Chris Clemons (basketball)

Chris Clemons
Clemons with Campbell in 2016
No. 3 – SLUC Nancy
PositionPoint guard
LeagueLNB Pro A
Personal information
Born (1997-07-23) July 23, 1997 (age 27)
Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.
Listed height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Listed weight180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High schoolMillbrook
(Raleigh, North Carolina)
CollegeCampbell (2015–2019)
NBA draft2019: undrafted
Playing career2019–present
Career history
2019–2021Houston Rockets
2019–2020→Rio Grande Valley Vipers
2021–2022Maine Celtics
2022Windy City Bulls
2022–2023Xinjiang Flying Tigers
2023–2024Windy City Bulls
2024–presentSLUC Nancy
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Christopher Adam Clemons (born July 23, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for SLUC Nancy of the LNB Pro A. He played college basketball for the Campbell Fighting Camels.

Early life

Growing up in Raleigh, North Carolina, Clemons idolized Allen Iverson and sought to incorporate Iverson's crossover dribble into his playing style. Despite standing 5'9, Clemons could dunk in high school at Millbrook. Campbell coach Kevin McGeehan recruited him due to his confidence and 44-inch vertical leap.[1] In a state tournament game as a senior, Clemons broke the school single-game record with 41 points.[2]

College career

Clemons averaged 18.5 points per game as a freshman at Campbell and was named the Big South Freshman of the Year.[2] Shooting 18-of-32 from the field, Clemons scored 51 points in an 81–79 win over UNC Asheville in the Big South Tournament as a sophomore, breaking the tournament scoring record. He became the fourth player to score 50 points that season.[3] Clemons was named to the First Team All-Big South in his sophomore season.[4] As a sophomore, Clemons averaged 25.1 points per game, second highest in Division I behind Marcus Keene, and took 42.2 percent of his team's shots, the highest percentage in college basketball.[1] With 904 points, Clemons set the school record for points in a season.[5]

Clemons had a season-high 42 points against Liberty on January 23, 2018, and alongside Marcus Burk became the first teammates in NCAA history to each hit 10 threes in a game.[6] He passed the 2,000 point mark in his career on February 7, scoring 33 points in a win against Gardner–Webb.[7] On March 14, Clemons passed Jonathan Rodriguez as Campbell's all-time leading scorer, adding 32 points in a win against Miami (Ohio).[8] Clemons repeated on the First Team All-Big South as a junior and received seven first place votes for conference player of the year.[9] As a junior, Clemons averaged 24.9 points per game, fourth highest in the nation. He helped the Camels go 18–16 and play in the College Basketball Invitational. After the season, Clemons declared for the 2018 NBA draft but did not hire an agent, thus preserving his collegiate eligibility.[10] He decided to withdraw from the draft and return to Campbell.[5]

Coming into his senior season, Clemons was named Preseason Big South Player of the Year.[11] On December 21, 2018, Clemons became the all-time leading scorer in Big South history. He passed VMI guard Reggie Williams' 2,556 career point total in a game against Austin Peay.[12] He led NCAA Division 1 in scoring with 30.1 points per game and became the third highest scorer in college basketball history.[13]

Professional career

Houston Rockets (2019–2021)

After going undrafted in the 2019 NBA draft, Clemons joined the Houston Rockets for the 2019 NBA Summer League, and later signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Rockets.[14] On October 17, the Rockets converted him to a two-way player.[15] Clemons made his NBA debut on November 3, scoring 16 points in a 129–100 loss to the Miami Heat.[16] On November 16, with Russell Westbrook and Eric Gordon sidelined due to injury, Clemons scored a career-high 19 points in a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.[13] On December 27, the Houston Rockets announced that they had converted the contract with Clemons into standard NBA contract.[17] Clemons recorded 14 points and three rebounds on January 10, 2020, in a 113–92 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.[18] Clemons had his jersey retired at Campbell during the NBA All-Star Break.[13] On December 15, 2020, in a preseason game against the San Antonio Spurs, Clemons tore his Achilles while on defense.[19] On January 21, 2021, he was waived by the Rockets.[20]

Maine Celtics (2021–2022)

On October 16, 2021, Clemons signed with the Boston Celtics,[21] but was waived soon thereafter.[22] On October 23, he signed with the Maine Celtics as an affiliate player.[23] Clemons averaged 16.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game.

On December 29, 2021, Clemons signed a 10-day contract with the Atlanta Hawks.[24] However, he did not appear in a game for Atlanta. On January 8, 2022, Clemons was reacquired by the Maine Celtics.[25] On January 22, 2022, Clemons set an NBA G League record for most points in a quarter on perfect shooting from the field with 27 points on 9–9 field goal shooting.[26] Later that season he would win the G League Player of the Week on February 13 and G League Player of the month for March.[27]

Clemons joined the Atlanta Hawks for the 2022 NBA Summer League.[28]

Windy City Bulls (2022)

On September 29, 2022, Clemons' returning player rights were traded by the Celtics to the Windy City Bulls. On October 13, he signed a contract with the Bulls.[29] On November 23, Clemons was bought out by the Bulls.

Xinjiang Flying Tigers (2022–2023)

In November 2022, Clemons signed with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association.[30]

Return to Windy City (2023–2024)

On November 2, 2023, Clemons rejoined the Windy City Bulls.[31] However, he was waived on February 1, 2024.[32]

SLUC Nancy (2024–present)

On February 17, 2024, Clemons signed with SLUC Nancy of the LNB Pro A.[33]

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

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2019–20 Houston 33 0 8.8 .401 .346 .909 .9 .8 .2 .1 4.9

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2020 Houston 2 0 4.0 .400 .400 .500 1.0 .0 .0 .0 3.5
* Led NCAA Division I

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2015–16 Campbell 30 29 32.2 .424 .374 .844 3.7 1.8 1.5 .3 18.5
2016–17 Campbell 36 34 33.5 .447 .354 .825 4.6 2.6 1.9 .5 25.1
2017–18 Campbell 31 30 34.0 .452 .371 .861 4.6 3.1 1.6 .3 24.9
2018–19 Campbell 33 33 36.6 .448 .357 .869 5.1 2.8 1.5 .3 30.1*
Career 130 126 34.1 .444 .363 .852 4.5 2.6 1.6 .4 24.8

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Forgrave, Reid (October 7, 2017). "The nation's leading returning scorer may be small, but has big dream of NBA Draft". CBS Sports. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  2. ^ a b Schafer, Josh (March 2, 2018). "Campbell's 5-foot-9 guard Chris Clemons is among the nation's top scorers". The Daily Orange. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  3. ^ Payne, Terrence (March 2, 2017). "Campbell's Chris Clemons scores 51 in quarterfinal upset". NBC Sports. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  4. ^ "Big South Announces 2016–17 Men's Basketball Award Winners" (Press release). Big South Conference. February 27, 2017. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  5. ^ a b Pope, Jonas (May 30, 2018). "Former Millbrook star Chris Clemons withdraws from NBA draft, heads back to Campbell". The News & Observer. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  6. ^ Fuchs, Jeremy (February 13, 2018). "Top Scorer and 5'9" Campbell Guard Chris Clemons Is Out to Prove Himself". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  7. ^ "Clemons scores 2,000th point in Campbell victory". The Fayetteville Observer. February 7, 2018. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  8. ^ Newkirk, Sam (March 15, 2018). "Time to go pro? Campbell basketball star Chris Clemons announces his plans". The News & Observer. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  9. ^ "Big South Announces 2017–18 Men's Basketball Award Winners" (Press release). Big South Conference. February 26, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  10. ^ Blake, J. Mike (April 3, 2018). "Time to go pro? Campbell basketball star Chris Clemons announces his plans". The News & Observer. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  11. ^ "Big South Announces 2018–19 Men's Basketball Preseason Awards". Big South Conference. October 20, 2018. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  12. ^ Allen, Jim (December 22, 2018). "Chris Clemons Becomes Big South's All-Time Scorer". Big South Conference. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  13. ^ a b c DuBose, Ben (February 16, 2020). "Campbell University retires jersey of Rockets rookie Chris Clemons". Rockets Wire. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  14. ^ "Roster Update: Rockets GM Daryl Morey announced today the team has signed rookie free agent guards Chris Clemons, Shamorie Ponds and William McDowell-White. All three players will represent the Rockets at NBA Summer League 2019, which begins on Friday". Houston Rockets on Twitter. July 4, 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  15. ^ "Houston Rockets convert rookie Chris Clemons to two-way contract". USA Today. October 17, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  16. ^ Baxley, Rodd (November 4, 2019). "Campbell's Chris Clemons scores 16 in NBA debut". Fayetteville Observer. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  17. ^ "Rockets Convert Contract of Chris Clemons". NBA.com. December 27, 2019. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  18. ^ "Rockets' Chris Clemons: Scores 14 points in loss". CBS Sports. January 10, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  19. ^ DuBose, Ben (December 15, 2020). "Rockets expect to lose Chris Clemons for season to torn Achilles". Rockets Wire. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  20. ^ "Rockets Acquire Kevin Porter Jr". NBA.com. January 22, 2021. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  21. ^ Adams, Luke (October 16, 2021). "Celtics Sign Luke Kornet, Chris Clemons To Camp Deals". HoopsRumors.com. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  22. ^ Keith Smith [@KeithSmithNBA] (October 16, 2021). "Official Boston Celtics waivers: Chris Clemons Luke Kornet Garrison Mathews Theo Pinson Boston now has 16 players under contract. 15 standard deals, 1 Two-Way deal. One Two-Way spot remains open for the Celtics" (Tweet). Retrieved October 23, 2021 – via Twitter.
  23. ^ "Celtics Acquire Two In Draft, Announce Training Camp Roster". NBA.com. October 23, 2021. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  24. ^ "Hawks Sign Chris Clemons and Cameron Oliver to 10-Day Contracts". NBA.com. December 29, 2021. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  25. ^ "2021–22 NBA G League transactions". gleague.nba.com. January 8, 2022. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  26. ^ "Breaking Down Nik Stauskas' Wild Two-Game Stretch". NBA.com. March 3, 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  27. ^ "Chris Clemons Named NBA G League Player Of The Month". NBA.com. April 5, 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  28. ^ "Atlanta Hawks 2022 NBA2K23 Summer League Roster". NBA.com. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  29. ^ "Windy City Bulls Finalize Training Camp Roster". ontapsportsnet.com. October 23, 2022. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
  30. ^ Skerletic, Dario (November 8, 2022). "Chris Clemons to sign with Xinjiang". Sportando.basketball. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  31. ^ "Windy City Bulls Announce 2023 Training Camp Roster". NBA.com. November 2, 2023. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  32. ^ "2023-2024 Windy City Bulls Transaction History". RealGM.com. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  33. ^ "CHRIS CLEMONS AU SLUC NANCY BASKET!". SLUC-Basket.fr (in French). February 17, 2024. Retrieved February 17, 2024.