DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell (born June 5, 1993) is an Trinidadian-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

Lokomotiv Kuban PBC Lokomotiv Kuban (russian: ПБК «Локомотив Кубань») is a Russian professional basketball team based in Krasnodar. The club participates in the VTB United League. The team is one of the top tier basketball teams in Russia. T ...

of the

VTB United League VTB United League (russian: Единая Лига ВТБ) is an international professional men's club basketball list of basketball leagues, league that was founded in 2008. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus an ...

. 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 Eastern Oklahoma State and

Illinois State Illinois State University (ISU) is a Public university, public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is reco ...

. Standing at , he usually plays the

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 ...

position.

College career

Akoon-Purcell transferred from

Eastern Oklahoma State College Eastern Oklahoma State College is a public community college in Wilburton, Oklahoma. It is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. The school has a branch campus in McAlester and teaching sites in Antlers (Ki ...

, where he was a National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I All-America Honorable Mention selection in 2014, to

Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is recognized as one of th ...

ahead of the 2014–15 season. During his junior season at Illinois State, Akoon-Purcell was named to the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest. History The MVC was established ...

(MVC) All-Newcomer Team, and he was also named the MVC Newcomer of the Year. In 2014–15, he was also a finalist for the Riley Wallace Award, presented annually to the top transfer in

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division I basketball, as awarded by

CollegeInsider.com Collegeinsider.com is a sports website based in Boston that is noted particularly for its basketball polls, awards and sponsored tournament. The website was founded by Joe Dwyer and Angela Lento and traces it history to 1995 as regional basketball ...

. Ahead of his senior season, Akoon-Purcell was a 2015–16 MVC Preseason Team selection. During his senior season at Illinois State, Akoon-Purcell led the team in scoring and ranked eighth in the MVC with 14.1 points per game on his way to earning All-MVC Second Team and NABC Division I District 16 Second Team accolades. Akoon-Purcell went undrafted in 2016.

Professional career

Bakken Bears (2016–2018)

In August 2016, Akoon-Purcell signed a one-year contract with Danish side

Bakken Bears Bakken Bears is a Denmark, Danish professional basketball club based in Aarhus. The club plays in the Basketligaen, the top tier basketball league in Denmark. Founded in 1953, the club has won the Basketligaen 20 times and holds the record for t ...

of the

Basketligaen The Basketligaen ( en, The Basketball League) is the highest professional basketball league in Denmark. The original men's first division was founded in 1957 and the current league was founded in 1998. All-time record holder in league titles is B ...

and

FIBA Europe Cup The FIBA Europe Cup (FEC) is an annual professional club basketball competition organised by FIBA for eligible European clubs. It is FIBA's European-wide second level. Clubs mainly qualify for the competition based on their performance in nation ...

. He led the Bears to a Basketligaen championship in his first season, while being named the league's MVP and Finals MVP. In his second season with the Bears, he reached the semi-finals of the FIBA Europe Cup and won the Basketligaen championship. Akoon-Purcell was given the title of Fan Vote FIBA Europe Cup MVP, as he received 4,939 fan votes. He also was named the Guard of the Year of the competition.

Denver Nuggets (2018)

Akoon-Purcell joined the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

NBA Summer League The NBA Summer League, also known as the Las Vegas Summer League, is an off-season competition organized by the National Basketball Association. NBA teams come together to try out different summer rosters instead of their regular season line-ups ...

roster ahead of the 2018 Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 12.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 2.0 steals in 19.3 minutes per game. On August 7, 2018, the

signed Akoon-Purcell on a two-way contract. Akoon-Purcell played in only 7 games with the Nuggets throughout the entirety of his two-way contract. On December 16, 2018, after the expiration of his two-way contract, he was waived by the Nuggets.

Hapoel Tel Aviv (2018–2019)

On December 19, 2018, Akoon-Purcell signed with

Hapoel Tel Aviv Hapoel Tel Aviv ( he, הפועל תל אביב) is a sports club in Israel, founded in the 1920s, and part of the Hapoel association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, suc ...

of the

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League ( he, ליגת העל, ''Ligat Ha`Al'', ), is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Israeli Football League – the state's league of Israel. The league is contested b ...

for the rest of the season. However, on February 19, 2019, Akoon-Purcell parted ways with Hapoel after appearing in eight games.

ESSM Le Portel (2019)

On March 9, 2019, Akoon-Purcell signed with

ESSM Le Portel Étoile Sportive Saint-Michel Le Portel Côte d'Opale, commonly known as ESSM Le Portel or simply Le Portel, is a professional basketball team based in Le Portel, France. The team currently plays in the LNB Pro A, Pro A, the first tier in France. ...

of the French

LNB Pro A The LNB Pro A, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Betclic Élite, is the top-tier men's professional basketball league in France. The competition has existed since 1921. Since 1987, the Ligue Nationale de Basket has governed the league. ...

. In 12 games played for Le Portel, he averaged 9.1 points and 2.5 rebounds per game.

Oklahoma City Blue (2019–2020)

On September 30, 2019, Akoon-Purcell signed with 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 ...

. He was cut from the team in the preseason and was signed by their G League affiliate, the

Oklahoma City Blue The Oklahoma City Blue are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and are affiliated with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Blue play their home games at Paycom Center. The franchise began as t ...

. On January 21, 2020, Akoon-Purcell posted 33 points and 7 rebounds in a 125–116 win over the

Austin Spurs The Austin Spurs are an American basketball team in the NBA G League based in Cedar Park, Texas, and are affiliated with the San Antonio Spurs. The team plays their home games at H-E-B Center at Cedar Park. The team has made the postseason in ...

. The following game, he scored 38 points while adding eight rebounds, two assists and one steal in a 144–140 loss to the

Texas Legends The Texas Legends are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Frisco, Texas, and are affiliated with the Dallas Mavericks. The Legends play their home games at the Comerica Center. The team began as the Colorado 14 ...

Tofaş (2020–2021)

On September 2, 2020, Akoon-Purcell signed a one-month deal with the

. However on September 29, he signed with

Tofaş Tofaş (acronym for ''Türk Otomobil Fabrikası Anonim Şirketi''; ''Turkish Automobile Factory Joint-Stock Company'' pronounced ) is a Turkish automobile manufacturer which was established in 1968 by Vehbi Koç, who was the founder of Koç Hold ...

of the Turkish league. Akoon-Purcell played for 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 (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...

in the

2021 NBA summer league The 2021 NBA Summer League was an off-season competition held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) at the Thomas and Mack Center and Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada on the campus of University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The summer league cons ...

, scoring 13 points in 27 minutes on 6–9 shooting and grabbing 8 rebounds and 2 steals at his debut in a 85–83 loss against 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 ...

and former Hapoel Tel-Aviv teammate

Yam Madar Yam Madar ( he, ים מדר; born ) is an Israeli player ,and professional basketball player for Partizan Belgrade of the Serbian KLS, the Adriatic League and the EuroLeague. He also represents the Israel senior national team internationally. ...

Galatasaray (2021–2022)

On August 23, 2021, Akoon-Purcell signed a one year deal with Galatasaray Nef of the Turkish

Basketbol Süper Ligi The Basketball Super League ( tr, Basketbol Süper Ligi; BSL), also known as the Türkiye Sigorta Basketbol Süper Ligi for sponsorship reasons, is the top men's professional basketball division of the Turkish basketball league system. It replac ...

(BSL), with the option of an additional season.

Lokomotiv Kuban (2022–present)

On December 1, 2022, he signed with

of the

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, 7 , , 0 , , 3.1 , , .300 , , .000 , , .500 , , .5 , , .8 , , .2 , , .0 , , 1.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 7 , , 0 , , 3.1 , , .300 , , .000 , , .500 , , .5 , , .8 , , .2 , , .0 , , 1.0

Domestic Leagues

, - , align=left style="background:#afe6ba;style="text-align:center;" , 2016–17† , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2 ,

, style="text-align:center;" rowspan=2,

, 37 , , 32 , , 27.1 , , .522, , .455, , .799, , 5.9, , 3.0, , 1.8, , .4 , , style="background:#CFECEC;", 21.4* , - , align=left style="background:#afe6ba;style="text-align:center;" , 2017–18† , 29 , , 25 , , 27.1 , , .484 , , .352 , , .881 , , 4.9 , , 3.8 , , 1.6 , , .1 , , 17.3 , - , style="text-align:left;" , 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;" ,

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

IPL The Indian Premier League (IPL), also known as TATA IPL for sponsorship reasons, is a men's T20 franchise cricket league of India. It is annually contested by ten teams based out of seven Indian cities and three Indian states. The leagu ...

, 8 , , 7 , , 22.1 , , .310 , , .240 , , .826 , , 2.6 , , 1.8 , , 1.1 , , .1 , , 7.6 , - , style="text-align:left;" , 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;" ,

Le Portel Le Portel (; vls, Turbodingem) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography Le Portel is a tourist, fishing and light industrial town situated about southwest of Boulogne town centre, at the ju ...

, style="text-align:center;" , Pro A , 12 , , 2 , , 17.2 , , .351 , , .300 , , .680 , , 2.5 , , 1.1 , , 0.8 , , .0 , , 9.1 , -

European Competitions

, - , style="text-align:center;" , 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2 ,

, style="text-align:center;" rowspan=1, BCL , 14 , , 11 , , 29.0 , , .415 , , .340 , , .842 , , 6.6 , , 1.7 , , 2.2 , , .3 , , 17.4 , - , style="text-align:center;" , 2017–18 , style="text-align:center;" rowspan=1, FEC , 18 , , 18 , , 32.7 , , .415 , , .255 , , .718 , , 5.2 , , 4.3 , , 1.6 , , .0 , , 18.6

References

External links

Illinois State Redbirds bioRealGM profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akoon-Purcell, Devaughn 1993 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Denmark American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's basketball players American sportspeople of Trinidad and Tobago descent Bakken Bears players Basketball players from Orlando, Florida Delaware Blue Coats players Denver Nuggets players ESSM Le Portel players Expatriate basketball people in Denmark Galatasaray S.K. (men's basketball) players Hapoel Tel Aviv B.C. players Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball players Junior college men's basketball players in the United States National Basketball Association players from Trinidad and Tobago Oklahoma City Blue players PBC Lokomotiv-Kuban players Small forwards Tofaş S.K. players Trinidad and Tobago expatriate sportspeople in Denmark Trinidad and Tobago expatriate sportspeople in Israel Trinidad and Tobago men's basketball players Undrafted National Basketball Association players