Cassius Winston (born February 28, 1998) 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
Bayern Munich
Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...
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
EuroLeague. He played
college basketball
In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...
for the
Michigan State Spartans
The Michigan State Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Michigan State University. The school's athletic program includes 23 varsity sports teams. Their mascot is a Spartan warrior named Sparty, and the school colors are green and wh ...
.
High school career
Winston, a 6'1
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 ...
, was a star prep player at
University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy
The University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy was founded in 1877, and is one of two Jesuit high schools in the city of Detroit, Michigan, the other being Loyola High School. Located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit, the sc ...
in
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
. As a senior in 2016, he led his team to an MHSAA Class A State Championship, and was named
Mr. Basketball of Michigan. Winston was inducted into the
Catholic High School League The Catholic High School League (CHSL) is a school athletic conference based in Detroit, Michigan, led by director Victor Michaels. Most member schools are also members of the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA), the governing body fo ...
Hall of Fame in 2020.
Recruiting
College career
![Cassius Winston 2020](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Cassius_Winston_2020.jpg)
He chose to attend college at
Michigan State
Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...
, and averaged 6.7 points and 5.2 assists per game in 35 games as a freshman. As a sophomore, he became a full-time starter, averaging 12.6 points and 6.9 assists per game for the Spartans, and earning third-team All-
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
honors.
Entering into Winston's junior season, he was selected to the preseason All-Big Ten team. After a strong start to the year, he was named to the midseason watch list for the
John R. Wooden Award
The John R. Wooden Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding men's and women's college basketball players. The program consists of the men's and women's Player of the Year awards, the Legends of Coaching award, and recognizing the ...
.
On March 11, 2019, Winston was named the
Big Ten Player of the Year. On March 31, 2019, Winston scored 20 points along with 10 assists in a 68–67 win against
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...
in the
Elite Eight
In the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship or the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship, the "Elite Eight" comprises the final eight teams, representing the regional finals, or national quarterfinals. In Division I and Divis ...
of the
2019 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
The 2019 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 68 teams to determine the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's college basketball national champion for the 2018–19 seaso ...
.
Prior to the start of the
2019–20 season, Winston was unanimously named a preseason All-American 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 ...
(AP), the only player so honored. On December 29, Winston missed a game against
Western Michigan
West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for an arbitrary region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Most narrowly it refers to the Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland, Michigan, Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region a ...
with a bone bruise in his knee. He scored a career-high 32 points along with nine assists in a 87–69 win over
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
on January 5, 2020. Winston passed
Mateen Cleaves
Mateen Ahmad Cleaves (born September 7, 1977) is a retired American basketball player. He played parts of six seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was an All-American college player for Michigan State, where he led the Sparta ...
' Big Ten record of 816 assists on January 17, in a win against
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
. At the close of the regular season, Winston was named to the First Team All-Big Ten by the coaches and media. Winston averaged 18.3 points and 5.9 assists per game as a senior.
Professional career
Washington Wizards (2020–2022)
On November 18, 2020, Winston was drafted by the
Oklahoma City Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...
with the 53rd overall pick in the
2020 NBA draft
The 2020 NBA draft was held on November 18, 2020. The draft was originally scheduled to be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on June 25, but due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it was instead conducted at ESPN's facilities in Bristol, Connecti ...
. His rights were subsequently traded to the
Washington Wizards
The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast D ...
and on November 28, 2020, he was signed to a
two-way contract
A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...
. However, since Washington's affiliate, the
Capital City Go-Go
The Capital City Go-Go is an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Washington, D.C., and are affiliated with the Washington Wizards. The Go-Go play their home games at the St. Elizabeths East Entertainment and Sports ...
withdrew from the tournament, he was assigned to the
Erie BayHawks for the
NBA G 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 ...
season, making his debut on February 10, 2021.
On August 19, 2021, Winston signed a second two-way contract with the Wizards. He appeared in 7 games for the Wizards during the 2021-2022 regular season.
Winston joined 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 ...
for the
2022 NBA Summer League
The 2022 NBA Summer League, also branded as the NBA 2K23 Summer League 2022, was an off-season competition held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) primarily at the Thomas and Mack Center and Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada on the campus ...
.
Bayern Munich (2022–present)
On July 28, 2022, Winston signed with German club
Bayern Munich
Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...
.
Career statistics
NBA
Regular season
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
, style="text-align:left;",
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...
, 22 , , 0 , , 4.5 , , .424 , , .471 , , .833 , , .4 , , .5 , , .1 , , .0 , , 1.9
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
, style="text-align:left;",
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...
, 7 , , 0 , , 5.6 , , .364 , , .333 , , 1.000 , , .1 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 2.0
, - class="sortbottom"
, style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career
, 29 , , 0 , , 4.7 , , .409 , , .435 , , .900 , , .3 , , .7 , , .1 , , .0 , , 1.9
Playoffs
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...
, 1 , , 0 , , 5.0 , , .333 , , .000 , , — , , 2.0 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 2.0
, - class="sortbottom"
, style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career
, 1 , , 0 , , 5.0 , , .333 , , .000 , , — , , 2.0 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 2.0
College
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
2016–17
, style="text-align:left;",
Michigan State
Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...
, 35 , , 5 , , 20.7 , , .423 , , .380 , , .775 , , 1.8 , , 5.2 , , .7 , , .1 , , 6.7
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
2017–18
, style="text-align:left;",
Michigan State
Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...
, 35 , , 34 , , 28.1 , , .507 , , .497 , , .900 , , 3.4 , , 6.9 , , .7 , , .1 , , 12.6
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
2018–19
, style="text-align:left;",
Michigan State
Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...
, 39 , , 39 , , 33.5 , , .460 , , .398 , , .840 , , 3.0 , , 7.5 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , 18.8
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
2019–20
, style="text-align:left;",
Michigan State
Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...
, 30 , , 30 , , 32.7 , , .448 , , .432 , , .852 , , 2.5 , , 5.9 , , 1.2 , , .0 , , 18.6
, - class="sortbottom"
, style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career
, 139 , , 108 , , 28.8 , , .461 , , .430 , , .845 , , 2.7 , , 6.4 , , .9 , , .1 , , 14.2
Personal life
Winston has two younger brothers, Zachary and Khy, who played basketball at
Albion College
Albion College is a private liberal arts college in Albion, Michigan. The college was founded in 1835 and its undergraduate population was approximately 1,500 students in 2014.
They participate in NCAA Division III and the Michigan Intercolle ...
. On November 9, 2019, Zachary Winston was killed after being struck by a train.
See also
*
References
External links
Michigan State Spartans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winston, Cassius
1998 births
Living people
21st-century African-American sportspeople
All-American college men's basketball players
American expatriate basketball people in Germany
American men's basketball players
African-American basketball players
Basketball players from Detroit
Capital City Go-Go players
Erie BayHawks (2019–2021) players
FC Bayern Munich basketball players
Michigan State Spartans men's basketball players
Oklahoma City Thunder draft picks
Point guards
University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy alumni
Washington Wizards players