Matthew Lawrence Janning (born June 22, 1988) is an American-born naturalized Georgian 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

Kawasaki Brave Thunders The Kawasaki Brave Thunders are a Japanese professional basketball team located in Kanagawa, Japan. The team currently competes in the B.League. The team was the 2016 Champion of the now dissolved Japanese National Basketball League.

of the

B.League The B.League is a professional men's basketball league that began in Japan in September 2016. The league is operated by the Japan Professional Basketball League and was formed as a result of a merger between the National Basketball League that w ...

. He is a tall

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 ...

that played college basketball for

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in ...

High school career

combo guard A combo guard is a basketball player who combines the attributes of a point guard (1) and shooting guard (2), but does not necessarily fit the standard description of either position. In men's basketball, such guards are usually within the 6' 3" ...

, Janning attended Watertown-Mayer High School, where he averaged a Metro-high 31.8 points per game and 8.4 rebounds, earning All-Conference honors three times, a two-time All-Area award and was a two-time team MVP.

College career

After high school, Janning 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 ...

with the Northeastern University Huskies. He was proclaimed as one of

's most prolific scorers of the program after ending as the program's fourth all-time leading scorer with 1,836 points. He was a three-time All-CAA performer, including first-team honors in 2009 and 2010.

Professional career

After going

undrafted In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in the

2010 NBA draft The 2010 NBA draft was held on June 24, 2010, at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The draft, which started at 7:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (2300 UTC), was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National ...

, Janning played with 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 ...

in the

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

Summer League and later 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 Las Vegas Summer League. On August 4, 2010, he signed a multi-year contract with the

. On November 16, he was released by the Phoenix Suns before appearing in a game for them. On December 1, he was signed by the

Maine Red Claws The Maine Celtics (formerly the Maine Red Claws) are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Portland, Maine, and are affiliated with the Boston Celtics. The Maine Celtics play their home games at the Portland Expo B ...

, after they released Jordan Eglseder, due to injury. On January 20, he was traded to 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 f ...

, in exchange for

Antonio Anderson Antonio Andrew Anderson (born June 5, 1985) is an American former basketball player and the current head coach at Springfield Commonwealth Academy. He majored in interdisciplinary studies at the University of Memphis and played basketball for s ...

. He led the

to the NBDL Finals, averaging 11 points per game. On July 16, he signed a 1-year contract for $120,000 with Novipiù Casale Monferrato of the

Lega Basket Serie A The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club basketball league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP). It is the highest-tier le ...

. In his first Italian League season, he averaged 12.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game, while shooting 41% from 2-point range, 38% from 3-point range, and 70% from the free throw stripe. Janning then played with the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

in the

Orlando Summer League The NBA Summer League, also known as the Las Vegas Summer League, is an off-season competition organized by the National Basketball Association. NBA teams come together to try out different summer rosters instead of their regular season line-ups ...

, and later for the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

, in the Las Vegas Summer League, during the 2012 summer. Janning then signed with the reigning

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 ...

champions,

Montepaschi Siena Mens Sana 1871 Basket is an Italian professional basketball club based in Siena. It is a section of the sports club Polisportiva Mens Sana, founded in 1871. Under the name Montepaschi Siena, derived from sponsor Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, t ...

, in August 2012. He made the

BEKO All-Star team. In his 2nd Italian League season he is averaging 7.1 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game, while shooting 48% from 2-point range, 31% from 3-point range, and 87% from the free throw stripe. On August 4, 2013, it was announced that Janning signed for Croatian champions

Cibona Zagreb Košarkaški klub Cibona, commonly referred to as Cibona Zagreb or simply Cibona, is a men's professional basketball club based in Zagreb, Croatia. The club is a founding member and shareholder of the Adriatic Basketball Association, and competes ...

. He was released in December 2013, due to financial problems of the club. On January 3, 2014, he signed with his former club Montepaschi Siena for the rest of the season. On July 10, 2014, he signed a 1+1 contract with the Turkish team

Anadolu Efes Anadolu Efes Biracılık ve Malt Sanayii A.Ş.''(lit. Anadolu Efes Brewery and Malt Industries)'' produces and markets beer and malt and non-alcoholic beverages in a wide geographical area comprising Turkey, Russia, the Commonwealth of Independe ...

. On September 28, 2015, Janning signed with the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

. However, he was later waived by the Nuggets on October 15 in order for him to sign with

Hapoel Jerusalem Hapoel Jerusalem is a sport organization in Jerusalem as a local branch of the Hapoel movement. The branch was established in the 1920s and represents the city in more sports than any other sport organization in Jerusalem. Today, the club's leadi ...

of the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional sports, professional competition in Israeli sports club, club basketball, making ...

. On February 7, 2016, he parted ways with Hapoel Jerusalem. Two days later, he signed a deal with

Lokomotiv Kuban PBC Lokomotiv Kuban (russian: ПБК «Локомотив Кубань») is a Russian professional basketball team based in Krasnodar. The club participates in the VTB United League. The team is one of the top tier basketball teams in Russia. T ...

until the end of the 2016–17 season. On September 15, 2017, Janning signed a two-month deal with Baskonia of the

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, wi ...

and the EuroLeague to replace the injured

Jordan McRae Jordan Tyler McRae (born March 28, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for Hapoel Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League. He played college basketball for the Tennessee Volunteers, and was drafted 58th overall in the 2 ...

. He finally extended his contract for the whole season on November 17. On July 6, 2018, Janning re-signed a one-year deal with Baskonia of the

and the EuroLeague. On July 7, 2020, Janning was officially released from the Spanish club. On December 23, 2020, he has signed with Baxi Manresa of the

. On June 30, 2021, Janning with

of the

for the 2021–22 season.

Georgia national team

On September 4, 2018, Janning got a Georgian passport, becoming a member of the

Georgia national basketball team The Georgia men's national basketball team ( ka, საქართველოს ეროვნული საკალათბურთო ნაკრები) represents the country of Georgia in international basketball matches, and is ...

for the

2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification The 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification was the first FIBA Basketball World Cup, World Cup for which teams had to qualify for under the new qualification system. The process determined 31 out of the 32 teams that participated at the 2019 ...

games. On September 13, 2018, he made his first appearance for the Georgian team in an 85–80 win over

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, recording 15 points, three rebounds and three assists.

Career statistics

College

, - , align="left" , 2006–07 , align="left" ,

Northeastern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

, 32 , , 31 , , 35.4 , , .414 , , .353 , , .724 , , 4.5 , , 2.8 , , 0.9 , , 0.2 , , 11.6 , - , align="left" , 2007–08 , align="left" , Northeastern , 31 , , 31 , , 36.3 , , .447 , , .376 , , .812 , , 3.5 , , 2.4 , , 1.3 , , 0.2 , , 16.1 , - , align="left" , 2008–09 , align="left" , Northeastern , 32 , , 32 , , 36.0 , , .406 , , .323 , , .742 , , 4.7 , , 2.7 , , 1.5 , , 0.2 , , 14.3 , - , align="left" , 2009–10 , align="left" , Northeastern , 33 , , 33 , , 36.1 , , .412 , , .329 , , .752 , , 4.0 , , 3.1 , , 1.5 , , 0.2 , , 15.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:left;", CareerMatt Janning
sports-reference.com, accessed 25 October 2010. , style="text-align:left;", , 128 , , 127 , , 35.9 , , .419 , , .345 , , .757 , , 4.2 , , 2.8 , , 1.3 , , 0.2 , , 14.3

EuroLeague

, - , 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;", Montepaschi , 21 , , 14 , , 19.7 , , .464 , , .476 , , .643 , , 1.7 , , 1.6 , , .6 , , .1 , , 8.4 , , 6.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;",

, 27 , , 22 , , 21.6 , , .384 , , .336 , , .650 , , 1.9 , , 1.4 , , .7 , , .04 , , 6.9 , , 4.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

, 14 , , 0 , , 21.9 , , .443 , , .393 , , 1.000 , , 1.8 , , 1.4 , , .4 , , .1 , , 8.6 , , 7.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;", Baskonia , 34 , , 15 , , 22.4 , , .431 , , .388 , , .905 , , 1.7 , , 1.5 , , .6 , , .2 , , 8.3 , , 6.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;", Baskonia , 28 , , 17 , , 25.0 , , .413 , , .377 , , .795 , , 2.1 , , 1.8 , , .8 , , .1 , , 10.1 , , 8.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;", Baskonia , 28 , , 13 , , 22.7 , , .303 , , .285 , , .909 , , 2.0 , , 1.5 , , .8 , , .04 , , 6.0 , , 6.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", , 152 , , 81 , , 22.2 , , .402 , , .370 , , .809 , , 2.1 , , 1.7 , , .7 , , .1 , , 8.0 , , 6.9

High school career

College career

Professional career

Georgia national team

Career statistics

College

EuroLeague

References

External links