Nicholas Jeffrey Ward (born September 2, 1997) is an American
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
BC Gargždai
BC most often refers to:
* Before Christ, a calendar era based on the traditionally reckoned year of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth
* British Columbia, the westernmost province of Canada
* Baja California, a state of Mexico
BC may also refer to: ...
of the
Lithuanian Basketball League
Lithuanian may refer to:
* Lithuanians
* Lithuanian language
* The country of Lithuania
* Grand Duchy of Lithuania
* Culture of Lithuania
* Lithuanian cuisine
* Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Jew ...
(LKL). 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
Michigan State Spartans
The Michigan State Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Michigan State University. The school's athletic program includes 23 varsity sports teams. Their mascot is a Spartan warrior named Sparty, and the school colors are green and wh ...
.
High school career
Nick began playing basketball at a young age and shot the ball right handed despite being naturally left-handed. He starred at Lincoln High School in
Gahanna, Ohio
Gahanna ( ) is a city situated in northeast Franklin County, Ohio, United States. It is a suburb of Columbus. The population was 35,726 at the 2020 census. It was founded in 1849.
History
Gahanna was founded along the Big Walnut Creek in 18 ...
and averaged 21.0 points and 8.5 rebounds per game as a senior. He verbally committed to Michigan State in April 2015. Ward was a four-star prospect and a consensus top-50 recruit in the 2016 class.
College career
Freshman
Ward had 18 points in Michigan State's home opener on November 18, 2016 versus
Mississippi Valley State
Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU, The Valley or Valley) is a public historically black university in Mississippi Valley State, Mississippi, adjacent to Itta Bena, Mississippi. He carried the Spartans against
Oral Roberts
Granville Oral Roberts (January 24, 1918 – December 15, 2009) was an American Charismatic Christianity, Charismatic Christianity, Christian televangelist, ordained in both the International Pentecostal Holiness Church, Pentecostal Holin ...
on December 3, scoring 24 points and adding 10 rebounds. With Ward's career-high 25 points against
Oakland
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...
on December 21, the Spartans were able to pull away from Oakland in the second half to win 77–65. Ward scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a comeback win against
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 ...
on December 27 in a game in which
Miles Bridges
Miles Emmanuel Bridges Sr. (born March 21, 1998) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans. ...
sat out. He had 16 points in a loss to
Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...
on January 7, 2018. On January 29, Ward contributed 13 points for the Spartans as they ended their three-game losing streak with a win over
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
. He had 10 points in a win against
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...
on February 2 despite suffering from the flu. On February 23 versus Nebraska, Ward and Bridges each had 20 points marking the first time since January 5, 1978, when
Magic Johnson
Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player. He is often regarded as the greatest point guard of all-time and has been compared with Stephen Curry. Johnson played 13 seasons in the ...
and
Jay Vincent
Jay Fletcher Vincent (born June 10, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player.
A 6'7" forward, Vincent played at Michigan State University under coach, Jud Heathcote, where he teamed with Magic Johnson and Greg Kelser to win ...
did it, that MSU had two freshmen score 20 points in a game. Ward's 22 points and nine rebounds led Michigan State to a victory against
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
on February 27. He had 22 points and career-high 16 rebounds in a loss to
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
on March 3.
Ward scored 15 points and added 11 rebounds but struggled defensively in a loss to Minnesota in the Big Ten tournament. In the NCAA Tournament, Ward had 19 points in a 78–58 win over
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
. Ward contributed 13 points in a second round loss to
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
, but suffered foul trouble that limited his effectiveness. At the conclusion of the regular season, he was a Big Ten Honorable Mention by the coaches and media. He averaged 13.9 points on 59.2 percent shooting and grabbed 6.5 rebounds per game as a freshman.
Sophomore
Coming into his sophomore season, Ward was named to the preseason All-Big Ten team. He added 16 points in the opening game win against
North Florida
North Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida comprising the northernmost part of the state. Along with South Florida and Central Florida, it is one of Florida's three most common "directional" regions. It includes Jacksonville and near ...
. The following game, Ward scored 19 points in a loss to
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...
in Chicago. Ward led all scorers with 22 points in a 93–71 win against Stony Brook on November 19. In a win against
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...
on December 3, Ward was in foul trouble but managed to score 22 points in 16 minutes to lead the Spartans. He was perfect from the field in scoring 20 points in an easy win against Houston Baptist on December 18. Ward made seven of his eight shots, scoring 22 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in a win against
Cleveland State
Cleveland State University (CSU) is a public research university in Cleveland, Ohio. It was established in 1964 and opened for classes in 1965 after acquiring the entirety of Fenn College, a private school that had been in operation since 1923. ...
on December 28. He followed that up with 21 points in a 108-52 win against
Savannah State
)
, established =
, closed =
, type = Public university, Public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university
, parent = University System of Georg ...
and was named Big Ten player of the week on January 2, 2018. Ward contributed 18 points and 13 rebounds in a win versus
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
on January 19. He scored 17 points in only 12 minutes in a win against
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 the ...
on February 6, missed much of the second half with four fouls.
At the conclusion of the regular season, Ward was named to the All-Big Ten Third Team by the media. He was an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention by the coaches. As a sophomore, Ward posted 12.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. His 64.8 field goal percentage was second-best in the Big Ten. On March 29, Ward announced he would enter the
2018 NBA draft
The 2018 NBA Draft was held on June 21, 2018, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, including inte ...
, but he would not sign with an agent. He withdrew from the draft on May 29.
Junior
Once again Ward was named to the preseason All-Big Ten team. In the opening game of the season against Kansas Ward scored 9 points, and in the following game against Florida Gulf Coast he scored 25 points. In the next game against Louisiana-Monroe Ward scored just 4 points, but Ward rebounded in the next game against Tennessee Tech by scoring 23 points. At the Las Vegas Invitational Ward scored 16 and 6 against UCLA and Texas respectively. In the ACC/Big Ten Challenge game against Louisville Ward scored 14 points. Ward continued to produce in the Spartans next game against Rutgers, scoring 20 points to open Big Ten play. In MSU's December 12 meeting with Iowa, Ward was a perfect from the field scoring 26 points. The Spartans next game was at Florida, where Ward scored 13 points. Ward put up 28 points against Green Bay and 14 points against Oakland In the following game against Northern Illinois, Ward scored 11 points. Big Ten play resumed for the Spartans on January 2 against Northwestern and Ward scored 21 points. In the Spartans' game against Ohio State on February 17, Ward scored 9 points before injuring his left hand, resulting in him missing multiple games. He would return for the 2019 postseason (that year's Big Ten tournament and NCAA tournament) where he averaged just 13 minutes per game, 5.8 points, and 4.1 rebounds over eight games as the Spartans won the Big Ten tournament and made it to the NCAA Final Four.
Professional career
On June 21, 2019, Ward signed with the
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...
to play for their
NBA 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 ...
team.
On September 2, 2019, Ward signed his first professional contract with
Hapoel Gilboa Galil
Hapoel Gilboa Galil ( he, הפועל גלבוע גליל) is a professional basketball club that is based in north-east Israel. The club plays its home game in the Israeli Basketball Premier League (the top tier of Israeli basketball) in a 2,250 ...
of the
Israeli Premier League
The Israeli Premier League ( he, ליגת העל, ''Ligat Ha`Al'', ), is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Israeli Football League – the state's league of Israel. The league is contested b ...
. On September 25, 2019, he parted ways with Gilboa Galil after appearing in one pre-season tournament game.
On September 28, 2019, Ward signed with Fethiye Belediyespor of the
Turkish Basketball First League
The Turkish Basketball First League, also called TBL, is the second-tier level league of professional club basketball in Turkey. The league was previously known as Turkish Basketball Second League (TB2L).
Format and promotion and relegation
The ...
. In 4 games played for Belediyespor, he averaged 22 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. On November 15, 2019, Ward parted ways with Belediyespor.
On November 15, 2019, Ward signed with the
College Park Skyhawks
The College Park Skyhawks are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in College Park, Georgia, and are affiliated with the Atlanta Hawks. The Skyhawks play their home games at Gateway Center Arena at College Park a ...
of 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 ...
. Ward posted 22 points and 18 rebounds in a loss to the
Grand Rapids Drive
The Grand Rapids Gold are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and are affiliated with the Denver Nuggets. The Gold play their home games at Van Andel Arena. They began play as the Anaheim ...
on January 15, 2020. He averaged 13.2 points and 6.5 rebounds per game for the Skyhawks.
On October 25, 2020, Ward signed with Istanbul Basket of the
Turkish Basketball First League
The Turkish Basketball First League, also called TBL, is the second-tier level league of professional club basketball in Turkey. The league was previously known as Turkish Basketball Second League (TB2L).
Format and promotion and relegation
The ...
Canadian Elite Basketball League
The Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) is a men's professional minor league basketball organization. The CEBL was founded in 2017 and began play in 2019 with six teams competing all owned and operated by ownership group Canadian Basketball ...
. In October, he signed with
Básquet Coruña
Club Básquet Coruña, more commonly referred by its sponsorship name of Leyma Básquet Coruña, is a professional basketball team based in A Coruña, Galicia. The team currently plays in league LEB Oro.
History
CB Coruña was founded in 1996 a ...
of the
LEB Oro LEB or Leb may refer to:
* Lausanne–Echallens–Bercher railway, Switzerland
* Lebanon, UNDP country code
* Lebanon Municipal Airport (New Hampshire) (FAA identifier)
* Lexham English Bible
* Life expectancy at birth
* Liga Española de Balonces ...
.
On August 21, 2023, Ward signed with
Sigal Prishtina
Klubi i Basketbollit Prishtina (English: ''Basketball Club Prishtina''), officially known as Sigal Prishtina due to sponsorship reasons, is a Kosovar professional basketball club based in Pristina.
The team currently competes in the IP Superl ...
of the
Kosovo Basketball Superleague
The Kosovo Basketball Superleague (Albanian: Superliga e Kosovës në Basketboll) and known as the ArtMotion Superliga due to sponsorship reasons is the top men's professional basketball league in Kosovo. Basketball Superleague was founded in 1991 ...
. On October 13, he signed with
BC Gargždai
BC most often refers to:
* Before Christ, a calendar era based on the traditionally reckoned year of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth
* British Columbia, the westernmost province of Canada
* Baja California, a state of Mexico
BC may also refer to: ...
of the
Lithuanian Basketball League
Lithuanian may refer to:
* Lithuanians
* Lithuanian language
* The country of Lithuania
* Grand Duchy of Lithuania
* Culture of Lithuania
* Lithuanian cuisine
* Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Jew ...
(LKL).
The Basketball Tournament
Ward joined Big X, a team composed primarily of former Big Ten players in
The Basketball Tournament 2020
The Basketball Tournament 2020 was the seventh edition of The Basketball Tournament (TBT), a 5-on-5, single elimination basketball tournament. The tournament, involving 24 teams, started on July 4 and continued through the championship game on Jul ...
. He led Big X with 18 points in a 79-74 win over alternate D2 in the first round.
Michigan State
Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...
Michigan State
Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...
Michigan State
Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...