Samuel Peterson "P. J." Hairston Jr. (born December 24, 1992) is an American former 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. 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

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

. He finished his sophomore season in 2013 and was eligible for the

2014 NBA draft The 2014 NBA draft was held on June 26, 2014, at the Barclays Center, Brooklyn National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. ...

. He was selected with the 26th overall pick in the

by the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Southe ...

, and was later traded to the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...

in exchange for

Shabazz Napier Shabazz Bozie Napier (born July 14, 1991) is a Puerto Rican professional basketball player for Olimpia Milano of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and the EuroLeague. He was drafted 24th overall by the Charlotte Hornets in the 2014 NBA draf ...

High school career

Hairston attended

Dudley High School Dudley Hign School is a coeducational high school on Toorak Hill, Suva, Fiji that is run by the Methodist Church of Fiji and Rotuma. It is named after missionary sister, Hannah Dudley who dedicated her life to taking care of Indian women and orp ...

in Greensboro for his first three years of high school. He scored 53 points in one game as a junior. For his senior year of high school, he played at

Hargrave Military Academy Hargrave Military Academy (HMA) is a private, all-male, military boarding school located in the town of Chatham, Virginia. Hargrave is affiliated with the Baptist General Association of Virginia emphasizing Christian values that focuses on a col ...

Chatham, Virginia Chatham is a town in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, Pittsylvania County, Virginia, United States. It is the county seat of Pittsylvania County, Virginia, Pittsylvania County. Chatham's population was 1,269 at the 2010 census. It is included in the ...

and averaged 25.6 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 4.7 assists. He scored 15 points in the

2011 McDonald's All-American Boys Game The 2011 McDonald's All-American Boys Game was an All-star basketball game that was played on Wednesday, March 30, 2011, at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, home of the Chicago Bulls. The game's rosters featured the best and most highly r ...

. Considered a five-star recruit by

ESPN.com ESPN.com is the official website of ESPN. It is owned by ESPN Internet Ventures, a division of ESPN Inc. History Since launching in April 1995 as ESPNET.SportsZone.com (ESPNET SportsZone), the website has developed numerous sections including: ...

, Hairston was listed as the No. 3 shooting guard and the No. 13 player in the nation in 2011.

College career

In 2011, Hairston joined the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the ''Tar Heel ...

for the 2011–12 season as a freshman. He was the team's eighth-leading scorer at 5.7 points per game and lead the team in free-throw percentage. In the 2012–13 season, Hairston's playing time increased significantly in the second half of the season. In the last five games of the regular season, he averaged 32 minutes of playing time, up 60% from 20 minutes of average playing time in the first 29 games of the season. Hairston led UNC in scoring in the last five games of the season with 19.6 points per game. He earned ACC Co-Player of the Week honors for his play against Duke and Virginia in February 2013. North Carolina coaches also selected Hairston as the defensive player of the game in the win over Virginia. In Hairston's sophomore season, he was in the starting line-up for the second time in his college career against Duke in February 2013. He scored a then career high 23 points. In his next game in the starting line-up versus Virginia he set a new high with 29 points, just four games after returning the court after missing a game due to a concussion. In UNC's first game of the ACC tournament on March 15, 2013, Hairston was holding the basketball in the second half when a Florida State player swiped Hairston's hand. Either from the swipe, or from his fingers extending on the basketball, Hairston split the webbing between the middle and ring fingers on his non-shooting left hand. Hairston left the game and received eight stitches. He still led UNC with 21 points after making five of six three point shots. After getting the stitches, Hairston returned to play in UNC's next two games in the ACC tournament. He played 36 minutes in the next game against Maryland and scored 13 points. In the next day's game against Miami he scored 28 points. Suspended in 2013, Hairston did not return to North Carolina for the 2013–14 season. On December 20, 2013, the school announced that they would not seek his reinstatement.

College statistics

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2011–12 , style="text-align:left;", North Carolina , 37 , , 0 , , 13.0 , , .308 , , .273 , , .839 , , 2.2 , , .8 , , .4 , , .2 , , 5.7 , - , 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;", North Carolina , 34 , , 14 , , 23.6 , , .431 , , .396 , , .779 , , 4.3 , , 1.4 , , 1.3 , , .4 , , 14.6

Professional career

Texas Legends (2014)

After his suspension was confirmed, Hairston filed paperwork to join the

NBA Development 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 ...

. On January 14, 2014, he was acquired by the

Texas Legends The Texas Legends are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Frisco, Texas, and are affiliated with the Dallas Mavericks. The Legends play their home games at the Comerica Center. The team began as the Colorado 14 ...

. He went on to play 26 games for Texas while averaging 21.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game.

Charlotte Hornets (2014–2016)

On June 26, 2014, Hairston was selected with the 26th overall pick in the

by the

on behalf of the

. In doing so, Hairston became the first NBA D-League player to be drafted in the first round of an NBA draft. On August 22, he signed with the Hornets after averaging an impressive 18.3 points in seven Summer League games. On December 22, Hairston recorded his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds to help the Hornets defeat 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 ...

, 110–82. On February 10, 2015, he scored a season-high 16 points in a loss to the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...

. On June 30, 2015, Hairston re-joined the Hornets for the

2015 NBA Summer League The 2015 NBA Summer League consisted of three pro basketball leagues organized by the NBA: the Orlando Pro Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas Summer League. Ten teams participated in the week-long Orlando Pro Summer League a ...

. On January 23, 2016, he scored a then career-high 20 points and tied a career-high with 10 rebounds in a 97–84 win over the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

Memphis Grizzlies (2016)

On February 16, 2016, the Hornets traded Hairston to 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 a three-way deal also involving the

. He made an impression early for the Grizzlies, earning the starting shooting guard role and subsequently scoring 17 points on February 24 against the Los Angeles Lakers in just his third game for the team. He went on to score a career-high 21 points on February 26, helping the Grizzlies defeat the Lakers for the second time in three days.

Rio Grande Valley Vipers (2016–2017)

On September 30, 2016, Hairston signed with the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

, but was waived on October 24, 2016. Seven days later, he was acquired by 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 ...

of the

as an affiliate player of the Rockets. Hairston announced his retirement from basketball in 2018, having been out of the game for a season.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

, 45 , , 2 , , 15.3 , , .323 , , .301 , , .861 , , 2.0 , , .5 , , .5 , , .3 , , 5.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 48 , , 43 , , 19.5 , , .359 , , .314 , , .810 , , 2.7 , , .6 , , .5 , , .1 , , 6.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

, 18 , , 9 , , 20.9 , , .348 , , .232 , , .727 , , 2.6 , , .5 , , .4 , , .2 , , 6.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 111 , , 54 , , 18.0 , , .343 , , .295 , , .810 , , 2.4 , , .5 , , .5 , , .2 , , 6.0

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 2 , , 0 , , 11.0 , , .333 , , .333 , , .000 , , .0 , , .0 , , .5 , , .0 , , 2.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 2 , , 0 , , 11.0 , , .333 , , .333 , , .000 , , .0 , , .0 , , .5 , , .0 , , 2.5

References

External links

North Carolina Tar Heels bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hairston, P. J. 1992 births Living people African-American basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Greensboro, North Carolina Charlotte Hornets players McDonald's High School All-Americans Memphis Grizzlies players Miami Heat draft picks North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Players drafted from the NBA Development League Rio Grande Valley Vipers players Shooting guards Small forwards Texas Legends players 21st-century African-American sportspeople