Zach Lofton (born November 18, 1992) 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

Dynamo Lebanon The Lebanese Basketball League is the top-tier professional men's basketball league in Lebanon. It is organized annually as a national championship with playoffs and a national cup by the Lebanese Basketball Federation (FLB). Currently, the leagu ...

of the

Lebanese Basketball League The Lebanese Basketball League is the top-tier professional men's basketball league in Lebanon. It is organized annually as a national championship with playoffs and a national cup by the Lebanese Basketball Federation (FLB). Currently, the leagu ...

. 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

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's tw ...

(NMSU). He transferred to NMSU from

Texas Southern Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a public historically black university in Houston, Texas. The university is one of the largest and most comprehensive historically black college or universities in the USA with nearly 10,000 ...

, where he was named the Southwestern Athletic Conference Player of the Year in 2017.

College career

Lofton, a

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 ...

from

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississip ...

, started his college career at

San Jacinto College San Jacinto College is a public community college in the Greater Houston with its campuses in Pasadena and Houston, Texas. Established in 1961, San Jacinto College originally consisted of the independent school districts (ISD) of Channelview, De ...

, then played his sophomore season for

Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is recognized as one of th ...

. He averaged 11.3 points per game for the Redbirds before transferring to Minnesota in 2014. While sitting out his transfer year, Lofton was dismissed from the Golden Gophers team before playing a game. Lofton landed at Texas Southern, where in 2016–17 he averaged 16.8 points per game and led the Tigers to the 2017 NCAA tournament. At the close of the season, he was named SWAC Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year. Following his lone season with Texas Southern, Lofton declared for 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. ...

. Although he ultimately withdrew, he did announce that he would transfer from Texas Southern. He ultimately chose

New Mexico State New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's tw ...

to play his final season of college eligibility. As a senior at New Mexico State, Lofton averaged 20.1 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. He shot 46 percent from the field and 38 percent from behind the arc. Lofton was named to the All-

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, and Texa ...

First Team and the 2018 All-WAC Newcomer team. Following the season he participated in the 2018

Portsmouth Invitational Tournament The Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, (PIT), is the oldest amateur basketball tournament in the United States and the only postseason camp restricted to college basketball seniors. The Portsmouth Invitational is the first of two NBA pre-draft ...

Professional career

Lofton was not selected 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 ...

. He signed with 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 ...

for the NBA Summer League. He averaged 10.8 points and 2.5 rebounds per game and scored 21 points in the final Summer League game against the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

. Lofton subsequently signed with the Pistons and, in October, agreed to 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 ...

, splitting playing time with the Pistons and their

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 ...

affiliate, 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 ...

. On October 17, 2018, Lofton made his NBA debut with the Pistons. He recorded one steal in four minutes of play in a 103–100 win over 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 ...

. In his G League debut, Lofton had a double-double with 26 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists and four steals as the Drive lost to the Erie BayHawks 125–114. On January 15, 2019, Lofton was waived by the Pistons, but retained by the Drive. He averaged 13.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.2 steals per game with the Drive. On February 1, 2020, Lofton signed with the

Rostock Seawolves Rostock Seawolves is a professional basketball club based in Rostock, Germany. The club currently competes in the Basketball Bundesliga. The Seawolves play their home games in the Rostocker Stadthalle. In May 2018, the Seawolves signed Milan � ...

of the German

ProA Proas are various types of multi-hull outrigger sailboats of the Austronesian peoples. The terms were used for native Austronesian ships in European records during the Colonial era indiscriminately, and thus can confusingly refer to the do ...

league. He averaged 27.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. On July 18, 2021, Lofton signed with Kazma of the Kuwaiti Division I Basketball League. Now, he is playing with Dynamo Club in Lebanon in the Lebanese basketball league.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

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References

External links

New Mexico State Aggies bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lofton, Zach 1992 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportspeople African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Germany American men's basketball players Basketball players from Saint Paul, Minnesota Detroit Pistons players Grand Rapids Drive players Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball players New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball players Rostock Seawolves players San Jacinto Central Ravens men's basketball players Shooting guards Texas Southern Tigers men's basketball players Undrafted National Basketball Association players