Antoine Domonick Wright (born February 6, 1984) 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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player who last played for Rain or Shine Elasto Painters of the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...

(PBA). He attended preparatory school at

Lawrence Academy at Groton Lawrence Academy at Groton is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational college preparatory boarding school located in Groton, Massachusetts, in the United States. Founded in 1792 by a group of fifty residents of Groton and Pepperell, Massachusett ...

; in 2002, he led the Spartans to an Independent School League Basketball Championship. After his junior year at

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

, he was selected 15th overall in the

2005 NBA Draft The 2005 NBA draft took place on June 28, 2005, in the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In this draft, NBA teams took turns selecting amateur college basketball players and other first-time eligible players, such as players fr ...

by the Nets, the highest pick from the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

that year and in

history until

Acie Law Acie Law IV (born January 25, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. In his four seasons at Texas A&M University, Law scored 1,653 points and was credited with 540 assists. Nicknamed "Captain Clutch" for his ability to take o ...

was drafted 11th in the 2007 NBA Draft. Wright played his first five seasons of professional basketball in the NBA. He has since played overseas and in the

NBA D-League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Dev ...

Early years

Wright was born in

West Covina, California West Covina is a suburban city in Los Angeles County, California, located east of Downtown Los Angeles in the eastern San Gabriel Valley and is part of Greater Los Angeles. The population for the city was 106,098 at the 2010 census. West Covi ...

to Wanda Wright. He attended the Lawrence Academy prep school in

Groton, Massachusetts Groton is a town in northwestern Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, within the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The population was 11,315 at the 2020 census. It is home to two prep schools: Lawrence Academy at Groton, founded in 1 ...

, where in his three seasons he started 115 games and amassed 1800 points, 500 rebounds, 350 assists, 170 steals and 200 blocked shots. His career single game highs were 50 points, 14 rebounds, and 8 assists. As a sophomore (1999–2000), Wright averaged 20 points per game, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists, helping his school to a 15–12 record and earning him All-ISL and team MVP honors. The following year, his junior season, the team improved to a 23–2 record and Number 11 state ranking behind Wright's average 23.0 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists per game. He was named MVP of the 2001 playoffs and earned All-ISL and All-Scholastic honors. In his senior year, Wright, who averaged 26.5 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists, was again named the MVP of the playoffs and earning All-ISL and All-Scholastic rankings as his team reached a Number 7 state ranking. Wright was named the Number 1 prep shooting guard in the country by ESPN.com, who also ranked him the Number 4 overall prospect. He was also named third-team Parade All-American. He was also dismissed from the High School months before graduating for disciplinary reasons. Wright joined the USA Basketball Junior World Championship Qualifying Team in 2002, with the team earning a bronze medal for their 4–1 record; Wright averaged 6.8 points per game, 4.4 rebounds per game, and a team second best 2.4 steals per game. The medal qualified the team for a berth in the 2003 FIBA Junior World Championships. He recorded tournaments bests of 10 points in the USA's preliminary round victory over the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

and seven rebounds in their semifinal loss to

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. Wright was heavily recruited, entertaining scholarship offers from schools including

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

, UNC,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

and Arizona State University. He chose to attend

and play under coach Melvin Watkins, primarily to show his loyalty to the coaching staff who had noticed him long before the other schools began wooing him.

Texas A&M University

Freshman year (2002-2003)

Antoine Wright had a phenomenal season in his first year at

, becoming the consensus

Freshman of the year. Leading the Aggies with 6.6 rebounds per game, .7 blocks per game, 1.3 steals per game, and 2.3 three-pointers made per game, Wright's 14.5 points per game made him the second-highest scorer on the team, and one of only five freshmen in the nation to average 14.0 points and 6 rebounds. He had eight games where he scored more than 20 points, and 10 additional games where he scored 10 or more points. He scored a season-high 25 points in games against

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

and

. His best game, however, came against Kansas State University, in which he scored 24 points and had 11 rebounds.

Sophomore year (2003-2004)

Despite a tough year for the Aggies, who lost all 16 of their conference games, Wright who started in 26 of the 28 games in which he played, was named an Honorable Mention All-Big 12 player. He led the Aggies in scoring (13.5 points per game), three-point field goals (47) and blocked shots (98). Against

Grambling Grambling State University (GSU, Grambling, or Grambling State) is a public historically black university in Grambling, Louisiana. Grambling State is home of the Eddie G. Robinson Museum and is listed on the Louisiana African American Heritag ...

, Wright scored a career-high 32 points, including 5 3-pointers. He recorded a career-high 12 rebounds against

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

while also scoring 24 points. In the Big 12 Tournament, he scored 22 points in a game against

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

. After Coach Watkins was pressured to resign during the Big 12 Tournament, Wright seriously considered transferring to a different school or entering the draft early. He met with new coach

Billy Gillispie Billy Clyde Gillispie ( ; born November 7, 1959), also known by his initials BCG and Billy Clyde, is an American college basketball and current men's basketball coach at Tarleton State. Gillispie had previously been head coach at UTEP, Texas A ...

, who told him that he needed one great year to become a first round draft pick, and vowed to help Wright attain that goal. Wright was still not completely convinced, until, after returning late from a weekend trip to

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

, Gillispie suspended him for breaking the rules. As he watched his teammates complete their off-season workouts without him, he noticed that the players were beginning to look tougher and better, and Wright decided to stay and join them.

Junior year (2004-2005)

As a junior, Wright ranked fourth in the Big 12 in scoring, with 17.8 points per game, and led the league in three-point completion percentage (.447). His 36 steals were a team high, and he blocked 22 shots, second only to Joseph Jones for the Aggies. He tied his career-high 32 points in a game against

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

, including making all 11 of his free-throw attempts. Against Texas Tech he scored 29 points, converting 7 of his 8 three-point attempts. These accomplishments made him the first Aggie to be named to First Team All-Big 12 by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

. With Wright's assistance, under new coach Gillispie the team exhibited a dramatic turnaround, earning an invitation to the NIT. The team made it to the NIT quarterfinals, their best postseason performance since 1982, when they lost in the NIT quarterfinals. Wright scored 21 points on 7-for-12 shooting in their quarterfinal loss to St. Joseph's.

Aggie legacy

Wright chose to leave the Aggies after his junior year to join the

. His 1,338 career points rank tenth on the Texas A&M all-time leading scorer list, while his 181 three-point field goals place him second, and his 50 blocks put him in 11th place of all Aggie basketball players. Although Wright was projected before the draft as a consensus top 12 pick, the New Jersey Nets actually selected him as the 15th overall pick, making him the third Aggie draft pick in 29 years. This was the first time an Aggie had been taken in the first round of the NBA draft since Sonny Parker in 1976 and also set the mark for the highest an Aggie had ever been drafted, beating Parker's 17th pick. That record would be broken two years later when the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

drafted

with the 11th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft

NBA career

New Jersey Nets

During his first season as a professional basketball player, Wright played in thirty-nine games for the Nets, averaging 1.8 points, 0.8 rebounds, 0.3 assists, and 9.5 minutes per game. He was forced to sit out the beginning of the season on the inactive list, but began gaining minutes as the season progressed, eventually becoming part of the rotation. Although Wright was drafted for his jump shot, he shot only 35% from the field. Wright's 2006–07 season began much better, as he became a big part of coach

Lawrence Frank Lawrence Adam Frank (born August 23, 1970) is an American basketball coach who is currently working as the President of Basketball Operations for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He formerly served as head c ...

's rotation. After starter

Richard Jefferson Richard Allen Jefferson Jr. (born June 21, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on ESPN. He played college basketball with the Arizona Wildcats. Jefferson was drafted in the first round of the 20 ...

injured his ankle against 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 Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...

, Wright took his place in the starting lineup. He was averaging 28.2 minutes per game and chipping in 8.5 points per game, and 4.5 rebounds per game off the bench. An ankle injury caused Wright to miss eight games in the 2007–08 season.

Dallas Mavericks

Wright was part of a trade that sent

Jason Kidd Jason Frederick Kidd (born March 23, 1973) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Regarded as one of the greatest point guards a ...

Malik Allen Malik Omar Allen (born June 27, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player, currently serving as an assistant coach for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Professional career After four years at Villano ...

, and himself to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for

Devin Harris Devin Lamar Harris (born February 27, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player. Harris attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Harris was selected with the fifth pick in the 2004 NBA draft by the Washington Wizards. E ...

DeSagana Diop DeSagana N'gagne Diop ( ; born January 30, 1982) is a Senegalese former professional basketball player who is currently head coach for the Westchester Knicks of the NBA G League. Early life Diop played soccer while growing up in Senegal. He began ...

Trenton Hassell Trenton Lavar Hassell (born March 4, 1979) is an American former professional basketball forward. A , guard-forward, Hassell was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 30th overall pick of the 2001 NBA draft. Early life and college career Hasse ...

Maurice Ager Maurice Darnell Ager (born February 9, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. He played at the collegiate level for the Michigan State Spartans from 2002 until 2006, and earned a spot on the 19-and-under USA basketball team ...

Keith Van Horn Keith Adam Van Horn (born October 23, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. Van Horn played for the New Jersey Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, New York Knicks, Milwaukee Bucks, and the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball ...

and future draft picks. He scored a career-high of 24 points over 39 minutes in the 109–106 victory against the Indiana Pacers on November 25, 2008.

Toronto Raptors

The

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

acquired Antoine Wright and Devean George from the Dallas Mavericks and a sign and trade for Hedo Türkoğlu from the Orlando Magic on July 9, 2009. It was a four-way deal sending

Jerry Stackhouse Jerry Darnell Stackhouse (born November 5, 1974) is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Vanderbilt Commodores men's team. He played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and ...

(who was bought out and released immediately) and substantial cash from Dallas 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 ...

. The Dallas Mavericks received

Shawn Marion Shawn Dwayne Marion (born May 7, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player who played 16 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Marion finished his career as a four-time NBA All-Star, a two-time member of the All- ...

and Kris Humphries along with

Nathan Jawai Nathan Leon Jawai (born 10 October 1986) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Darwin Salties of the NBL1 North. Standing at 209 cm, he plays at the power forward and centre positions. Early life Born at the Royal Hospi ...

from the

, and the Orlando Magic got a trade exception.

Sacramento Kings

On July 23, 2010 Antoine signed by the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

. However, after 7 games, on November 29, 2010 was waived by the Kings.

Post career

In 2021, he was charged along with seventeen former players in a fraud case involving trying to bilk the NBA's Health and Welfare Benefit Plan out of nearly $4 million.

International career

Jiangsu Dragons

On December 31, 2010, he signed with the Chinese team

Jiangsu Dragons Jiangsu Dragons Kentier (), also known as Jiangsu Dragons or Jiangsu Kentier, are a Chinese professional basketball team in the Southern Division of the Chinese Basketball Association, based in Nanjing, Jiangsu. History In the 2004–05 seaso ...

Club Baloncesto Estudiantes

On August 9, 2011, he signed a one-year contract with the Spanish team Club Baloncesto Estudiantes.

Guaiqueries de Margarita

On April 26, 2012, Wright signed with Guaiqueries de Margarita of the LPB of

AmeriLeague

On October 6, 2015, Wright signed with the upcoming AmeriLeague to play on the following season. However, the league folded after it was discovered the founder was a con-artist.

Rain or Shine Elasto Painters

On February 20, 2016, Wright was announced by the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters to be the team's new import for the 2016 PBA Commissioner's Cup, replacing an injured Wayne Chism. However, on March 9, 2016, Wright was released by the Elasto Painters after under-performing for the team, leading the team to a 1–3 win–loss record during his 4 games with the club.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, 39 , , 0 , , 9.5 , , .358 , , .067 , , .500 , , .8 , , .3 , , .1 , , .1 , , 1.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 63 , , 23 , , 18.0 , , .438 , , .322 , , .603 , , 2.8 , , .9 , , .5 , , .2 , , 4.5 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 41 , , 10 , , 25.8 , , .401 , , .267 , , .707 , , 3.0 , , 1.6 , , .6 , , .4 , , 7.3 , - , align="left" , , 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 ...

, 15 , , 0 , , 11.7 , , .500 , , .556 , , .556 , , 1.5 , , .9 , , .1 , , .3 , , 3.5 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 65 , , 53 , , 23.9 , , .415 , , .302 , , .747 , , 2.1 , , 1.2 , , .7 , , .4 , , 7.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, 67 , , 10 , , 20.8 , , .406 , , .335 , , .688 , , 2.8 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , .2 , , 6.5 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, 7 , , 0 , , 4.4 , , .125 , , .000 , , .000 , , .4 , , .0 , , .1 , , .0 , , .3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 297 , , 96 , , 19.2 , , .412 , , .304 , , .674 , , 2.3 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , .2 , , 5.4

Playoffs

, - , align="left" , 2006 , align="left" ,

, 5 , , 0 , , 2.0 , , .250 , , .000 , , .667 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .8 , - , align="left" , 2007 , align="left" ,

, 12 , , 0 , , 13.6 , , .472 , , .500 , , .900 , , 1.9 , , .1 , , .4 , , .3 , , 3.8 , - , align="left" ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, align="left" ,

, 1 , , 0 , , 7.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , - , align="left" , 2009 , align="left" ,

, 10 , , 5 , , 16.7 , , .488 , , .381 , , .818 , , 1.3 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , .2 , , 5.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 28 , , 5 , , 12.4 , , .470 , , .407 , , .833 , , 1.3 , , .4 , , .3 , , .2 , , 3.9

References

External links

Antoine Wright
at NBA.com *
Antoine Wright
at RealGM.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Antoine 1984 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Canada American expatriate basketball people in China American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in Mexico American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines American expatriate basketball people in Spain American expatriate basketball people in Venezuela American men's basketball players Barak Netanya B.C. players Basketball players from California CB Estudiantes players Dallas Mavericks players Guaiqueríes de Margarita players Halcones de Xalapa players Jiangsu Dragons players Liga ACB players New Jersey Nets draft picks New Jersey Nets players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Philippine Basketball Association imports Rain or Shine Elasto Painters players Reno Bighorns players Sacramento Kings players Shooting guards Small forwards Sportspeople from West Covina, California Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball players Tijuana Zonkeys players Toronto Raptors players