Justin Nicholas Patton (born June 14, 1997) 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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for

Cholet Basket Cholet Basket is a professional basketball club that is based in Cholet, France. The club plays in the French League. Their home arena is La Meilleraie. Established in 1975, Cholet won its first French championship in the 2009–10 season. In 1 ...

of the French LNB Pro A. 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

Creighton Bluejays The Creighton Bluejays, or Jays, are the athletic teams that represent Creighton University, a Jesuit/Catholic University in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. They compete in NCAA Division I in the Big East Conference. Sports sponsored Baseba ...

. Patton was selected with the 16th overall pick in the

2017 NBA draft The 2017 NBA draft was held on June 22, 2017, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. ...

by 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 ...

, but was traded to the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

. He has also played for the Philadelphia 76ers and

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 ...

. In 2021-22, he led the Israeli Basketball Premier League in blocks per game.

Early life and education

Patton was born to Tora Patton. He has three siblings, Terrel Steen, Kendall Patton, and Raven Bryson. He was a social work major at Creighton, and is the cousin of Creighton's former basketball player Donnie Johnson.

High school career

Patton attended

Omaha North High School Omaha North High Magnet School is a public high school located at 4410 North 36th Street in the city of Omaha, Nebraska. The school is a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) magnet school in the Omaha Public Schools district. N ...

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

. He played with the Omaha Sports Academy Crusaders on the AAU circuit. He was rated by

Scout.com Scout Media is an integrated sports publishing company that produces Internet content covering hundreds of professional and college teams across America. The company was founded in 2001 and was acquired by Fox Sports in 2005. In 2013, Fox Sports ...

as a five-star recruit and was recruited by

Creighton University Creighton University is a private Jesuit research university in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate and undergra ...

basketball.

College career

Patton

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

his first year at Creighton in 2015.

Greg McDermott Greg McDermott (born November 25, 1964) is an American basketball coach who has been the head coach of the Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team since 2010. Previously, McDermott served as the head coach at Wayne State College, North Dakot ...

, his coach, had considered a redshirt for many different reasons. Patton was young for a freshman and still needed to develop his game. Patton also would have to play limited minutes behind Creighton's other big, 7-foot-center Geoff Groselle. McDermott believed that Patton needed to learn how to compete at this level, and learn the importance of a healthy diet and sleep. In his first college game in 2016, he scored 12 points and had eight rebounds. He scored a season high 25 points against St. John's on January 4. 2017. He had 13 straight games in double-figures before breaking it in a loss against Xavier on February 4, 2017. During his freshman season he was named Big East Freshman of the Year, and Second Team All-Big East. On April 5, 2017, Patton relinquished his college eligibility by declaring for the NBA draft and signing with an agent.

Professional career

Minnesota Timberwolves (2017–2018)

Patton was selected by the

with the 16th pick in the

. On draft night his rights were traded to the

along with

Jimmy Butler Jimmy Butler III (born September 14, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Jimmy Buckets", he is a six-time NBA All-Star, a four-time All-NBA Team honore ...

in exchange for

Zach LaVine Zachary Thomas LaVine ( ; born March 10, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected in the first round of the 2014 NBA draft with the 13th overall pick ...

Kris Dunn Kristofer Michael Dunn (born March 18, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Capital City Go-Go of the NBA G League. He played four seasons of college basketball for the Providence Friars before being drafted with the fifth ...

, and the draft rights to

Lauri Markkanen Lauri Elias Markkanen (born 22 May 1997) is a Finnish professional basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). In the 2017 NBA draft, he was taken by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the seventh overall pick b ...

, the seventh pick. On July 4, 2017, Patton signed with the Timberwolves. Patton was to participate in the

2017 NBA Summer League The 2017 NBA Summer League consisted of three pro basketball leagues organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA): the Orlando Pro Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas Summer League. Eight teams participated in the wee ...

, however, he suffered an injury during the workout and underwent an immediate surgery to repair his broken left foot, and was sidelined indefinitely. Patton made his NBA debut on April 1, 2018, against the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

, scoring two points on two shots and made one steal in his only game with the Timberwolves. Patton remained with the team for the rest of their season. On April 18, 2018, Patton underwent surgery on his left foot to encourage further healing of the injury he suffered the previous summer. The team announced he would be sidelined indefinitely. Patton spent the majority of his rookie season with the

Iowa Wolves The Iowa Wolves are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Des Moines, Iowa, and are affiliated with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Wolves play their home games at the Wells Fargo Arena and compete in the Western ...

, and started in 38 games, while averaging 12.7 points and 5.4 rebounds in 23.2 minutes per game. On September 18, 2018, Patton underwent surgery for a broken right foot.

Philadelphia 76ers (2018–2019)

On November 12, 2018, Patton was traded, along with Jimmy Butler, to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for

Robert Covington Robert Covington (born December 14, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). he played college basketball for the Tennessee State Tigers. In 2018, he was named ...

Dario Šarić Dario Šarić (; born 8 April 1994) is a Croatian professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected with the 12th overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft. He also represents the senior ...

Jerryd Bayless Jerryd Andrew Bayless (born August 20, 1988) is an American former professional basketball player. He played a year of college basketball for the Arizona Wildcats after playing high school basketball at St. Mary's High School in Phoenix. He was ...

, and a 2022 second-round draft pick. On April 3, 2019, Patton was waived by the 76ers after appearing in 3 games.

Oklahoma City Thunder (2019–2020)

On August 13, 2019, Patton signed with the Thunder. On January 14, 2020, while on assignment for 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 ...

, Patton scored a G League-high 45 points to go with 13 rebounds, nine assists, and six blocks in a 149–140 win over the

South Bay Lakers The South Bay Lakers are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Los Angeles. Founded in 2006 as the Los Angeles D-Fenders, the team is owned by the Los Angeles Lakers, who were the first National Basketball Associa ...

. On January 24, 2020, Patton was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Isaiah Roby and cash considerations. He was waived the next day when the team obtained

Willie Cauley-Stein Willie Trill Cauley-Stein (born Willie Durmond Cauley Jr.; August 18, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA G League. He played college basketball with the Kentucky Wildcats. He previousl ...

Wisconsin Herd (2020)

On February 20, 2020, the

Wisconsin Herd The Wisconsin Herd are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and are affiliated with the Milwaukee Bucks. The Herd play their home games at Oshkosh Arena. History On June 29, 2016, it was annou ...

announced that they had acquired Patton off waivers. Patton played seven games for the Herd before the season was ended early due to the

COVID-19 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 identi ...

. He averaged 12 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.4 blocks per game with the team. On June 26, 2020, the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

announced they had signed Patton. Without appearing in an official game with the Pistons, on November 19, 2020, Patton was traded to the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

in a three-team trade. He was waived without appearing in a game for the team. On December 3, 2020, Patton was signed to a training camp deal by the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

. He was waived on December 17.

Westchester Knicks (2021)

On January 11, 2021, Patton was selected ninth overall by the

Westchester Knicks The Westchester Knicks are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in White Plains, New York, and are affiliated with the New York Knicks. The Knicks typically play their home games at Westchester County Center in Whit ...

in the first 2021 NBA G League draft.

Houston Rockets (2021)

On February 19, 2021, the Houston Rockets signed Patton to a two-way contract with the

Rio Grande Valley Vipers The Rio Grande Valley Vipers are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Edinburg, Texas, and are affiliated with the Houston Rockets. The Vipers play their home games at the Bert Ogden Arena. The Vipers have won fo ...

. However, he was waived on April 3.

Hapoel Eilat (2021–2022)

On August 26, 2021, Patton signed with Hapoel Eilat of the Israeli Basketball Premier League. In 2021-22, he led the league in blocks average, averaging 1.6 per game.

Cholet Basket (2022–present)

On August 3, 2022, he has signed with

of the French LNB Pro A.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, 1 , , 0 , , 4.0 , , .500 , , — , , — , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 2.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, 3 , , 0 , , 7.0 , , .286 , , .000 , , .500 , , 2.0 , , 1.0 , , .7 , , .0 , , 1.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

, 5 , , 0 , , 4.8 , , .400 , , .250 , , — , , 1.0 , , .4 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

, 13 , , 6 , , 19.0 , , .414 , , .265 , , .750 , , 3.8 , , 1.1 , , .9 , , 1.1 , , 5.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 22 , , 6 , , 13.8 , , .404 , , .250 , , .667 , , 2.7 , , .9 , , .7 , , .6 , , 3.9

NBA G League

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

, 38 , , 28 , , 23.1 , , .476 , , .300 , , .764 , , 5.4 , , 1.6 , , 1.0 , , 1.3 , , 12.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

, 11 , , 2 , , 18.5 , , .500 , , .167 , , .625 , , 5.6 , , 1.6 , , .9 , , 2.0 , , 8.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 49 , , 30 , , 22.1 , , .480 , , .286 , , .735 , , 5.4 , , 1.6 , , 1.0 , , 1.5 , , 11.8

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;", Creighton , 35 , , 34 , , 25.3 , , .676 , , .533 , , .517 , , 6.2 , , 1.2 , , .9 , , 1.4 , , 12.9

Player profile

At 7'0, 250 pounds, with a 7'2 ½ wingspan, Patton was initially recruited to Creighton as a defensive center. He is a strong rim-runner, and his passing ability has been compared to that of Vlade Divac. He is able to effectively play above the rim, as a strong finisher. He has sometimes struggled with positioning for rebounds. He is sometimes late to challenge shots at the basket, and sometimes needlessly swipes at the ball, which leads to foul trouble.

References

External links

Creighton Bluejays bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Patton, Justin 1997 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportspeople African-American basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Nebraska Centers (basketball) Chicago Bulls draft picks Cholet Basket players Creighton Bluejays men's basketball players Delaware Blue Coats players Houston Rockets players Iowa Wolves players Minnesota Timberwolves players Oklahoma City Blue players Oklahoma City Thunder players Omaha North High School alumni Philadelphia 76ers players Sportspeople from Omaha, Nebraska Westchester Knicks players