Malik Samory Hairston (born February 23, 1987) is an American professional basketball player. A

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 from the University of Oregon's

Ducks Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...

, he was chosen in the 2008 NBA draft by 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 ...

, who then traded him to the San Antonio Spurs. Hairston has also played with the San Antonio Spurs, 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 ...

(the Spurs'

D-League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA De ...

affiliate),Spurs Recall Malik Hairston
/ref> Montepaschi Siena and Olimpia Milano of the

Italian League The Italic League or Most Holy League was an international agreement concluded in Venice on 30 August 1454, between the Papal States, the Republic of Venice, the Duchy of Milan, the Republic of Florence, and the Kingdom of Naples, following the Tr ...

, and Galatasaray of the Turkish League. He was born in Detroit, Michigan.

High school career

Prior to arriving at the University of Oregon, Hairston attended Renaissance High School in Detroit, Michigan playing alongside fellow all-American Joe Crawford, former Fordham point guard Marcus Stout, and stand-out guard Adam Sabree. His former Oregon teammate, Tajuan Porter, also attended Renaissance High School. Hairston led his high school team to a 27–0 record, the Class B state title and a No. 3 national ranking by '' USA Today''. He was a top 10 rated recruit by virtually every publication and played in the 2004

McDonald's All-America The McDonald's All-American Game is the all-star basketball game played each year for American and Canadian boys' and girls' high school basketball graduates. Consisting of the top players, each team plays a single exhibition game after the concl ...

game. Considered a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, Hairston was listed as the No. 1 shooting guard and the No. 7 player in the nation in 2004.

College career

Hairston was an important asset for the Ducks from the moment he stepped on the floor as a freshman. Hairston and his teammates Maarty Leunen and Bryce Taylor became three of the eleven players in Oregon history to record 1,000 career points as juniors. Injuries slowed his production in 2006–2007 but Hairston was instrumental to the Ducks' late-season run and Elite Eight appearance in the 2007 NCAA Division I tournament. He scored a career-high 29 points in a 97–88 win over Western Michigan on November 12, 2007, and matched that in an 84–74 win over the Jerryd Bayless-less

Arizona Wildcats The Arizona Wildcats are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Divis ...

on January 5, 2008. During his college career he grabbed 12 rebounds on two separate occasions, the first in a 58–56 loss to

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

on February 26, 2005, and in an 88–54 win over

Idaho State , mottoeng = "The truth will set you free" , established = , former_names = Academy of Idaho(1901–1915)Idaho Technical Institute(1915–1927)University of Idaho—Southern Branch(1927–1947)Idaho State ...

on December 17, 2006. He closed out his career with team-highs of 22 points and 7 rebounds in a 76–69 Ducks loss to Mississippi State in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Professional career

San Antonio Spurs

Hairston was drafted with the 18th pick in the second round (48th overall) of the 2008 NBA draft by the

(which acquired the pick from 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 ...

as part of a trade for Milt Palacio). He was subsequently traded to the San Antonio Spurs with cash for Goran Dragić. Hairston didn't make the roster at the end of training camp on October 26, 2008, but was re-signed by the Spurs on December 22. In his second season with the Spurs, Hairston was released in late July 2010 after the signing of Gary Neal and the subsequent log jam at the guard position.

Montepaschi Siena

On July 29, 2010, Hairston signed with the reigning Italian league champions Montepaschi Siena. Shortly after his debut for Montepaschi, he would miss three weeks after undergoing surgery for a hernia. Despite being limited to only 16 games in his first season in the Lega Basket Serie A, a healthy Hairston would find good form for Montepaschi right before the start of the Final 16 Round Robin of the EuroLeague playoffs. After finishing second in the round of sixteen, Montepaschi would advance to play

Olympiacos B.C. Olympiacos B.C. ( el, ΚΑΕ Ολυμπιακός Σ.Φ.Π.), commonly referred to as Olympiacos and Olympiacos Piraeus, is a Greek professional basketball club based in Piraeus, part of the major multi-sport club, Olympiacos CFP. The parent ...

in a best of five series in the quarterfinals. Montepaschi would be resoundingly beat in the first game but would bounce back to win game two 82–65, with Hairston scoring 19 points and grabbing 11 boards, garnering him the Sportingbet MVP award for the game 2. Montepaschi won game 3. It would be Hairston again who would lead the way in game 5 with 25 points, 7 boards, 3 assists and a steal to again win the Sportingbet MVP Award, and in doing so becoming the first player to win the award twice in a playoff series. Montepaschi would go on to win the series and reach the Final Four of the tournament, something, they hadn't achieved in four years. They were then drawn away against Panathinaikos, where the eventual champions would beat them 77–69. Malik Hairston's 12 points and 4 rebounds weren't enough to help push them through to the finals. But as consolation, Montepaschi would compete in the third place match against

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

, the team that finished above them in the round of sixteen, and win it 82–60. After a successful first season in Italy and the Euroleague Malik Hairston would leave the team to sign with Olimpia Milano.

Olimpia Milano

On July 25, 2011, Hairston officially signed a contract with Olimpia Milano. After averaging 13.9 points per game in the EuroLeague and 12.7 points in the Serie A in his first season with the team, there were rumors that the Russian team CSKA Moscow was interested in him, but eventually he signed a new two-year contract with Olimpia Milano. In his second season with Olimpia, he averaged 11.4 points per game in the EuroLeague. However, in July 2013, the president of the team confirmed in a press conference that Hairston was free to leave the team.

Galatasaray

In November 2013, Hairston signed with Galatasaray until the end of the season.

AEK Athens

On January 15, 2015, Hairston signed with AEK Athens of the Greek Basket League. On July 10, 2015, he extended his contract with AEK Athens for another two years. On August 31, 2016, Hairston's contract was officially terminated by AEK, due to failing to pass the medical examinations before the 2016–17 campaign.

Hapoel Jerusalem

On January 2, 2017, Hairston signed with Israeli club Hapoel Jerusalem for the rest of the season.

Fos Provence Basket

After not playing for a season due to injury, on August 9, 2018 Hairston signed with the French club Fos Provence Basket.

Awards and accomplishments

* 2005

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

All-Freshman Team * 2006 All-Pac-10 Honorable Mention

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , align="left" , , align="left" , San Antonio , 15 , , 0 , , 10.3 , , .490 , , .000 , , .286 , , 1.9 , , .9 , , .4 , , .5 , , 3.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , San Antonio , 47 , , 0 , , 6.7 , , .526 , , .182 , , .567 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , .1 , , .2 , , 2.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 62 , , 0 , , 7.6 , , .512 , , .167 , , .514 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , .2 , , .3 , , 2.4

EuroLeague

, - , align="left" ,

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, align="left" , Montepaschi , 16 , , 8 , , 18.4 , , .544 , , .368 , , .718 , , 3.2 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 8.6 , , 7.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2011–12 , style="text-align:left;", Milano , 12 , , 4 , , 24.2 , , .538 , , .480 , , .763 , , 3.1 , , 1.5 , , .1 , , .4 , , 13.9 , , 12.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, style="text-align:left;", Milano , 10 , , 10 , , 30.0 , , .438 , , .500 , , .680 , , 2.2 , , 1.8 , , .7 , , .3 , , 11.4 , , 7.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , style="text-align:left;", Galatasaray , 21 , , 21 , , 28.0 , , .429 , , .250 , , .681 , , 2.5 , , 1.6 , , .4 , , .3 , , 8.4 , , 6.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 59 , , 43 , , 25.1 , , .462 , , .383 , , .709 , , 2.9 , , 1.4 , , .5 , , .3 , , 10.1 , , 7.9

Domestic Leagues

Regular season

, - , 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;", AEK , align=left , GBL , 30 , , 24.0 , , .562 , , .393, , , .726, , , 2.7 , , 1.9, , 0.8, , , 0.5 , 8.8

High school career

College career

Professional career

San Antonio Spurs

Montepaschi Siena

Olimpia Milano

Galatasaray

AEK Athens

Hapoel Jerusalem

Fos Provence Basket

Awards and accomplishments

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

EuroLeague

Domestic Leagues

Regular season

References

External links