Emoni James-Wayne Bates (born January 28, 2004) 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 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 ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA), on 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 ...

with the

Cleveland 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 fra ...

of 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 ...

. 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

Memphis Tigers The Memphis Tigers are the Sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Memphis, located in Memphis, Tennessee. The teams compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level as a member of ...

and the

Eastern Michigan Eagles The Eastern Michigan Eagles, formerly known as the Normalites and the Hurons, are the athletic teams for Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. The Eagles compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) a ...

. In his first two years of high school, Bates played basketball for Lincoln High School in his hometown of

Ypsilanti, Michigan Ypsilanti (), commonly shortened to Ypsi, is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 20,648. The city is bounded to the north by Superior Township and on the west, south, and ...

, where he was heavily touted by the national media and rated as the top

recruit __NOTOC__ Recruit can refer to: Military * Military recruitment * Recruit training, in the military * '' Rekrut'' (English: Recruit), a military recruit or low rank in German-speaking countries * Seaman recruit Books *''Le Réquisitionnaire'' (E ...

in his class. He led Lincoln to a state championship as a freshman and became the first sophomore to win the

Gatorade National Player of the Year The Gatorade Player of the Year awards are given annually to up and coming high school student-athletes in the United States. They are given for boys' baseball, boys' and girls' basketball, boys' and girls' cross country, boys' football, boys' a ...

boys' award. For his junior season, Bates transferred to Ypsi Prep Academy, a new school created by his father. A former

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 ...

commit, he opted to graduate early from high school and start his college career at

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

. As a freshman at Memphis, Bates missed time with injuries and fell sharply in NBA draft projections after not meeting expectations. He transferred to his hometown team

Eastern Michigan Eastern Michigan University (EMU, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern), is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School, the school was the fourth normal school established in the United Sta ...

for his sophomore season. He was drafted with the 49th pick in the 2023 NBA draft by the Cavaliers.

Early life and career

Bates was born in the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

hospital in

Ann Arbor Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), ...

. He began playing basketball from age three, often sleeping with a miniature basketball under his arm and

dribbling In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. A ...

around his house. In his childhood, Bates trained for basketball with his father, a former professional player, by shooting around and improving his agility through various drills. In fourth grade, he played against high school seniors at a

rec league Intramural sports are recreational sports organized within a particular institution, usually an educational institution, for the purpose of fun and exercise or a set geographic region. The term, which is chiefly North American, derives from the L ...

Saline, Michigan Saline ( ') is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 8,948 at the 2020 census. The city borders Saline Township to the southwest, and the two are administered autonomously. History Before the 18th century ...

and started competing on the

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) circuit. Bates also played

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

while in elementary school. Bates first surfaced on the national radar in early 2016, after averaging 28 points and 12 rebounds per game for the Toledo Wildcats AAU team at a tournament in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. He grew from to from sixth to seventh grade. Bates played basketball for Clague Middle School in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where as a seventh-grader, he was rated the number one player in the 2022 class by recruiting website Future150. He averaged 46 points per game in seventh grade and sat out his eighth grade season to train individually. In the summer of 2018, Bates averaged 17 points per game facing older competition at the under-15 division of the

Nike Elite Youth Basketball League The Nike Elite Youth Basketball League, also known as Nike EYBL, or simply EYBL, is a basketball circuit for teams of players aged 17 and under. The circuit was founded in 2010 and is composed of AAU travel teams. Both boys and girls play in the E ...

(EYBL), a notable summer circuit.

High school career

Freshman season

Bates enrolled at Lincoln High School in

, being drawn there because the head basketball coach, Jesse Davis, was a longtime teammate and friend of Bates' father. On November 26, 2018, Bates made his freshman season debut, recording 32 points and 15 rebounds in an 80–69 win over Ann Arbor Huron at the Ypsilanti Tip-Off Classic. On January 18, 2019, he scored a then career-high 43 points, shooting 13-of-27 from the field, in a 68–56 victory over

Ypsilanti Community High School Ypsilanti Community High School is a public high school located near Ypsilanti, Michigan. The school is the main high school in the Ypsilanti Community Schools district. History Ypsilanti Community High School was founded in 2013 as part of ...

. Bates, on February 5, was ejected and suspended one game for his role in an altercation during a game versus Dexter High School. On February 18, he posted 36 points and 19 rebounds in a 73–65 win over Jackson High School to capture the

Michigan High School Athletic Association The Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) is a service organization for high school sports in Michigan and is headquartered in East Lansing. It is a member of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). Unlike ma ...

(MHSAA)

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

White division title. On March 7, he led all scorers with 36 points and made the game-winning shot in an 81–79 victory over

Detroit Catholic Central High School Detroit Catholic Central High School, commonly known as Catholic Central (CC), is a private, Catholic, all-male, college preparatory high school in Novi, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1928 in Detroit, Michigan by the Archdiocese of Detroi ...

, as Lincoln claimed its first regional championship. Nine days later, Bates guided Lincoln to its first MHSAA Division 1 state title after scoring 23 points in a 64–62 win over top-seeded

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 ...

. He finished the season averaging 28.5 points and 10.2 rebounds per game, helping his team to a 23–4 record. Bates was named Michigan

Gatorade Player of the Year The Gatorade Player of the Year awards are given annually to up and coming high school student-athletes in the United States. They are given for boys' baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine playe ...

and MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year. He also earned

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(AP) Division 1 Player of the Year and All-State first team honors. Mick McCabe of the ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...

'' labeled Bates as the "best freshman to ever play in Michigan," while Evan Daniels of

247Sports 247Sports is an American network of websites that focus mainly on athletic recruitment in college football and basketball. It is owned and operated by Paramount. The website hosts a large network of team-specific subsites, with each subsite b ...

mentioned him as possibly the best high school prospect since

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest pl ...

Sophomore season

Entering his sophomore season, Bates appeared on the cover of the November 4, 2019 issue of ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

''. In his season debut, he scored 24 points but was held back to 6-of-21 shooting in a loss to River Rouge High School. On January 17, 2020, Bates scored 40 points in a 67–38 victory over Dexter High School. He tallied 42 points on January 27 in an 83–56 win over Jackson High School. During the game, Bates wore a number 24 jersey to honor his childhood idol,

Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant ( ; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he spent his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely r ...

, who had died in a

helicopter crash A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

in the previous day. On February 18, he established new career-highs of 63 points and 21 rebounds in a 108–102 double

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society), ...

victory over Chelsea High School. Three days later, Bates recorded 40 points and 12 rebounds in a 67–60 overtime win over Ypsilanti Community High School. On March 5, he had 48 points and 13 rebounds to lead his team past Catholic Central High School by a score of 79–48. On March 9, during a win over Pioneer High School in the first round of the state playoffs, Bates was involved in a skirmish that resulted in a double

technical foul In basketball, a technical foul (colloquially known as a "T" or a "tech") is any infraction of the rules penalized as a foul which does not involve physical contact during the course of play between opposing players on the court, or is a foul by a ...

and the ejection of an opposing player. He was unable to help Lincoln defend its Division 1 state title after the MHSAA suspended winter postseason tournaments due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. As a sophomore, he averaged 32.3 points, nine rebounds, three assists and 2.1 steals per game, shooting 50 percent from the field and 37 percent from three-point range, and led his team to a 19–3 record. Bates was recognized as

, becoming the first sophomore to win the boys' version of the award, as well as MaxPreps National Sophomore of the Year. He was named Michigan AP Division 1 Player of the Year and Michigan Gatorade Player of the Year for a second straight season.

Junior season

Before his junior season, Bates announced that he would transfer to Ypsi Prep Academy, a new prep school in Ypsilanti created by his father. On November 12, 2020, he made his debut with the program, scoring 36 points in a 78–71

exhibition game An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

loss to Chet Holmgren and Team Sizzle. As a junior, Bates averaged 23 points, 5.8 rebounds, three assists and 2.2 steals per game, leading his team to a 7–3 record. He was one of five finalists for the

Naismith Prep Player of the Year Award The Naismith Prep Player of the Year award, named for Canadian basketball inventor James Naismith, is given annually by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to high school basketball's top male and female player. The inaugural awards were given to Dennis Sco ...

. After the season, he

reclassified ''Reclassified'' is the reissue of Australians, Australian rapper Iggy Azalea's debut studio album, ''The New Classic'' (2014). It was released internationally on 21 November 2014 by Virgin EMI Records, and in the United States on 24 November ...

up to the 2021 class and bypassed his senior year of high school.

Recruiting

Bates was a consensus five-star

and one of the top players in the 2021 class, according to major recruiting services. He received a scholarship offer from

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

program DePaul in eighth grade. After his freshman season in high school, Bates was offered scholarships by

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 ...

and

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 ...

. By then, he was being touted by analysts and scouts as the top high school basketball prospect regardless of class. Following Bates' junior season, however,

remarked that he "looks to have hit a bit of a roadblock in his development." Both 247Sports and

Rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

began to consider him the second-best player in his class behind

Jalen Duren Jalen Montez Duren (born November 18, 2003) is an American professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Memphis Tigers. A center, he stands and weighs ...

. On August 4, 2021, Bates reclassified from the 2022 class to the 2021 class. Upon his reclassification, he was ranked third, fourth and fifth in his class by

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

, Rivals and 247Sports, respectively. On June 29, 2020, during a live interview on ''

SportsCenter ''SportsCenter'' (SC) is a daily sports news television show, television program that serves as the flagship program and brand of United States, American cable television, cable and satellite television television network, network ESPN. The show ...

'', Bates announced his commitment to play

for Michigan State. He was drawn to the program by head coach

Tom Izzo Tom Izzo (, ); born January 30, 1955) is an American college basketball coach who has been the head coach at Michigan State University since 1995. On April 4, 2016, Izzo was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Izzo has led the Spart ...

and the school's coaching staff, who had been building a relationship with him since he was in seventh grade. At the time, Bates was the highest rated recruit to commit to Michigan State in the modern recruiting era. On April 30, 2021, he decommitted from Michigan State and reopened his recruitment, saying that he was exploring college and professional options. On August 24, Bates committed to

to play for head coach

Penny Hardaway Anfernee Deon "Penny" Hardaway (born July 18, 1971) is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Memphis Tigers men's basketball team in the American Athletic Conference (AAC). Hardaway pla ...

and alongside his close friend,

; his other three finalists were Michigan State,

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

and the

College career

Freshman season

Bates, at age 17, entered his freshman season at Memphis as the youngest player in college basketball. On November 9, 2021, he made his college debut, recording a season-high 17 points, four rebounds and four assists in an 89–65 win against

Tennessee Tech Tennessee Technological University, commonly referred to as Tennessee Tech, is a public research university in Cookeville, Tennessee, United States. It was formerly known as Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, and before that as University of Dixie ...

. He was named

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (The American or AAC) is an American collegiate athletic conference, featuring 11 member universities and five affiliate member universities that compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) ...

(AAC) Freshman of the Week on November 15, after two games. As Memphis began facing stronger competition, head coach

moved Bates to

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 ...

, a position he had not played in high school, and he struggled in his new role. In December, he suffered a finger injury that caused him to miss three games. Bates later missed 12 games, including the AAC tournament, with a lower back injury and returned for the NCAA tournament. In 18 games as a freshman, he averaged 9.7 points and 3.3 rebounds, shooting 38.6 percent from the field, and drastically fell in NBA draft projections.

Sophomore season

For his sophomore season, Bates transferred to

, his hometown college team, after also considering

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

Seton Hall Seton Hall University (SHU) is a private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesa ...

, DePaul and

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

. Before the season, on September 19, 2022, he was suspended by the team after being arrested on gun charges in the previous day. Bates was reinstated on October 13 following a

plea deal A plea bargain (also plea agreement or plea deal) is an agreement in criminal law proceedings, whereby the prosecutor provides a concession to the defendant in exchange for a plea of guilt or ''nolo contendere.'' This may mean that the defendant ...

that would lead to the charges being dropped. He did not play in the team's season opener against Wayne State for undisclosed reasons. On November 11, Bates made his debut for Eastern Michigan and led his team with 30 points in an 88–83 loss to

. Against Toledo on January 24, Bates scored 29 straight points for Eastern Michigan in the first half. That was all he scored in that half, as he ended with 43 points in a 84–79 loss. In 30 games at Eastern Michigan during the 2022–23 season, he averaged 19.2 points and 5.8 rebounds. On April 24, 2023, Bates entered his name in the 2023 NBA draft.

Professional career

Bates was selected with the 49th overall pick of the 2023 NBA draft by the

. On July 7, 2023, the Cavaliers signed him to a

. Under the terms of the deal, he split time between the Cavaliers and their

affiliate, the

Career statistics

College

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, 18 , , 13 , , 23.4 , , .386 , , .329 , , .646 , , 3.3 , , 1.3 , , .6 , , .3 , , 9.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

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

, 30 , , 29 , , 33.8 , , .405 , , .330 , , .782 , , 5.8 , , 1.4 , , .7 , , .5 , , 19.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 48 , , 42 , , 29.9 , , .400 , , .330 , , .749 , , 4.8 , , 1.4 , , .7 , , .5 , , 15.6

Personal life

Bates' father, Elgin "E. J." Bates, played

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

basketball for

Kentucky Wesleyan Kentucky Wesleyan College (KWC) is a private Methodist college in Owensboro, Kentucky. The college is known for its liberal arts programs. Fall 2018 enrollment was 830 students. History Kentucky Wesleyan College was founded in 1858 by the Kent ...

and played professionally for five years in Germany and Switzerland. E. J. manages the basketball training organization Bates Fundamentals and coaches its affiliated AAU team, which Emoni has played for. Bates' mother, Edith Bates, works for the

American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...

. On September 18, 2022, Bates was arrested in Superior Township, Michigan on

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...

charges of carrying a concealed weapon and altering identification marks on a firearm. On October 19, he pleaded guilty to a

misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than adm ...

charge of attempting to transport a loaded firearm in a vehicle, and his felony charges were dropped.

Footnotes

References

External links

Eastern Michigan Eagles bioMemphis Tigers bioUSA Basketball bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bates, Emoni 2004 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportspeople African-American basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Ann Arbor, Michigan Cleveland Cavaliers draft picks Eastern Michigan Eagles men's basketball players Memphis Tigers men's basketball players Small forwards