Omari Spellman (born July 21, 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

Anyang KGC The Anyang Korea Ginseng Corporation ( ko, 안양 KGC인삼공사), or Anyang KGC, is a professional basketball club in the Korean Basketball League, based at Anyang Arena in the city of Anyang. The club has won three KBL championship titles, ...

of the Korean Basketball League (KBL). 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

Villanova Wildcats The Villanova Wildcats are the athletic teams of Villanova University. They compete in the Big East (NCAA Division I) for every sport; except football and rowing where they compete in the Colonial Athletic Association ( Football Championship ...

, winning a national championship in 2018. Spellman was drafted 30th overall 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 Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

in the 2018 NBA draft.

Early life and high school career

Spellman was born in Cleveland, Ohio. Spellman began 9th grade at Middletown High School in New York but transferred to

Hoosac School Hoosac School is a private co-educational Episcopal boarding school located in Hoosick, New York, United States. History Hoosac school was founded in 1889 by Dr. Edward Dudley Tibbits. Facilities are located on the Tibbits Estate, which rest ...

after two to three months, but had to start in 8th grade there. Spellman later attended North Royalton High School in

North Royalton, Ohio North Royalton is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It is a suburb of Cleveland. The population was 31,322 as of the 2020 Census. Originally incorporated as a village in 1927, it achieved the status of city in 1961. History North Ro ...

. As a sophomore, he averaged 22 points per game and 9.8 rebounds a game for the Bears. Before the start of his Junior year, Spellman decided to attend the MacDuffie School in

Granby, Massachusetts Granby is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,110 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The census-designated place of Granby corresponds to t ...

. Spellman played his senior season at St. Thomas More in

Montville, Connecticut Montville is a town in New London County, Connecticut in the United States. The population was 18,387 at the 2020 census. The villages of Chesterfield, Mohegan, Oakdale, and Uncasville are located within the town; the latter two have their own ...

. As a senior in 2015–16, he averaged 16 points and seven rebounds per game. Despite not being named a

McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hamburger s ...

, Spellman was selected to play in the 2016

Jordan Brand Classic The Jordan Brand Classic is a high school All-Star basketball game played annually in April. The game's rosters feature the best and most highly recruited high school boys in the senior class including alumns like Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Bl ...

where He had a double-double of 12 points and 15 rebounds. Spellman was rated as a five-star recruit and considered a top-15 player of the 2016 high school class. He was ranked the No. 16 overall player in the 2016 ESPN Top 100 and No. 5 among power forwards. He played AAU ball for the PSA Cardinals and wrote poetry as a downtime activity.

College career

Spellman was forced to redshirt his freshman year as a partial academic qualifier since he did not graduate with his original high school class. He broke down in tears when this was first announced but was more composed after the appeal process failed. In his redshirt year, he slimmed down from 300 lbs. to 245 lbs and focused on eating healthier. As a redshirt freshman, Spellman shot a team-high 44.6 percent from behind the arc. Spellman had a season-high 27 points in an 87–67 rout of

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 ...

on December 13. He had 18-points, eight rebounds and three blocks in the Sweet 16 matchup against

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...

. He averaged 10.9 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game on the national champion Villanova team. Following the season Spellman declared for the 2018 NBA draft, and announced he was staying in the draft on May 30.

Professional career

Atlanta Hawks (2018–2019)

On June 21, 2018, Spellman was selected by the

with the 30th overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft. He was the third of four Villanova players drafted that year, as well as the last of their first round selections there. Spellman signed with the Hawks on July 1, 2018. On December 30, 2018, Spellman was assigned to the Hawks’

NBA G 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, the Erie BayHawks. He made his G League debut the next night, scoring 28 points and collecting 14 rebounds in a loss.

Golden State Warriors (2019–2020)

On July 8, 2019, Spellman was traded to the Golden State Warriors for Damian Jones and a 2026 second-round pick.

Iowa Wolves (2020)

On February 6, 2020, Spellman 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 ...

, along with

D'Angelo Russell D'Angelo Danté Russell (born February 23, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected as a McDonald's All-American in 2014 and played college ba ...

and

Jacob Evans Jacob Evans III (born June 18, 1997) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Cincinnati Bearcats. As a junior in 2018, he earned first-te ...

, in exchange for

Andrew Wiggins Andrew Christian Wiggins (born February 23, 1995) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected with the List of first overall NBA draft picks, first ov ...

and a first round pick. After being traded, Spellman was assigned to the Timberwolves' 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 ...

. He recorded a

triple-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

with the Wolves on March 8, posting 18 points, 14 rebounds, and 12 assists in a 115–112 loss to the

Santa Cruz Warriors The Santa Cruz Warriors are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Santa Cruz, California, and are affiliated with the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors play their home games at Kaiser Permanente Arena. Prior t ...

. He did not play any games for the Timberwolves.

Erie BayHawks (2021)

On November 24, 2020, Spellman was traded to the New York Knicks in exchange for Ed Davis. On January 7, 2021, he was waived by the Knicks. On January 26, 2021, Spellman signed with the Erie BayHawks of the NBA G League.

Anyang KGC (2021–present)

Spellman joined 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 ...

for the

2021 NBA Summer League The 2021 NBA Summer League was an off-season competition held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) at the Thomas and Mack Center and Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada on the campus of University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The summer league cons ...

. On August 31, 2021, Spellman was reported to have signed with

Personal life

Spellman has a younger brother, Arashma Parks, who currently plays as a forward for

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then calle ...

, and a younger sister, Taiyier Parks, who currently plays basketball for

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 ...

as a forward.

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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College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;", Villanova , 40 , , 39 , , 28.1 , , .476 , , .433 , , .700 , , 8.0 , , .8 , , .7 , , 1.5 , , 10.9

References

External links

Villanova Wildcats bio

ESPN profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spellman, Omari 1997 births Living people African-American basketball players American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks draft picks Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players from Cleveland Erie BayHawks (2017–2019) players Erie BayHawks (2019–2021) players Golden State Warriors players Iowa Wolves players Power forwards (basketball) Villanova Wildcats men's basketball players 21st-century African-American sportspeople