Danté Exum ( ; born 13 July 1995) is an Australian 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 (appro ...

player for 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 Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). He chose to bypass college and was ultimately selected by the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

with the fifth overall pick in the

2014 NBA draft The 2014 NBA draft was held on June 26, 2014, at Barclays Center, Brooklyn. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. The ...

. Exum has played for the Australia national team and won a bronze medal at the

2020 Tokyo Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

Early career

Exum was born in the

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

suburb of

East Melbourne East Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. East Melbourne recorded a population of 4,896 at the 2021 ce ...

to American parents. He played basketball for the Keilor Thunder as a junior and also played

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

at school. He attended Thomas Carr College in Melbourne. He later moved to

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

to attend the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

and Lake Ginninderra Secondary College. He competed for Lake Ginninderra in the Australian National High School Basketball Championships in 2013, helping them win the title. In April 2013, Exum participated in the

Nike Hoop Summit The Nike Hoop Summit is an international basketball all-star game sponsored by Nike, Inc., Nike, held once a year, which features the USA Basketball Men's Junior Select Team against a World Select Team of international players. The players demons ...

for the World Select Team, where he recorded 16 points, three rebounds and two assists in a 112–98 win over the USA Junior Select Team. In October 2013, Exum graduated from high school in Australia and had the option to enroll in college and play

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

during the 2013–14 season, but he decided against it. On 28 January 2014, it was announced that Exum signed with agents from Landmark Sports and that he would declare for the

Professional career

Utah Jazz (2014–2019)

Exum was selected by the

with the fifth overall pick in the

. He made his NBA debut in the Jazz's season opener on 29 October, scoring five points in 9½ minutes off the bench in a 104–93 loss to the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

. On 22 January, he scored a career-high 15 points on five 3-pointers in a 101–99 win over 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 Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

. On 1 April, he had a career-high 12 assists in a 98–84 win over the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

. He appeared in all 82 games (41 starts) as a rookie and averaged 4.8 points, 1.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 22.2 minutes. Exum became only the 10th rookie in Jazz history to play in all 82 games, scoring in double figures in 13 games and leading the team in assists 11 times. He helped the Jazz to a 24–17 record as a starter and was selected to compete in the 2015 Rising Stars Challenge during the NBA's All-Star Weekend in New York. In August 2015, Exum sustained a tear of the

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation. In ...

(ACL) in his left knee while playing for Australia in Slovenia. He underwent surgery and subsequently missed the entire 2015–16 season. Exum returned to action in the 2016–17 season. He played in 28 of the first 29 games of the season, but then sat out 10 of 11 games between 21 December and 10 January. On 11 March, he scored a career-high 22 points in a 112–104 loss to the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Confer ...

. In October 2017, Exum underwent shoulder surgery. He made his first appearance of the season on 15 March 2018, finishing with 10 points in a 116–88 win over the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

. On 30 March 2018, he scored a season-high 21 points in a 107–97 win over 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 Southwest Division of the ...

. On 6 July 2018, Exum re-signed with the Jazz. On 27 December 2018, he scored a season-high 20 points in a 114–97 loss to the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

. Two days later, in his first start of the season, Exum had 13 points and a career-high 13 assists in a 129–97 victory over 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 Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

. On 7 January 2019, he was ruled out for "a couple of weeks" due to an ankle sprain that he suffered two days earlier against 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 Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

. His return was delayed after developing a bone bruise from his ankle sprain. He returned to action on 11 March against the Thunder after missing 25 games. Four days later however, he was ruled out indefinitely after sustaining a partially torn patellar tendon in his right knee.

Cleveland Cavaliers (2019–2021)

On 24 December 2019, Exum was traded, alongside two second-round picks, to the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

in exchange for

Jordan Clarkson Jordan Taylor Clarkson (born June 7, 1992) is an American and Filipino professional basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for two seasons with Tulsa before transferring to ...

. On 16 January 2021, Exum was traded to the

in a multi-player, four-team deal with the

that sent

James Harden James Edward Harden Jr. (born August 26, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is regarded by some as one of the greatest shooting guards in NBA hist ...

to the

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

; the Cavaliers received Taurean Prince and Jarrett Allen in the deal. He did not appear in any regular season games for Houston, although he did play sparse minutes in the preseason for the Rockets. On 17 September 2021, Exum re-signed with the Rockets. However, he was waived on 16 October.

FC Barcelona (2021–2022)

On 7 December 2021, Exum signed with

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...

of the

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administered by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, w ...

and the

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

Partizan Belgrade (2022–2023)

On 10 July 2022, Exum signed with Partizan Mozzart Bet of the

Basketball League of Serbia The Basketball League of Serbia (), commonly abbreviated as KLS, is a Serbian basketball league system, top-tier men's professional basketball Sports league, league in Serbia. Founded in 2006. It is currently not run by the Basketball Federation o ...

(KLS),

ABA League The ABA League, renamed the ABA League First Division in 2017, is the top-tier regional men's professional basketball league that originally featured clubs from former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedoni ...

and the

. During the 2022–23 season, Partizan was eliminated by

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

in the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

. Over the season, Exum averaged 13.2 points, 2.7 assists and 2.3 rebounds per game. Partizan ended the 2022–23 season by lifting the

championship trophy, after 3–2 score against

Crvena zvezda Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club), commonly referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...

in the Finals series.

Dallas Mavericks (2023–present)

On 14 July 2023, Exum signed with the

. He made his debut for the Mavericks on 25 October in a 126–119 win over 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 Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

. On 12 December, Exum scored a season-high 26 points with a career-high seven made three-pointers in a 127–125 win over 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 Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

. In 55 games (17 starts) for the team, he averaged 7.8 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.9 assists. Exum helped the Mavericks reach the

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league ...

where they lost to 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 Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

in five games. Exum made 18 appearances (12 starts) during the

2024–25 NBA season The 2024–25 NBA season is the 79th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The regular season began on October 22, 2024, and ended on April 13, 2025. The NBA held an in-season tournament for the second consecutive year, now called ...

, averaging 9.1 points, 1.7 assists, and 2.8 assists. On 14 March 2025, Exum was ruled out for the remainder of the season after suffering a broken bone in his left hand during a game against the

. On July 3, 2025, Exum resigned with the Mavericks.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, 82 , , 41 , , 22.2 , , .349 , , .314 , , .625 , , 1.6 , , 2.4 , , .5 , , .2 , , 4.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 66 , , 26 , , 18.6 , , .427 , , .295 , , .795 , , 2.0 , , 1.7 , , .3 , , .2 , , 6.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 14 , , 0 , , 16.8 , , .483 , , .278 , , .806 , , 1.9 , , 3.1 , , .6 , , .2 , , 8.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 42 , , 1 , , 15.8 , , .419 , , .290 , , .791 , , 1.6 , , 2.6 , , .3 , , .1 , , 6.9 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2, , style="text-align:left;",

, 11 , , 0 , , 7.6 , , .435 , , .333 , , 1.000 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , .1 , , .2 , , 2.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, 24 , , 1 , , 16.8 , , .479 , , .351 , , .732 , , 2.3 , , 1.4 , , .5 , , .3 , , 5.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 6 , , 3 , , 19.4 , , .385 , , .182 , , .500 , , 2.8 , , 2.2 , , .7 , , .3 , , 3.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, 55 , , 17 , , 19.8 , , .533 , , .491 , , .779 , , 2.7 , , 2.9 , , .4 , , .1 , , 7.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 20 , , 13 , , 18.6 , , .478 , , .434 , , .742 , , 1.7 , , 2.8 , , .6 , , .2 , , 8.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 320 , , 102 , , 18.8 , , .435 , , .343 , , .765 , , 1.9 , , 2.3 , , .4 , , .2 , , 6.2

Playoffs

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

, 7 , , 0 , , 12.0 , , .407 , , .333 , , 1.000 , , .9 , , 1.3 , , .7 , , .0 , , 4.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 10 , , 0 , , 11.4 , , .488 , , .286 , , .750 , , 1.4 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , .1 , , 5.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 21 , , 0 , , 6.8 , , .364 , , .350 , , .667 , , .8 , , .6 , , .1 , , .0 , , 2.0 , - class="sortbottom" , align="center" colspan="2", Career , 38 , , 0 , , 9.0 , , .420 , , .333 , , .792 , , 1.0 , , .8 , , .2 , , .1 , , 3.3

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , style="text-align:left;",

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, 25 , , 10 , , 17.0 , , .515 , , .545 , , .849 , , 2.5 , , 1.6 , , .5 , , .3 , , 6.3 , , 8.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

, style="text-align:left;", Partizan , 38 , , 7 , , 23.0 , , .520 , , .393 , , .858 , , 2.3 , , 2.7 , , .8 , , .2 , , 13.2 , , 14.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 63 , , 17 , , 20.6 , , .519 , , .419 , , .856 , , 2.4 , , 2.3 , , .7 , , .2 , , 10.4 , , 11.8

National team career

Exum played for Australia's junior national team at the 2012 FIBA Under-17 World Cup, where he was named to the All-Tournament Team, as well as the 2013 FIBA Under-19 World Cup, where he was again named to the All-Tournament Team. 2013 also marked Exum's debut for the senior national team, playing against

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

at the

2013 FIBA Oceania Championship The 2013 FIBA Oceania Championship for Men was the 21st edition of the FIBA Oceania Championship. The tournament featured a two-game series between Australia men's national basketball team, Australia and New Zealand national basketball team, New Z ...

. In 2014, he played for Australia at the

2014 FIBA World Cup The 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the 17th edition of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the tournament previously known as the FIBA World Championship. The tournament was held from 30 August to 14 September 2014. Hosted by Spain, it was the la ...

, where he averaged 2.7 points, 1.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists in six games. Exum was selected for the Australian basketball team at the

. In the bronze playoff, he scored or assisted on 13 of Australia's points in the pivotal 20–8 run that turned a five-point lead into a 17-point advantage (105–88) with just over a minute remaining.

Personal life

Exum has an older brother, Jamaar, and a twin sister, Tierra. His father, Cecil, played college basketball at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

and won an NCAA championship in 1982, a team which featured

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...

and

James Worthy James Ager Worthy (born February 27, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Big Game James", he played his entire professional career with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Wor ...

. His mother also attended North Carolina. Cecil was drafted in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

by the

, and later settled in Australia where he played in the National Basketball League for the

North Melbourne Giants The North Melbourne Giants, previously known as the Coburg Giants, were an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital ...

Melbourne Tigers Melbourne United is an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria. United compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Joh ...

and

Geelong Supercats Geelong United is a NBL1 South club based in Geelong, Geelong, Victoria. Previously known as the Geelong Supercats, the club fields teams in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 South. The club is affiliated with Geelong United Basketball and plays ...

. Exum is a passionate supporter of the

Essendon Football Club The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed the Bombers or colloquially the Dons, is a professional Australian rules football club that plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the game's premier competition. The club was formed by the McCrac ...

, who compete in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

. Exum wore Essendon-inspired shoes during the

Rising Stars Challenge The Rising Stars Challenge is a basketball exhibition game held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) on the Friday before the annual All-Star Game as part of the All-Star Weekend and is intended to showcase young and rising players in t ...

at the 2017 NBA All-Star Weekend.

References

External links

Dante Exum
at euroleague.net

at FIBA.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Exum, Dante 1995 births Living people 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup players 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup players Australian expatriate basketball people in Serbia Australian expatriate basketball people in Spain Australian expatriate basketball people in the United States Australian Institute of Sport basketball players Australian men's basketball players Australian people of African-American descent Basketball players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Melbourne Children of basketball players Cleveland Cavaliers players Dallas Mavericks players FC Barcelona Bàsquet players KK Partizan players Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics NBA players from Australia Olympic basketball players for Australia Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Olympic medalists in basketball People educated at Lake Ginninderra College Point guards Shooting guards Small forwards Sportsmen from Victoria (state) Utah Jazz draft picks Utah Jazz players Basketball players at the 2024 Summer Olympics 21st-century Australian sportsmen