Brandon Stephan Paul (born April 30, 1991) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for

Ratiopharm Ulm Ratiopharm Ulm, officially stylized as ratiopharm Ulm, is a professional basketball club based in Ulm, Germany. The club has two teams, one professional team, which plays in the Basketball Bundesliga, the major German professional league and one ...

of the German

Basketball Bundesliga The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the highest level league of professional club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 18 teams. A BBL season ...

(BBL), and the EuroCup. During his senior year at

Warren Township High School Warren Township High School (WTHS), or Warren, is a public four-year high school located in Gurnee, a northern suburb of Chicago, in Lake County, in Illinois. Because of size of the student body, the school is split across two campuses: the O'Pla ...

, Paul was named

Illinois Mr. Basketball The Illinois Mr. Basketball award is given to the person chosen as the best high school boys basketball player in the U.S. state of Illinois. Most of the award winners have gone on to play at the highest levels of college basketball, and many have ...

for 2009. Paul played college basketball for the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

and became only the second player in program history to record 1,500 points, 500 rebounds, 300 assists and 100 steals.

High school career

Paul played for

coached by Chuck Ramsey. In high school, Paul was named a member of the 2009 Illinois All-American Team as selected by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

, ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'', ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

'', ''

News-Gazette ''The News-Gazette'' may refer to: * ''The News-Gazette'' (Champaign–Urbana), a daily newspaper serving the Champaign–Urbana Metropolitan Area and Danville, Illinois * ''The News-Gazette'' (Winchester, Indiana), a daily newspaper based in Wi ...

'', and the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association. After his senior season Paul was named

for 2009, narrowly edging out his future

teammate

Jereme Richmond Jereme Richmond (born March 13, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for Obras Sanitarias of the Liga Nacional de Básquet. Richmond was considered a top 25 recruit and #4 at his position in the 2010 class. He played college basket ...

College career

Entering the University of Illinois during the 2009–10 season, Paul quickly became a key contributor, as he averaged 7.8 points and 3.1 rebounds per game in 18.9 minutes per game. As a sophomore, Paul played in all 34 games for the

2010–11 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team The 2010–11 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in the 2010–11 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. This was head coach Bruce Weber's eighth season at Illinois. T ...

. He averaged 22.4 minutes of playing time and continued as a key contributor. He averaged 9.0 points per game and reached double-figures in 13 games. Paul led his team in steals, averaging 1.1 per game, and was second in assists, averaging 2.1 per game. On February 13, 2011, Brandon scored a season-high 23 points in a 71–80 Illini loss to Purdue. John Shurna attempts to defend against Brandon Paul January 23 2010

John Shurna attempts to defend against Brandon Paul January 23 2010

In his junior year, Paul earned the role of a full-time starter for the 2011–12 season. On January 10, 2012, Paul scored 43 points in an upset win over then ranked #3 Ohio State. It was the third highest scoring total in a single game by an Illinois men's basketball player while his eight

three-pointers A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or trey) is a Field goal (basketball), field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, i ...

tied the school record. As a senior, Paul led Illinois to win the

Maui Invitational Tournament The Maui Invitational, currently known as the Maui Jim Maui Invitational, is an annual early-season college basketball tournament that takes place Thanksgiving (US), Thanksgiving week, normally in Lahaina, Hawaii, Lahaina, Hawaii, at the Lahaina ...

title in 2012 with a win over

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some a ...

in the championship game. Paul was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament. During his senior season, Paul averaged 16.6 points a game over the course of 36 games. On March 14, 2013, Paul hit a game winning shot against Minnesota in the

2013 Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament The 2013 Big Ten men's basketball tournament was held from March 14 through March 17 at United Center in Chicago, Illinois. The tournament was the sixteenth annual Big Ten men's basketball tournament and second to feature 12 teams. The champions ...

. After graduating, Paul became just the second Illini player to reach career milestones of 1,500 points, 500 rebounds, 300 assists and 100 steals and finished his college career as the eighth-leading scorer in school history with 1,654 points.

Professional career

Nizhny Novgorod (2013–14)

After going undrafted in the 2013 NBA draft, Paul joined the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

for the

2013 NBA Summer League The 2013 NBA Summer League is a pro basketball league run by the NBA just after the 2013 NBA draft. It gives newly drafted players a chance to test their skills against each other, and to give them a feel for professional basketball. All 30 NBA ...

. On August 10, 2013, Paul signed with

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...

of Russia for the 2013–14 season. In early February 2014, he left Russia after experiencing racism and a difficult language barrier. Paul returned to the United States after playing in 12 games and averaging 6.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.5 steals in 13.8 minutes per game.

Canton Charge (2014–15)

On February 27, 2014, he was acquired by the

Canton Charge The Cleveland Charge are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Cleveland, Ohio, and are affiliated with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The team plays its home games at the Wolstein Center in downtown Cleveland. The f ...

of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

. On March 14, 2014, he was waived by the Charge due to a season-ending injury. On November 2, 2014, Paul was reacquired by the Canton Charge. On April 4, 2015, he was placed on the inactive list for the remainder of the season due to injury, and was waived two days later.

Joventut Badalona (2015–16)

On September 14, 2015, Paul signed with Spanish club

FIATC Joventut Club Joventut Badalona, S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional basketball club based in Badalona, Catalonia, Spain, playing in the Liga ACB and the EuroCup. Known to their fans as ''La Penya'' (in English, ''The Club''), it is one of only two teams ...

. He started 25 of 33 games and led the team in scoring with 13 points per game.

Anadolu Efes (2016–17)

After playing for the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...

and the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

during the

2016 NBA Summer League The 2016 NBA Summer League consisted of three pro basketball leagues organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA): the Orlando Pro Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas Summer League. Ten teams participated in the week ...

, Paul signed with the 76ers on July 25, 2016, but was waived on October 24 after appearing in four preseason games. On December 13, 2016, he signed with Turkish club

Anadolu Efes Anadolu Efes Biracılık ve Malt Sanayii A.Ş.''(lit. Anadolu Efes Brewery and Malt Industries)'' produces and markets beer and malt and non-alcoholic beverages in a wide geographical area comprising Turkey, Russia, the Commonwealth of Independe ...

for the rest of the 2016–17 season.

San Antonio Spurs (2017–2018)

In July 2017, Paul joined the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

in Orlando and the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

in Las Vegas for the

2017 NBA Summer League The 2017 NBA Summer League consisted of three pro basketball leagues organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA): the Orlando Pro Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas Summer League. Eight teams participated in the wee ...

. During summer league play, Paul averaged 15.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.7 steals per game on 47.12% shooting from the field. On July 14, 2017, he signed with the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

. Paul had his debut in NBA on October 18, 2017, coming off the bench in a 107–99 win over the

. On October 30, 2017, Paul scored team-high 18 points with five rebounds, in a 94–108 loss to the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

. On April 19, 2018, Paul made his debut in NBA playoffs, coming off from bench with an assist and a rebound in a 97-110 loss to the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

. On July 31, 2018, the Spurs waived Paul.

Zhejiang Golden Bulls (2019)

Paul signed with the

Zhejiang Golden Bulls The Zhejiang Golden Bulls, or Zhejiang Chouzhou Golden Rent are a Chinese professional basketball team based in Yiwu in Zhejiang, China. It competes in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), in the Southern Division. Its corporate sponsor is Z ...

of the

Chinese Basketball Association The Chinese Basketball Association (), often abbreviated as the CBA, is the first-tier professional men's basketball league in China. The league is commonly known by fans as the CBA, and this acronym is even used in Chinese on a regular basis ...

(CBA) on December 28, 2018. Paul made his CBA debut on January 4, scoring 40 points with eight rebounds, five assists and three steals in a 104–93 win over the

Jilin Northeast Tigers The Jilin Northeast Tigers () or Jilin Tonggang, Jilin Tonggang Northeast Tigers () or Jiutai Rural Commercial Bank are a professional basketball team based in Changchun, Jilin, China, which plays in the North Division of the Chinese Basketball A ...

. Five days later on January 9, Paul made his first triple-double in CBA, scoring 51 points with 17 rebounds, 11 assists and four steals in a 111–105 win over the

Fujian Sturgeons Fujian SBS Xunxing Sturgeons (Simplified Chinese: 福建SBS浔兴鲟) or Fujian Xunxing or Fujian SBS are a Chinese professional men's basketball team in the Chinese Basketball Association, based in Jinjiang, Quanzhou, Fujian. The "SBS" reflects c ...

Olympiacos (2019–20)

On July 6, 2019, Paul signed a two-year deal with the Greek EuroLeague club

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

, Paul was released by

on June 30, 2020.

Adelaide 36ers (2021)

On February 18, 2021, Paul signed with the

Adelaide 36ers The Adelaide 36ers, also known as the Sixers, are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 36ers are the only team in the league representing the state of South Australia and are based in th ...

of the Australian National Basketball League for the remainder of the

2020–21 NBL season The 2020–21 NBL season was the 43rd season of the National Basketball League since its establishment in 1979. A total of nine teams contested in the 2020–21 season. The regular season was played between January and June 2021, followed by a p ...

. He made his debut for the 36ers with a 25-point performance against the

Perth Wildcats The Perth Wildcats are an Australian professional basketball team based in Perth, Western Australia. The Wildcats compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at RAC Arena, known colloquially as "The Jungle". Afte ...

on March 14, 2021.

Joventut Badalona (2021)

On July 10, 2021, Paul signed with the

Club Joventut Badalona Club Joventut Badalona, S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional basketball club based in Badalona, Catalonia, Spain, playing in the Liga ACB and the EuroCup. Known to their fans as ''La Penya'' (in English, ''The Club''), it is one of only two tea ...

of the Spanish

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, wi ...

a one-year deal.

ratiopharm Ulm (2022–present)

On December 8, 2022, he signed with

ratiopharm Ulm Ratiopharm Ulm, officially stylized as ratiopharm Ulm, is a professional basketball club based in Ulm, Germany. The club has two teams, one professional team, which plays in the Basketball Bundesliga, the major German professional league and one ...

of the German

(BBL).

Player profile

Standing and weighing , Paul has a

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

of and primarily plays off the ball on offense as a

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. A shooting guard's m ...

. Paul is known as a quick, athletic guard who is able to defend against

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

s, shooting guards, and

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronger t ...

Personal life

Paul is the son of Cliff Sr. and Lynda Paul. His mother Lynda played college basketball for

Ball State University Ball State University (Ball State, State or BSU) is a public university, public research university in Muncie, Indiana. It has two satellite facilities in Fishers, Indiana, Fishers and Indianapolis. On July 25, 1917, the Ball brothers, indust ...

and coached Paul's

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...

(AAU) basketball team, the Illinois Hoopstars Paul's father, Cliff Sr., is police officer and a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

veteran who served 13 years in the service. After the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

in 2001, Cliff Sr. was stationed in Spain for six months. He has two brothers, Cliff Jr. and Darius Paul. Darius played one season for Western Michigan before transferring to Illinois for the 2013–14 season as a redshirt sophomore.

Career statistics

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2009–10 , style="text-align:left;",

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, 36 , , 15 , , 18.9 , , .333 , , .279 , , .644 , , 3.1 , , 1.3 , , .8 , , .1 , , 7.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 34 , , 10 , , 22.4 , , .399 , , .361 , , .767 , , 3.1 , , 2.1 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , 9.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2011–12 , style="text-align:left;",

, 32 , , 30 , , 33.4 , , .392 , , .333 , , .727 , , 4.7 , , 2.9 , , 1.4 , , .8 , , 14.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 36 , , 35 , , 32.0 , , .401 , , .325 , , .738 , , 4.4 , , 2.7 , , 1.2 , , .6 , , 16.6 , -

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

, 23 , , 14 , , 17.2 , , .340 , , .415 , , .703 , , 1.0 , , .6 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 8.6 , , 5.8

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

, 64 , , 2 , , 9.0 , , .433 , , .278 , , .512 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , .4 , , .1 , , 2.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 64 , , 2 , , 9.0 , , .433 , , .278 , , .512 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , .4 , , .1 , , 2.3

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 1 , , 0 , , 3.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 0.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 1 , , 0 , , 3.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 0.0

High school career

College career

Professional career

Nizhny Novgorod (2013–14)

Canton Charge (2014–15)

Joventut Badalona (2015–16)

Anadolu Efes (2016–17)

San Antonio Spurs (2017–2018)

Zhejiang Golden Bulls (2019)

Olympiacos (2019–20)

Adelaide 36ers (2021)

Joventut Badalona (2021)

ratiopharm Ulm (2022–present)

Player profile

Personal life

Career statistics

College

EuroLeague

NBA

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links