Julian Phillips (born November 5, 2003) 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

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...

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). 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

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

Early life and high school

Phillips was born in

Killeen, Texas Killeen is a city in Bell County, Texas, United States. According to the 2020 census, its population was 153,095, making it the 19th-most populous city in Texas and the largest of the three principal cities of Bell County. It is the principal city ...

and moved to

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the city ...

in the third grade after his parents, who were serving in the U.S. Army, were stationed at Fort Jackson. He initially attended Blythewood High School in

Blythewood, South Carolina Blythewood is a town in Richland and Fairfield counties, South Carolina, United States. It is a suburb of Columbia, South Carolina. The 2020 United States census puts the population at 4,772, up from 2,034 in 2010. Since 2000, the population has ...

. Phillips transferred to Link Prep in

Branson, Missouri Branson is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri. Most of the city is situated in Taney County, with a small portion in the west extending into Stone County. Branson is in the Ozark Mountains. The community was named after Reuben Branson, postma ...

after his junior year. He played in the 2022 McDonald's All-American Boys Game during his senior year. Phillips was a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top 20 players in the 2022 class, according to major recruiting services. He originally committed to play college basketball at

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

over offers from

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

and

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 ...

at the beginning of his senior season and 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 ...

(NLI) during the early signing period. After LSU head coach

Will Wade Frank William Wade (born November 26, 1982) is an American college basketball coach. He has served as the head coach at three institutions: Chattanooga Mocs men's basketball, Chattanooga from 2013 to 2015, VCU Rams men's basketball, VCU from 20 ...

was fired, Phillips requested and was granted a release from his NLI and reopened his recruitment. He ultimately committed to play at Tennessee after considering offers from

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

and

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

. Phillips also considered playing professionally in 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 ...

College career

Phillips entered his freshman season at Tennessee as the Volunteers' starting

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 ...

. He was named to the 2022

Battle 4 Atlantis The Battle 4 Atlantis is an early-season college basketball tournament. It takes place at Atlantis Paradise Island on Paradise Island in The Bahamas, on the week of the US holiday of Thanksgiving. For sponsorship purposes, the tournament is o ...

All-Tournament team after averaging a team-leading 13.3 points per game. Phillips played in 32 games with 25 starts as a freshman and averaged 8.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. After the season, Phillips declared for the 2023 NBA draft while maintaining his eligibility. After taking part in the

NBA draft combine The NBA Draft Combine is a multi-day showcase that takes place every May before the annual June NBA draft. At the combine, college basketball players are measured and take medical tests, are interviewed, perform various athletic tests and shootin ...

and receiving positive feedback, he decided to remain in the draft.

Professional career

Phillips was selected with the 35th overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft by 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 was soon traded to the

via 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 ...

Career statistics

NBA

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

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College

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, 32 , , 25 , , 24.1 , , .411 , , .239 , , .822 , , 4.7 , , 1.4 , , .6 , , .5 , , 8.3

References

External links

Tennessee Volunteers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Julian 2003 births Living people American men's basketball players Basketball players from South Carolina Boston Celtics draft picks Chicago Bulls players McDonald's High School All-Americans Small forwards Tennessee Volunteers basketball players Windy City Bulls players