Theophilus Alphonso Pinson (born November 5, 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 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 ...

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 ...

. 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

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 ...

. A

swingman A swingman is an athlete capable of playing multiple positions in their sport. Basketball In basketball, the term “swingman” (a.k.a. “wing” or “guard-forward”) denotes a player who can play both the shooting guard (2) and small forwa ...

, Pinson was the starting

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 ...

for the Tar Heels' 2017 NCAA championship team.

High school career

Born and raised in

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the Un ...

, Pinson played high school basketball for

Wesleyan Christian Academy Wesleyan Christian Academy is a private Christian school located in High Point, North Carolina, across from the former Oak Hollow Mall complex. Wesleyan Christian Academy is accredited by AdvancED and the Association of Christian Schools Interna ...

in nearby High Point. He was 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 ...

in his senior year. In the summer of 2011, Pinson was named to the

USA Basketball USA Basketball (USAB) is a non-profit organization and the governing body for basketball in the United States. The organization represents the United States in FIBA and the men's and women's national basketball teams in the United States Olympi ...

U16 team, where he won the gold medal with future Tar Heel teammate Justin Jackson.

College career

Pinson's college career was marked by injury early, as he broke the fifth metatarsal bone in his left foot and missed 14 games of his freshman season. His sophomore season was injury free; however, he broke the same bone (fifth metatarsal) in his right foot, causing him to miss the first 16 games of his junior season. While on the court, Pinson's passing, defense and leadership played a key role in the Tar Heels' run to consecutive National Championship Title Games. Pinson was also acknowledged as a positive factor in the locker room for these teams, as he developed a reputation as a prankster in both the locker room and with the media. During the Tar Heels' 2017 championship run, Pinson's playmaking helped the team defeat

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

in the South Regional Final, as his full-court drive and pass set up a game-winning shot by forward

Luke Maye Luke David Maye (born March 7, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for Covirán Granada of the Spanish Liga Endesa. He played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels. Early life Maye was born in Cary, North Carolin ...

. As a senior, he averaged 10.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists in 29.7 minutes per game.

Professional career

Brooklyn Nets (2018–2020)

After going undrafted in the

2018 NBA draft The 2018 NBA Draft was held on June 21, 2018, 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, including inte ...

, Pinson joined the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The t ...

for the

2018 NBA Summer League The 2018 NBA Summer League consisted of three pro basketball leagues organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA): the Sacramento Kings's California Classic Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas Summer League. The Sacra ...

. He posted 11.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game in five summer league games. On August 6, 2018, Pinson signed a training camp contract with the Nets, which was confirmed to be 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 ...

for the 2018–19 season. Under the terms of the deal, he will split time between the Nets and their

affiliate, the

Long Island Nets The Long Island Nets are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Uniondale, New York, and are affiliated with the Brooklyn Nets. The team plays its home games at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Nassau County ...

. Pinson made his NBA debut on October 20, 2018, in a 132–112 loss to the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

, scoring two points with a rebound and two assists in six and half minutes of play. On April 10, 2019, the Nets converted Pinson's two-way deal to a full NBA contract. On April 15, Pinson made his postseason debut scoring 9 points shooting 3 for 5 from the field and 3 for 4 from 3. On July 8, 2019, the Nets re-signed Pinson to a reported two-year contract, after the Nets rescinded their qualifying offer to Pinson on July 6. In December 2019, Pinson began to see more minutes for the Nets due to an Achilles injury to

David Nwaba David Ugochukwu Nwaba (born January 14, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Motor City Cruise of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for Santa Monica College and Cal Poly. High school career Nwaba attended ...

. On February 4, 2020, Pinson scored 32 points to go with nine rebounds, three assists and two steals in the G League as the Long Island Nets defeated the

Wisconsin Herd The Wisconsin Herd are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and are affiliated with the Milwaukee Bucks. The Herd play their home games at Oshkosh Arena. History On June 29, 2016, it was anno ...

117–110. On June 23, Pinson was waived by the Nets.

New York Knicks (2020–2021)

Three days later after leaving the Brooklyn Nets, on June 26, 2020, Pinson was claimed off waivers by 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 ...

. On November 19, 2020, the Knicks announced that they did not exercise the team option on Pinson, making him a free agent. On November 29, the Knicks re-signed Pinson to a two-way contract with the

Westchester Knicks The Westchester Knicks are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in White Plains, New York, and are affiliated with the New York Knicks. The Knicks typically play their home games at Westchester County Center in White ...

Maine Celtics (2021)

Pinson joined the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

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 September 28, 2021, Pinson signed with 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 ...

, but was waived at the end of training camp. On October 23, he signed with the

Maine Celtics The Maine Celtics (formerly the Maine Red Claws) are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Portland, Maine, and are affiliated with the Boston Celtics. The Maine Celtics play their home games at the Portland Expo B ...

as an affiliate player. Pinson averaged 16.4 points, 4.4 assists, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game.

Dallas Mavericks (2021–2023)

On December 20, 2021, Pinson signed a 10-day contract with the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

. He signed a second 10-day contract with the Mavericks on December 31. He signed a two-way contract on January 10, 2022. On July 1, 2022, Pinson re-signed with the Mavericks on a one-year deal. In the last game of the 2022–23 season, he recorded his first triple-double in a 117–138 loss to the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

Texas Legends (2023–present)

On November 9, 2023, Pinson was named to the opening night roster for the

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, 18 , , 0 , , 11.7 , , .342 , , .261 , , .864 , , 2.0 , , 1.2 , , .3 , , .0 , , 4.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 33 , , 0 , , 11.1 , , .290 , , .188 , , .938 , , 1.6 , , 1.7 , , .5 , , .1 , , 3.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, 17 , , 0 , , 2.0 , , .111 , , .000 , , .000 , , .3 , , .1 , , .0 , , .0 , , .1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, 19 , , 0 , , 7.8 , , .359 , , .333 , , 1.000 , , 1.1 , , .9 , , .3 , , .1 , , 2.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 40 , , 1 , , 8.1 , , .356 , , .355 , , .846 , , 1.6 , , 1.2 , , .2 , , .0 , , 2.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 127 , , 1 , , 8.5 , , .320 , , .261 , , .902 , , 1.4 , , 1.1 , , .3 , , .1 , , 2.7

Playoffs

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

, 3 , , 0 , , 7.3 , , .375 , , .429 , , , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , .7 , , .0 , , 3.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 3 , , 0 , , 7.3 , , .375 , , .429 , , , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , .7 , , .0 , , 3.0

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;",

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, 24 , , 1 , , 12.5 , , .368 , , .269 , , .611 , , 3.0 , , 1.5 , , .6 , , .2 , , 2.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

, 40 , , 7 , , 18.7 , , .420 , , .290 , , .636 , , 3.2 , , 2.9 , , .6 , , .3 , , 4.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

, 21 , , 13 , , 23.8 , , .381 , , .237 , , .702 , , 4.6 , , 3.7 , , .9 , , .2 , , 6.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

, 37 , , 37 , , 29.7 , , .473 , , .226 , , .818 , , 6.5 , , 5.1 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , 10.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 122 , , 58 , , 21.7 , , .431 , , .257 , , .734 , , 4.4 , , 3.4 , , .8 , , .3 , , 6.3

References

External links

North Carolina Tar Heels bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pinson, Theo 1995 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportspeople American men's basketball players Basketball players from Greensboro, North Carolina Brooklyn Nets players Dallas Mavericks players Long Island Nets players Maine Celtics players McDonald's High School All-Americans New York Knicks players North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball players Shooting guards Small forwards Texas Legends players Undrafted National Basketball Association players