Julian Emil-Jamaal Wright (born May 20, 1987) 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. 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

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

. In 2014–15, he was the top rebounder in the Israel Basketball Premier League.

High school career

Julian Wright played competitive basketball at

Homewood-Flossmoor High School Homewood-Flossmoor High School (H-F) is a comprehensive public high school in Flossmoor, Illinois. The district encompasses nearly 11.5 square miles drawing students from Homewood, Flossmoor, Chicago Heights, Glenwood, Hazel Crest, and Olympia ...

in Flossmoor, Illinois. There he led the Vikings to second place in the IHSA state AA tournament his junior year, losing to Peoria Central in the championship game, who were led by future NBA player

Shaun Livingston Shaun Patrick Livingston (born September 11, 1985) is an American professional basketball executive and former player. Livingston entered the league directly out of high school and was selected fourth by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2004 NBA dr ...

. In 2005, he was selected to the McDonald's All-American team, and he was rated among the top ten basketball players in his class by several recruiting services) due to his talent and versatility. At 6'8" and , Wright combines good size with excellent athleticism and skills, which allowed him to play numerous positions in high school, including

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. A shooting guard's m ...

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 ...

, and power forward.

College career

Wright entered the 2005–2006

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 ...

season for the

Kansas Jayhawks The Kansas Jayhawks, commonly referred to as simply KU or Kansas, are the athletic teams that represent the University of Kansas. KU is one of three schools in the state of Kansas that participate in NCAA Division I. The Jayhawks are also a mem ...

as the pre-season freshman of the year in the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

. Though he did not start at the beginning of the season, he quickly played his way into the starting power forward slot. His superior athleticism often allowed him to score baskets simply by virtue of his beating the defense down the court. A highlight of his freshman campaign may have been against the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

in the Big 12 Tournament Championship game when he put an exclamation mark on KU's win with two magnificent breakaway slam dunks in the closing minutes of the game. During his freshman season, Wright averaged 8.5 points per game, but he was praised more for his ability to help his team without scoring. He was named to the All-

Big 12 tournament The Big 12 Conference sponsors championships in 23 sports, 10 men's and 13 women's. The first conference championship awarded was the 1996 softball postseason tournament championship, which was won by Oklahoma. From 2011 through 2016, the foot ...

Team and the All-Big 12 Freshman Team along with fellow Kansas freshmen

Brandon Rush Brandon Leray Rush (born July 7, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. He was drafted in the first round of the 2008 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers, before being traded to the Indiana Pacers on draft day, after pl ...

and

Mario Chalmers Almario Vernard "Mario" Chalmers (born May 19, 1986) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA G League. He was selected as the 34th overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft by the Minnesota ...

. During the 2007 tournament, he was again placed on the All-Tournament Team. Wright garnered national attention for a 33-point performance against the Missouri Tigers. For his play during the 2006–2007 season, Wright was named a third team All-American by the National Association of Basketball Coaches' All-America Team. Despite statements to the contrary, on Monday, April 9, 2007, Wright announced that he was making himself eligible for the NBA draft. He hired an agent, making him ineligible to return to school prior to the draft.

Professional career

Wright was selected as the 13th overall selection in the 2007 NBA draft by the New Orleans Hornets. In his rookie season in the NBA, Wright averaged 3.9 points per game and 2.1 rebounds per game. On October 26, 2009 the Hornets picked up the option on Wright's contract for the 2010–11 season. On August 11, 2010, Wright was traded to the Toronto Raptors for Marco Belinelli. Wright signed with the

Austin Toros Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

of the NBA D-League in February 2012. In October 2012, Wright signed with

Maccabi Rishon LeZion Maccabi Rishon LeZion is a sport club in Rishon LeZion, Israel. The professional teams associated with it include: *Maccabi Rishon LeZion (basketball) *Maccabi Rishon LeZion (handball) * Maccabi Rishon LeZion (badminton) There was also a footb ...

of Israel. In September 2013, he signed with Krasnye Krylia of the VTB United League. On October 16, 2014, he signed with Panathinaikos of the Greek League. On December 31, 2014, Panathinaikos decided to terminate his contract. On January 9, 2015 he signed with

Bnei Herzliya Bnei Herzliya Basket (, lit. ''Sons of Herzliya''), is a professional basketball club that is based in Herzliya, in the Sharon district in Israel. The club plays in the Israeli Basketball Premier League, the top division of Israeli basketball. It ...

of the Israeli Premier League for the rest of the season. In 2014–15, he was the top rebounder in the Israel Basketball Premier League. On June 8, he signed with Cangrejeros de Santurce of Puerto Rico for the rest of the 2015 BSN season. On August 4, 2015, Wright joined Italian

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

side

Dolomiti Energia Trento Aquila Basket Trento, also known for sponsorship reasons as Dolomiti Energia Trento, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Trent, Trentino. It was founded in 1995 as an amalgamation of two local clubs, going from the amateur divisio ...

for the 2015–16 season. On July 17, 2016, Wright signed with Turkish club

Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish sports club located in the city of Trabzon. Formed in 1967 through a merger of several local clubs, the men's football team has won seven Süper Lig championships. Trabzonspor also have a women's football team, ...

. On May 1, 2017, he parted ways with Trabzonspor after averaging 13.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. Three days later, he signed with Italian club Pallacanestro Reggiana for the rest of the 2016–17 Lega Basket Serie A season. On September 21, 2017, Pallacanestro Reggiana announced the return of Wright. On August 30, 2018, Wright signed with Levallois Metropolitans in France. However, in February 2019, Wright left Levallois after a dispute with the team. He later posted a video on Linkedin explaining the situation. On September 29, 2020, Wright signed with the Hsinchu Lioneers of the P.League. On December 21, 2021, Wright signed with the

Taichung Wagor Suns The Taichung Suns ( zh, 臺中太陽) are a Taiwanese professional basketball team based in Taichung City, Taiwan. They compete in the T1 League since the 2021–22 season, and play their home game at the National Taiwan University of Sport Gymna ...

of the

T1 League The T1 League is a Taiwanese men's professional basketball league founded in 2021. It is the third professional basketball league in Taiwan after the Chinese Basketball Alliance (CBA) and the P. League+ (PLG). In the 2022–23 season, the T ...

. One May 25, 2022, Wright was drafted by

3's Company 3's Company is an American men's 3-on-3 basketball team that plays in the BIG3 Big3 (stylized BIG3) is a 3-on-3 basketball league founded by hip hop musician and actor Ice Cube and entertainment executive Jeff Kwatinetz. The league consists ...

as the fifth overall pick in the 2022 BIG3 draft.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, 57 , , 1 , , 11.2 , , .533 , , .417 , , .635 , , 2.1 , , .7 , , .5 , , .2 , , 3.9 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, 54 , , 19 , , 14.3 , , .466 , , .095 , , .567 , , 2.8 , , .8 , , .6 , , .4 , , 4.4 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, 68 , , 14 , , 12.8 , , .500 , , .333 , , .610 , , 2.1 , , .6 , , .4 , , .3 , , 3.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, 52 , , 6 , , 14.7 , , .512 , , .200 , , .512 , , 2.3 , , 1.1 , , .8 , , .4 , , 3.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 231 , , 40 , , 13.2 , , .499 , , .262 , , .584 , , 2.3 , , .8 , , .6 , , .3 , , 3.9

Playoffs

, - , align="left" ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, align="left" ,

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, 11 , , 0 , , 11.9 , , .455 , , .222 , , .833 , , 1.6 , , .5 , , .9 , , .1 , , 4.3 , - , align="left" ,

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, align="left" ,

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, 4 , , 0 , , 8.0 , , .429 , , .000 , , .500 , , 1.5 , , .5 , , .0 , , .3 , , 2.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 15 , , 0 , , 10.9 , , .451 , , .222 , , .700 , , 1.6 , , .5 , , .7 , , .1 , , 3.7

Personal life

His hometown is Chicago Heights, Illinois and he attended

class of 2005. Wright is a

bowling Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), though ...

hobbyist, and was described by the

Kansas City Star ''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and as ...

as having bowled at the

's Jay Bowl "at least one night a week". He owns both a bowling ball and bowling shoes, the latter of which are KU's blue and crimson colors.

Awards and Highlights

High School * McDonald's All-American (

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

) *

Illinois Mr. Basketball The Illinois Mr. Basketball award is given to the person chosen as the best high school boys basketball player in the U.S. state of Illinois. Most of the award winners have gone on to play at the highest levels of college basketball, and many have ...

(

) NBA * Led 2008 NBA Playoffs in Steal Pct.

References

External links

eurobasket.com profileKansas Jayhawks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Julian 1987 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportspeople African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Canada American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Russia American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's basketball players Aquila Basket Trento players Austin Toros players Basketball players from Chicago BC Krasnye Krylia players Big3 players Cangrejeros de Santurce basketball players Homewood-Flossmoor High School alumni Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball players Maccabi Rishon LeZion basketball players McDonald's High School All-Americans Metropolitans 92 players New Orleans Hornets draft picks New Orleans Hornets players Pallacanestro Reggiana players Panathinaikos B.C. players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) People from Chicago Heights, Illinois Power forwards (basketball) Small forwards Sportspeople from Cook County, Illinois Toronto Raptors players Trabzonspor B.K. players 20th-century African-American people American men's 3x3 basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Taiwan Hsinchu JKO Lioneers players Taichung Wagor Suns players T1 League imports P. League+ imports