Silas Melson (born August 22, 1996) 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 Darüşşafaka of the

Basketbol Süper Ligi The Basketball Super League ( tr, Basketbol Süper Ligi; BSL), also known as the Türkiye Sigorta Basketbol Süper Ligi for sponsorship reasons, is the top men's professional basketball division of the Turkish basketball league system. It replac ...

(BSL). 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

Gonzaga Bulldogs The Gonzaga Bulldogs () (also known unofficially as the Zags) are the intercollegiate athletic teams representing Gonzaga University, located in Spokane, Washington, United States. Gonzaga competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association ...

, where he was named All-

West Coast Conference The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting of ...

Honorable Mention in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

. Standing at , he plays at the

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

and

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 ...

positions.

Early life and college career

Melson attended

Jefferson High School This is a list of memorials to Thomas Jefferson, the 3rd president of the United States and the author of the United States Declaration of Independence. Buildings Elementary schools *Jefferson Elementary School, in Cammack Village, Arkansas *Thoma ...

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, where he averaged 24.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.5 steals. He led the Democrats to a 26–1 record and a second consecutive Class 5A state championship. On March 21, 2014, Melson was named Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year. Melson played

Gonzaga University Gonzaga University (GU) () is a private Jesuit university in Spokane, Washington. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Founded in 1887 by Joseph Cataldo, an Italian-born priest and Jesuit missionary, the univ ...

, where he finished his senior year averaging 9.2 points per game while shooting 40.8% of his shots from the field. On February 27, 2018, Melson was named All-WCC Honorable Mention.

Professional career

On June 20, 2018, Melson started his professional career with

Lavrio Laurium or Lavrio ( ell, Λαύριο; grc, Λαύρειον (later ); before early 11th century BC: Θορικός ''Thorikos''; from Middle Ages until 1908: Εργαστήρια ''Ergastiria'') is a town in southeastern part of Attica, Greec ...

of the

Greek Basket League The Greek Basket League (GBL), often also referred to as the Greek A1 Basketball League, or Greek Basketball Championship (originally called Panhellenic Basketball Championship), and also known as the Stoiximan Basket League for sponsorship reaso ...

. On November 11, 2018, Melson recorded a season-high 23 points, shooting 9-of-13 from the field in a 63–102 loss to

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

. On December 23, 2018, Melson signed a one-month contract with

Hapoel Be'er Sheva Hapoel Be'er Sheva Football Club ( he, מועדון הכדורגל הפועל באר שבע, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Be'er Sheva'') is an Israeli football club from the city of Be'er Sheva, that competes in the Israeli Premier League. The cl ...

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 ...

as an injury cover for

Semaj Christon Semaj Rakim Christon (born November 1, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for Derthona Basket of the Italian LBA. He played college basketball for Xavier. High school career The Cincinnati, Ohio native attended Winton Woods Hi ...

. On January 28, 2019, Melson recorded 20 points, shooting 4-of-5 from three-point range, leading Be'er Sheva to an 87–74 win over

Bnei Herzliya Bnei Herzliya Basket (, lit. ''Sons of Herzliya''), is a professional basketball club that is based in Herzliya, in the Sharon district in Israel. The club plays in the Israeli Basketball Premier League, the top division of Israeli basketball. It ...

. On February 21, 2019, Melson parted ways with Be'er Sheva after appearing in eight games. On August 5, 2019, Melson signed a one-year deal with Polpharma Starogard of the

Polish Basketball League Polska Liga Koszykówki (PLK) (English language, English: Polish Basketball League) is a professional men's club basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Poland. It constitutes the first and highest-tier level of the Polish basketball leag ...

. He averaged 20.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. On June 16, 2020, Melson signed with

Limburg United Limburg United, for sponsorship reasons named Hubo Limburg United, is a professional basketball club based in Hasselt, Limburg, Belgium. Founded in 2014, the club plays in the BNXT League, the first tier of basketball in Belgium. The team plays i ...

of the

Pro Basketball League The Pro Basketball League (PBL), was the highest tier level professional basketball league in Belgium for clubs. In 2021, the league was succeeded by the Belgian-Dutch BNXT League. Through 2014, for sponsorship reasons, the league was previously ...

. He averaged 16.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game. On July 29, 2021, Melson signed with Kalev/Cramo of the

Latvian–Estonian Basketball League The Latvian-Estonian Basketball League is the highest professional men's club basketball league in Latvia and Estonia; it has been organised since 2018, run by the Latvian Basketball Association and the Estonian Basketball Association. History ...

. On June 13, 2022, Melson signed with

Petkim Spor Petkim Spor Kulübü, more commonly known as Socar Spor is a Turkish professional basketball club based in İzmir which currently competes in the Turkish Basketball Super League (BSL). The team was founded by Petkim in 2013 and got promoted to th ...

of the Turkish

Basketball Super League 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 ...

. He tore his

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus (h ...

after three games with the team and missed the rest of the season. Melson averaged 16.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists during his stint with Petkim Spor. On October 10, 2023, Melson signed a one-year contract with

MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg Riesen Ludwigsburg ( en, Giants Ludwigsburg), for sponsorship reasons MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg, is a professional basketball club that is based in Ludwigsburg, Germany. The club currently plays in the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), the first tier of ...

of the

Basketball Bundesliga The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the highest level league of professional club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 18 teams. A BBL season ...

and the

Basketball Champions League The Basketball Champions League (BCL) is an annual professional basketball competition for European clubs, organised by FIBA. It is the top-level competition organised by FIBA Europe, therefore the champion participates in the FIBA Intercontin ...

(BCL). On June 21, 2024, he signed with Darüşşafaka of the

(BSL).

Personal life

Melson and his partner had a son born during the 2022–23 season.

References

External links

Gonzaga bio

RealGM profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melson, Silas 1996 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Belgium American expatriate basketball people in Estonia American expatriate basketball people in Finland American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Israel American men's basketball players Basketball players from Portland, Oregon BC Kalev/Cramo players Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball players Hapoel Be'er Sheva B.C. players Jefferson High School (Portland, Oregon) alumni Kouvot players Lavrio B.C. players Limburg United players Petkim Spor players Point guards Riesen Ludwigsburg players Shooting guards