Christopher Adam Clemons (born July 23, 1997) 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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for the

Xinjiang Flying Tigers The Xinjiang Guanghui Flying Tigers () is a professional basketball team based in Ürümqi, Xinjiang, China. The team play its home games at the Hongshan Arena, which has a capacity for 3,800 spectators. The club joined the Chinese Basketball ...

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). 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

Campbell Fighting Camels The Campbell Fighting Camels represent Campbell University is the nickname of the school's 21 teams that compete at the Division I level of the NCAA. Teams A member of the Big South Conference, Campbell sponsors teams in nine men's and ten w ...

, and was signed by the Houston Rockets of the NBA as an undrafted rookie.

Early life and high school career

Growing up in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southe ...

, 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. In a state tournament game as a senior, Clemons broke the school single-game record with 41 points.

College career

Clemons averaged 18.5 points per game as a freshman at Campbell and was named the Big South Freshman of the Year. 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. Clemons was named to the First Team All-Big South in his sophomore season. As a sophomore, Clemons averaged 25.1 points per game, second highest in Division I behind

Marcus Keene Marcus Johnny Rashaan Keene (born May 6, 1995) is an American basketball player for SIG Strasbourg of the French LNB Pro A. He gained national prominence in 2016–17 season as a redshirt junior while at Central Michigan University, having been ...

, and took 42.2 percent of his team's shots, the highest percentage in college basketball. With 904 points, Clemons set the school record for points in a season. Clemons had a season-high 42 points against

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

on January 23, 2018 and alongside Marcus Burk became the first teammates in NCAA history to each hit 10 threes in a game. He passed the 2,000 point mark in his career on February 7, scoring 33 points in a win against Gardner–Webb. On March 14, Clemons passed Jonathan Rodriguez as Campbell's all-time leading scorer, adding 32 points in a win against Miami (Ohio). Clemons repeated on the First Team All-Big South as a junior and received seven first place votes for conference player of the year. 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 The College Basketball Invitational (CBI) is a men's college basketball tournament created in 2007 by The Gazelle Group. The inaugural tournament occurred after the conclusion of the 2007–08 men's college basketball regular season. The CBI s ...

. After the season, Clemons declared for the 2018 NBA draft but did not hire an agent, thus preserving his collegiate eligibility. He decided to withdraw from the draft and return to Campbell. Coming into his senior season, Clemons was named Preseason Big South Player of the Year. 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. He led NCAA Division 1 in scoring with 30.1 points per game and became the third highest scorer in college basketball history.

Professional career

Houston Rockets (2019–2021)

After going undrafted in the

2019 NBA draft The 2019 NBA draft was held on June 20, 2019. It took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, i ...

, Clemons joined the Houston Rockets for the

2019 NBA Summer League The 2019 NBA Summer League was held at the Thomas and Mack Center and Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada on the campus of University of Nevada, Las Vegas. It began on July 5 and ended on July 15. All 30 teams and two national teams, China and Croat ...

, and later signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Rockets. On October 17, the Rockets converted him to a two-way player. Clemons made his NBA debut on November 3, scoring 16 points in a 129–100 loss to the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...

. On November 16, with

Russell Westbrook Russell Westbrook III (born November 12, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A member of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, he is a nine-time NBA All-Star and ...

and

Eric Gordon Eric Ambrose Gordon Jr. (born December 25, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). In high school, he was named "Mr. Basketball" of Indiana during his senior yea ...

sidelined due to injury, Clemons scored a career-high 19 points in a win over 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 ...

. On December 27, the Houston Rockets announced that they had converted the contract with Clemons into standard NBA contract. Clemons recorded 14 points and three rebounds on January 10, 2020, in a 113–92 loss to 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 ...

. Clemons had his jersey retired at Campbell during the NBA All-Star Break. On December 15, 2020 in a preseason game against the San Antonio Spurs, Clemons tore his Achilles while on defense. On January 21, 2021, he was waived by the Rockets.

Maine Celtics (2021–2022)

On October 16, 2021, Clemons signed with the Boston Celtics, but was waived soon thereafter. On October 23, he signed with the Maine Celtics as an affiliate player. 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 The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

. However, he did not appear in a game for Atlanta. On January 8, 2022, Clemons was reacquired by the Maine Celtics. On January 22, 2022, Clemons set an

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA De ...

record for most points in a quarter on perfect shooting from the field with 27 points on 9–9 field goal shooting. 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. Clemons joined the

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 campu ...

Windy City Bulls (2022)

On September 29, 2022, Clemons' returning player rights were traded by the Celtics to the

Windy City Bulls The Windy City Bulls are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, and are affiliated with the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls play their home games at Now Arena, from Chicago. It became the thir ...

. On October 13, he signed a contract with the Bulls. On November 23, Clemons was bought out by the Bulls.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Playoffs

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College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

Campbell Campbell may refer to: People Surname * Campbell (surname), includes a list of people with surname Campbell Given name * Campbell Brown (footballer), an Australian rules footballer * Campbell Brown (journalist) (born 1968), American television ne ...

, 30 , , 29 , , 32.2 , , .424 , , .374 , , .844 , , 3.7 , , 1.8 , , 1.5 , , .3 , , 18.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

, 36 , , 34 , , 33.5 , , .447 , , .354 , , .825 , , 4.6 , , 2.6 , , 1.9 , , .5 , , 25.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

, 31 , , 30 , , 34.0 , , .452 , , .371 , , .861 , , 4.6 , , 3.1 , , 1.6 , , .3 , , 24.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

, 33 , , 33 , , 36.6 , , .448 , , .357 , , .869 , , 5.1 , , 2.8 , , 1.5 , , .3 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 30.1* , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 130 , , 126 , , 34.1 , , .444 , , .363 , , .852 , , 4.5 , , 2.6 , , 1.6 , , .4 , , 24.8

References

External links

Campbell Fighting Camels bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clemons, Chris 1997 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Raleigh, North Carolina Campbell Fighting Camels basketball players Houston Rockets players Maine Celtics players Point guards Rio Grande Valley Vipers players Undrafted National Basketball Association players Windy City Bulls players