochimi Imam of Iran for the rest of the season.[9]

On November 1, 2007, Whaley was selected by the Los Angeles D-Fenders in the second round of the 2007 NBA Development League Draft. He was waived by the team on January 4, 2008, and reacquired on February 13.[10] In 22 games (nine starts) for the D-Fenders in 2007–08, he averaged 4.0 points and 2.7 rebounds in 12.3 minutes per game.[11]