Nathan Solomon Kapahukula Knight (born September 20, 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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for 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 ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). 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

William & Mary Tribe The William & Mary Tribe is a moniker for the College of William & Mary's athletic teams and the university's community more broadly. William & Mary has won two team national championships (both in men's tennis), the AIAW championships in wo ...

Early life and high school career

Knight grew up in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

and attended

Nottingham High School , motto_translation = Praise to the end , address = Waverley Mount , city = Nottingham , county = Nottinghamshire , postcode = NG7 4ED , country = England , coordinates = , type = Independent day school , established = , closed = , religious ...

. As a freshman, he was a pitcher on the baseball team before deciding to focus on basketball after experiencing a growth spurt. As a senior, he averaged 14.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game and was named All-Central New York. Knight completed a

postgraduate year A postgraduate (PG) year is an extra year of secondary coursework at a boarding school following high school graduation, but before entering college. It is a gap year option intended for students who either have not applied or were not admitted ...

Kimball Union Academy Kimball Union Academy is a private boarding school located in New Hampshire. Founded in 1813, it is the 22nd oldest boarding school in the United States. The academy's mission is to "create a deep sense of belonging for every member of our commu ...

Meriden, New Hampshire Meriden is an unincorporated community in the eastern part of the town of Plainfield in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. Meriden is home to Kimball Union Academy, a private boarding school. New Hampshire Route 120 passes through the ...

. In AAU play, he competed for Gym Ratz, coached by Billy Edelin. On October 5, 2015, he committed to William & Mary over offers from

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

, Duquesne,

George Mason George Mason (October 7, 1792) was an American planter, politician, Founding Father, and delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, one of the three delegates present who refused to sign the Constitution. His writings, including s ...

, and Canisius among others. Knight appreciated the rich history of the College and felt at home on the campus, saying it was an easy decision to make.

College career

As a true freshman, Knight averaged 8.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in 31 games played (six starts). Coach

Tony Shaver Tony Shaver (born January 28, 1954) is an American college basketball coach. From the 2003–04 through 2018–19 seasons, he was the head men's basketball coach at the College of William & Mary. He arrived at William & Mary after a 17-year tenur ...

praised his work ethic for losing 45 pounds before his sophomore season. As a sophomore, he averaged 18.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and two blocks per game and was named second team All-

Colonial Athletic Association The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I whose full members are located in East Coast states from Massachusetts to South Carolina. Most of its members are public universi ...

(CAA). On February 9, 2019, Knight had a career-high 39 points to go with 14 rebounds at

Hofstra Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of New ...

. He followed that up with 35 points and 13 rebounds against Elon on February 16 and 30 points in a win over

College of Charleston The College of Charleston (CofC or Charleston) is a public university in Charleston, South Carolina. Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, it is the oldest university in South Carolina, the 13th oldest institution of higher learning in the Unit ...

on February 21. Knight was named first team All-CAA as a junior after averaging 21 points, 8.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.3 blocks per game. Knight became the first college basketball player since

Tim Duncan Timothy Theodore Duncan (born April 25, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "the Big Fundamental", he is widely regarded as the greatest power forward of all time and one of the greatest players in NBA histor ...

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...

in 1997 to average 20 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots per game, and his scoring average was the highest for a Tribe player since 1968. He also had 12 double-doubles. After entering the

2019 NBA draft The 2019 NBA draft was held on June 20, 2019. It took place 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, i ...

, Knight withdrew from the draft before the deadline and decided to return to William & Mary for his senior season. Coming into his senior season, coach Shaver was fired and replaced by Dane Fischer while four players transferred, though Knight decided to stay on the team. During his senior season, Knight put up 30-point games against Buffalo and

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

. On January 4, 2020, Knight hit a last-second shot in a 66–64 win against

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 ...

and finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds. On February 8, 2020, Knight passed the 2,000 career point mark by scoring 16 points while also grabbing 13 rebounds. He became the fourth player in program history to reach the milestone. At the conclusion of the regular season, Knight was named CAA Player of the Year and CAA Defensive Player of the Year. He became just the second men's basketball player in CAA history to earn both awards in the same season, joining

's George Evans (1999, 2001). Knight finished the season averaging 20.7 points and 10.5 rebounds per game, the fourth CAA player to average 20 points and 10 rebounds in a season.

Professional career

Atlanta Hawks (2020–2021)

Knight was signed to a

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...

by 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 ...

on November 19, 2020. He played 33 games for the Hawks in the 2020–21 season, averaging 3.8 points and 2.2 rebounds per game. He did not appear for the Hawks'

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 ...

affiliate, 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 ...

, as the team sat out the season due to the COVID pandemic.

Minnesota Timberwolves (2021–present)

For the 2021–22 season, Knight signed another two-way deal, this time with the

and their G League affiliate, 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 ...

. In his first career NBA start on December 27, 2021, Knight recorded 20 points, 11 rebounds, one steal, and one block in a win against 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 ...

. On July 23, 2022, Knight re-signed with the Timberwolves.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

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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 ...

, 37 , , 2 , , 7.2 , , .511 , , .308 , , .733 , , 2.3 , , .6 , , .2 , , .2 , , 3.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 70 , , 2 , , 7.8 , , .436 , , .217 , , .765 , , 2.2 , , .4 , , .2 , , .3 , , 3.7

Playoffs

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, 6 , , 0 , , 2.3 , , .286 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .3 , , .7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 6 , , 0 , , 2.3 , , .286 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .3 , , .7

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;", William & Mary , 31 , , 6 , , 17.2 , , .578 , , .167 , , .594 , , 4.4 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , 1.3 , , 8.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;", William & Mary , 31 , , 30 , , 28.7 , , .575 , , .306 , , .769 , , 7.3 , , 2.2 , , .6 , , 2.0 , , 18.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;", William & Mary , 31 , , 30 , , 30.6 , , .578 , , .244 , , .732 , , 8.6 , , 3.5 , , .4 , , 2.3 , , 21.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;", William & Mary , 32 , , 32 , , 29.6 , , .524 , , .305 , , .773 , , 10.5 , , 1.8 , , .8 , , 1.5 , , 20.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 125 , , 98 , , 26.6 , , .560 , , .283 , , .736 , , 7.7 , , 2.1 , , .5 , , 1.8 , , 17.1

Personal life

Knight is the youngest of four children born to Joslyn McGriff. In December 2008, Knight's 18-year-old sister Yeisha Howard was stabbed to death in Syracuse. According to the prosecutor, it was part of a longstanding feud, and the perpetrator of the attack was sentenced to seven years in prison.

References

External links

William & Mary Tribe bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Nathan 1997 births Living people African-American basketball players American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players from Syracuse, New York Centers (basketball) Iowa Wolves players Minnesota Timberwolves players Power forwards (basketball) Undrafted National Basketball Association players William & Mary Tribe men's basketball players