Tra-Deon Hollins (born August 22, 1995) 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 Texas Legends 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 ...

. Born in

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...

, he played for

Omaha Central High School Omaha Central High School, originally known as Omaha High School, is a fully accredited public high school located in downtown Omaha, Nebraska, United States. It is one of many public high schools located in Omaha. As of the 2015-16 academic year, ...

of his hometown. He started playing

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 Central CC-Columbus, before transferring to Chipola JC in 2014. In 2015, he moved to Division I college

where he was named in the first team of the Summit League and earned the league's Defensive Player of the Year award in 2016 and 2017. Hollins was the NCAA Division I steals leader in

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 ...

High school career

Hollins played basketball for

of his hometown. He won a spot in the varsity team as a freshman as a defensive specialist, routinely defending the opponents' best player. Hollins came up to win four consecutive Class A state championships from 2010 to 2013, playing along future Omaha Mavericks teammate

Tre'Shawn Thurman Tre'Shawn Thurman (born December 15, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for Filou Oostende of the BNXT League. He played college basketball for the Nevada Wolf Pack and the Omaha Mavericks. Early life and high school career Thu ...

. As a senior, he averaged 12.0 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, earning All-Nebraska first team honors.

College career

As he failed academically to play for a Division I school, Hollins enrolled to Central CC-Columbus of the NJCAA Division II. He appeared in 36 games for the school, averaging 17.1

points Point or points may refer to: Places * Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States * Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland * Point ...

, 6.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game, while his 4.1 steals per game ranked first nationally in Division II. After one season at Central CC-Columbus, Hollins transferred to

Chipola College Chipola College is a public college in Marianna, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System. History The school was founded in 1947 as Chipola Junior College; its name was changed in 2003 after the college developed several bachelor's ...

in Marianna, Florida. He appeared in 9 games, averaging 13.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 6.6 assists, and 4.6 steals per game, before on December 4, 2014, he was attacked with a gun while driving a friend's car. Although Hollins stated that he was "in the wrong place at the wrong time", in 6 December 2014, he was dismissed from both the basketball team and the college allegedly due to disciplinary reasons. After leaving Chipola, Hollins committed to

. He stated that playing for the Mavericks was "a dream come true" and acknowledged the coaching staff's belief in him as the reason for committing to the college. Against

South Dakota State South Dakota State University is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Brookings, South Dakota. Founded in 1881, it is the state's largest and most comprehensive university and the oldest continually ...

, Hollins posted 28 points and 9 rebounds, both career-highs. For his performances in the 2015–16 season Hollins was named in the first team All-

Summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topography, topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used ...

and also received Defensive Player of the Year accolades in the Summit League. As a senior he was named in the preseason all-

first team. On 18 January 2017, in a game versus

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Hollins set the all-time steals record for Omaha with 192, finishing his career with a total of 234 steals in 64 games. For his performances during the season, he was named for a second consecutive season first-team all-Summit League and Defensive Player of the Year.

Professional career

Fort Wayne Mad Ants (2017–2019)

After going undrafted in the

2017 NBA draft The 2017 NBA draft was held on June 22, 2017, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. ...

, Hollins signed his first professional contract in early July 2017 with

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

team

AZS Koszalin AZS Koszalin is a Polish basketball team, based in Koszalin. AZS currently plays in the I Liga, the second tier Polish basketball league. History The AZS Koszalin sports club was founded on 8 October 1968. The founding fathers participating in th ...

, but his contract was terminated in September, just before the start of the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

. In October 2017, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants selected Hollins in the 2017

draft with the 21st pick. After making the Mad Ants' final roster for the season, he made his professional debut against in a 99–115 loss to the Long Island Nets posting numbers of 10 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 assist.

Grand Rapids Drive (2019–2020)

For the 2019–20 season, Hollins signed with 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 ...

of the G League. Hollins averaged 6.9 points, 7.9 assists, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.6 steals per game, shooting 36% from the field.

Westchester Knicks (2021)

In 2021, Hollins signed with the Westchester Knicks. He also became the owner of Omaha's Finest, a new basketball team in

The Basketball League The Basketball League (TBL), formerly North America Premier Basketball (NAPB), is a minor league basketball organization. The league began operating in North America in 2018 with eight teams, and expanded to over 44 teams as of 2022. The Bask ...

that began play in 2021.

Delaware Blue Coats (2021–2022)

On October 12, 2021, Hollins was acquired by the

Delaware Blue Coats The Delaware Blue Coats are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Wilmington, Delaware, and are affiliated with the Philadelphia 76ers. The Blue Coats play their home games at Chase Fieldhouse. The team was founde ...

in a trade, in exchange for the returning player rights to

Julian Washburn Julian Washburn (born December 18, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for the Austin Spurs of the NBA G League. He attended and played college basketball for the University of Texas El Paso. High school career Washburn attended D ...

. On December 7, he was waived, after averaging 4.4 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game in five games. On December 11, 2021, Hollins signed with the

Windy City Bulls The Windy City Bulls are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, and are affiliated with the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls play their home games at Now Arena, from Chicago. It became the thirte ...

. However, he was later waived by the Bulls returning to Delaware on December 17.

Salt Lake City Stars (2022)

On January 3, 2022, Hollins cleared waivers, and was acquired and activated by the Salt Lake City Stars of the

. Hollins was then later waived on February 25, 2022.

Texas Legends (2022–present)

On November 3, 2022, Hollins was named to the opening night roster for the Texas Legends.

References

External links

Omaha Mavericks bioNBA G League profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hollins, Tra-Deon 1995 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Canada American men's basketball players Basketball players from Nebraska Chipola Indians men's basketball players Delaware Blue Coats players Fort Wayne Mad Ants players Grand Rapids Drive players Omaha Central High School alumni Omaha Mavericks men's basketball players Point guards Salt Lake City Stars players Sportspeople from Omaha, Nebraska St. John's Edge players Westchester Knicks players