Darius Myron Washington Jr. (born December 6, 1985) is an American-Macedonian 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 who last played for Peja of the Kosovo Superleague. He is a

combo guard A combo guard is a basketball player who combines the attributes of a point guard (1) and shooting guard (2), but does not necessarily fit the standard description of either position. In men's basketball, such guards are usually within the 6' 3" ...

and played

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 ...

with the

University of Memphis The University of Memphis (Memphis) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 20,000 students. The university maintains the Herff Col ...

. He has also played with the NBA's

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 ...

and the NBA D-League's Austin Toros in 2007. He also is the subject of a Phish song called The Line.

Amateur career

An AAU national champion at age 10, Washington attended Edgewater High School in

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

. In his senior year, he played in an

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

High School Showcase game against future NBA player Sebastian Telfair. He went to

, where he earned Conference USA Rookie of the Year and freshman All-American honors on averages of 15.4 points per game and a team-best 3.8 assists. With no time remaining in the championship game of the 2005 Conference-USA tournament, Washington was given three free throws to overcome a 75–73 lead by the sixth-ranked

Louisville Cardinals The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East Co ...

. Although Washington was a 72-percent shooter, he missed two of the three foul shots, giving Louisville the win and an appearance in the NCAA tournament while Washington and the Tigers' season would continue in the NIT, where they would reach the semifinal round. In his sophomore season at Memphis, Washington helped lead the #1-seeded Tigers to an Elite Eight appearance in the 2006 NCAA tournament, losing to eventual runner-up

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

. He was named to the All-Conference USA first team and earned an honorable mention as an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

by the

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Professional career

On April 25, 2006, Washington declared himself as an early entry candidate for the 2006 NBA draft. Confident he would be drafted, he signed with a

sports agent A sports agent is a legal representative (hence agent (law), agent) for professional sports figures such as athletes and coaches. They procure and negotiate employment and Testimonial, endorsement contracts for the principal (commercial law), at ...

on June 26, two days before the draft, losing his eligibility to play in college. With analysts being skeptical on his reliability to play point guard, he was not drafted. Although analyst

Dick Vitale Richard "Dick" John Vitale (; born June 9, 1939), also known as "Dickie V", is an American basketball sportscaster. A former head coach in the college and professional ranks, he is well known for his 41-year tenure as a college basketball broadc ...

and others believed Washington had a shot to make an NBA roster as a free agent, he failed to do so after trying out with several teams during training camp.

Europe

He was later drafted by the Austin Toros of the D-League, but he instead chose to sign with PAOK Thessaloniki of the Greek League. In 2007, he led the ČEZ Nymburk team to the Czech Republic League title after leaving PAOK. He played in the ULEB Cup competition during the year with both clubs. In January 2008, Washington signed a 2-year contract with the Euroleague club

Aris Thessaloniki Athlitikos Syllogos Aris Thessalonikis, means Athletic Club Aris Thessaloniki (), is a major Greece, Greek multi-sport club founded on 25 March 1914 in Thessaloniki. Nicknamed ''God of War'', Aris was one of the strongest Greek clubs during t ...

, a team that competes in the Greek League. He was released by Aris after one season. At the end of October 2008, he signed a contract with the Russian Super League club Ural Great Perm. In July 2009, he signed a contract with Galatasaray Cafe Crown. In April 2010, he signed with Lottomatica Roma until the end of the season. In 2011, he joined the

Piratas de Quebradillas ''Piratas'' () is a Spanish adventure drama television series with comedy elements created by Carlos Portela and which stars Óscar Jaenada, Pilar Rubio and Silvia Abascal. It aired on Telecinco in 2011. Premise Set in the 18th century, the fi ...

. In the summer of 2011, he signed a contract with Türk Telekom. In January 2013, he joined Israeli side Hapoel Eilat, but only played 6 games with the team, averaging 11ppg and 1.3apg. Though highly praised in Eilat, his contract was bought out and in February, he moved to French side

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

. In July 2013, he joined Olin Edirne Basket in Turkey. On June 23, 2014, he signed with his former team ČEZ Nymburk for the 2014–15 season. On January 16, 2018, he returned to Greece and joined Iraklis Thessaloniki of the Greek A2 Basket League. On April 5, 2019, he signed with Macedonian basketball club Rabotnički. On May 4, 2020, he signed with Phoenix Brussels.

The Basketball Tournament (TBT)

In the summer of 2018, Washington competed in

The Basketball Tournament The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is an open-invitation, single-elimination tournament, single-elimination tournament played each summer in the United States, with the stakes being a cash prize (the most recent tournament in The Basketball Tournam ...

for Team DRC. In three games, he averaged 15.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game. His team was eliminated in Super 16 Round by Ram Nation. In the summer of 2019, he also competed in

. In two games for Bluff City, he averages 12.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1 steals per game. His team was eliminated in Round 2 of Memphis Regional Tournament by Louisiana United.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

, 18 , , 0 , , 8.1 , , .438 , , .333 , , .538 , , 1.1 , , .8 , , .3 , , .0 , , 2.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 18 , , 0 , , 8.1 , , .438 , , .333 , , .538 , , 1.1 , , .8 , , .3 , , .0 , , 2.9

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;" , 2007–08 , style="text-align:left;" , Aris , 9 , , 2 , , 22.6 , , .412 , , .400 , , .789 , , 2.8 , , 3.1 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , 10.2 , , 11.8 , - , style="text-align:left;" , 2010–11 , style="text-align:left;" , Roma , 16 , , 13 , , 26.5 , , .507 , , .300 , , .849 , , 3.0 , , 1.9 , , 1.1 , , .0 , , 13.0 , , 12.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 25 , , 15 , , 25.1 , , .477 , , .333 , , .824 , , 2.9 , , 2.4 , , 1.2 , , .1 , , 12.0 , , 12.0

NBA

Washington signed with the

on October 1, 2007, and was assigned to the Austin Toros of the NBA D-League in late November. He was called up in early December to take Tony Parker's spot on the roster while he healed from an injury; however, Washington was waived by the Spurs on December 28. He appeared in 18 games for the Spurs where he averaged 2.9 points and 1.1 rebounds in 8.1 minutes. He played with the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

during the 2008–09 NBA pre-season, but was waived by the team before the start of the regular season.

Macedonian national team

Washington was granted Macedonian citizenship , and he joined the Macedonian national basketball team.

In popular culture

The song "The Line" by

Phish Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon, drummer Jon Fishman, and keyboardist Page McConnell, all of whom perform vocals, with Anastasio being the ...

was written about the missed free throws at the conclusion of the 2005 C-USA Championship game. The song premiered in Atlantic City, New Jersey on October 31, 2013. However, during the performance, Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio mistakenly referred to Washington as having played for Michigan State, and the missed free throws as having taken place during the

Final Four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

.Trey Anastasio, 10/31/13