Jordan Emanuel Usher (born February 21, 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

JL Bourg Jeunesse Laïque de Bourg-en-Bresse, commonly known as JL Bourg or simply Bourg, is a basketball club based in Bourg-en-Bresse, France that plays in the Pro A. Their home arena is Ekinox, which has a capacity of 3,548 people. History In 2014, J ...

of the

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. ...

. 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

USC Trojans The USC Trojans are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC), located in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ' ...

and

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets is the name used for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), located in Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia. The teams have also been nicknamed the Rambl ...

before beginning his professional career in Turkey with

Beşiktaş J.K. Beşiktaş Jimnastik Kulübü (), also known simply as Beşiktaş (), is a Turkish sports club founded in 1903 that is based in the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul. The club's football team is one of the Big Three in Turkey and one of the most ...

in the 2022–23 season.

High school career

Usher was born in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, Georgia. He played his first three seasons of high school basketball at Sequoyah High School in

Hickory Flat, Georgia Hickory Flat is an unincorporated community in southeastern Cherokee County, Georgia, United States. It geographic center is now a triangle formed by GA 140 on the north and east, Hickory Rd on the south, and East Cherokee Drive on the west. Thi ...

. As a sophomore in 2014–15, he averaged 22.3 points per game and had a career-best 37 points during the season. As a junior in 2015–16, he averaged 18.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.3 blocks per game, leading his team to a 20–9 record. At the 2016 Region 7AAAAA tournament, he helped the Chiefs win their semifinal matchup against Sprayberry High School with 29 points, 10 rebounds, five steals, three blocks and three assists. He led a late Chiefs' rally, which resulted in a 77–70 win. He went on to win the Region 7AAAAA Player of the Year award. On November 11, 2016, Usher signed a

National Letter of Intent National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

to play

for the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

. As a senior in 2016–17, Usher attended Wheeler High School in

Marietta, Georgia Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marietta is the fourth largest ...

, where he helped lead his team to a 21–9 record and to the state GHSA 7-A quarterfinals.

College career

As a freshman at

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

in 2017–18, Usher played in all 36 games for the Trojans and averaged 4.8 points and 2.0 rebounds per game. His 40.9 percent shooting from three-point range tied for third all-time among USC freshmen. He scored a season-best 14 points three times. In the 2018–19 season, Usher played in 12 games for the Trojans before leaving the program in late December. He averaged 8.6 points and 3.7 rebounds in 24.5 minutes per game. He scored a season-high 22 points twice. On December 31, 2018, Usher announced he was transferring from USC. On January 8, 2019, it was announced he was enrolling at Georgia Tech and that he would become eligible to play for the

Yellow Jackets Yellowjacket or yellowjacket is the common name in North America for predatory social wasps of the genera ''Vespula'' and ''Dolichovespula''. Members of these genera are known simply as "wasps" in other English-speaking countries. Most of these ...

midway through the 2019–20 season. Upon becoming eligible to play on December 18, 2019, Usher started all 23 games to finish the season for the Yellow Jackets and averaged 8.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. He scored a season-high 18 points against

Boise State Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It became a publ ...

in his second game. In the 2020–21 season, Usher averaged 11.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He scored a season-high 21 points against Clemson on January 20, 2021. The Yellow Jackets won the 2021 ACC tournament and Usher was named to the

ACC ACC most often refers to: * Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US *American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular spec ...

All-Tournament team. In the 2021–22 season, Usher scored in double digits in 26 of 32 games and posted seven games of 10 or more rebounds. He averaged career bests of 14.78 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.46 steals per game. He twice scored 30 points in a game, both in overtime wins against

Georgia State Georgia state or ''variation'', may refer to: Primarily * Georgia State University ("State", "Georgia State"), a state university * Georgia (U.S. state) ("Georgia state"), a state of the United States of America Sports * sports teams of Georgia St ...

and

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

. During his college career, Usher was listed as a

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

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and earned a reputation for being able to defend at all five positions while also playing in the post.

Professional career

Usher participated in a pre-draft workout with the Utah Jazz. After going undrafted in the

2022 NBA draft The 2022 NBA draft (branded as the 2022 NBA Draft presented by State Farm for sponsorship reasons), the 76th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual draft, was held on June 23, 2022, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The ...

, he joined the Jazz 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 ...

. On July 28, 2022, Usher signed with

of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL) for the 2022–23 season. In 30 BSL games, he averaged 14.33 points, 3.73 rebounds, 1.23 assists and 1.23 steals per game. He also appeared in one

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 ...

game. In July 2023, Usher played for the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

in the

2023 NBA Summer League The 2023 NBA Summer League (branded as '' NBA 2K24'' Summer League 2023 for sponsorship reasons) 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, ...

. On August 9, 2023, Usher signed with the Perth Wildcats of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) for the 2023–24 season. In his debut for the Wildcats on September 29, 2023, he scored a game-high 35 points in a 101–95 win over the

Tasmania JackJumpers The Tasmania JackJumpers are an Australian professional basketball team based in Hobart, Tasmania, who entered the National Basketball League (NBL) in the 2021–22 season, and play their home games at MyState Bank Arena and the Silverdome. T ...

, setting the highest score ever by a Wildcats player on debut. He struggled to have an impact in the following games and was subsequently moved to the bench on November 4. That decision coincided with the Wildcats turning their season around but it also resulted in Usher's form improving. In 31 games, he averaged 12.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. On June 13, 2024, he signed with

of the

Personal life

Usher is the son of Karen and Henry Usher.

Notes

References

External links

Beşiktaş J.K. player profile

Turkish BSL player profile

FIBA profile

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets college bio

USC Trojans college bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Usher, Jordan 1998 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Australia American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's basketball players Basketball players from Atlanta Beşiktaş men's basketball players Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball players Perth Wildcats players Small forwards USC Trojans men's basketball players