Dion Waiters Jr. (born December 10, 1991) 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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player who played 8 seasons in 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) from 2012 to 2020. He 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 ...

for the

Syracuse Orange The Syracuse Orange are the college athletics in the United States, athletic teams that represent Syracuse University. The school is a member of NCAA Division I and the Atlantic Coast Conference. Until 2013, Syracuse was a member of the Big East ...

and was selected with the fourth overall pick in the

2012 NBA draft The 2012 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2012, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The draft started at 7:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (2300 UTC), and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National Basketball A ...

by 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 ...

. Waiters also played for 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 ...

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 Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

, and 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 ...

, where his team won an NBA championship.

Early life

Born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, to Dion Waiters Sr. and Monique Brown, Waiters was raised by his mother, who had him when she was 17; his father was in jail at the time of his birth. Four hours after Waiters was born, his grandmother died. Waiters grew up playing basketball wherever he could, regardless of weather or time of day. Away from basketball, his home life revolved around his mother and stepfather, James Barnes.

High school career

As a freshman, Waiters attended Bartram High School and

South Philadelphia High School South Philadelphia High School is a public secondary high school located in the Lower Moyamensing neighborhood of South Philadelphia, at the intersection of Broad Street and Snyder Avenue. The school serves grades 9 through 12 and is part of ...

in Philadelphia, but did not play basketball at either school. Waiters committed to Syracuse during the summer after his freshman year despite not having played a minute of high school basketball. In his sophomore year of high school, Waiters attended South Kent School. Waiters then played basketball at Life Center Academy his junior and senior years. Following his senior year, Waiters was ranked as the 15th best overall recruit according to

ESPNU ESPNU is an American multinational digital cable and satellite sports television channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remain ...

and ranked as the No. 2 best shooting guard in the ESPN 100. Waiters was also ranked as the 29th best overall recruit by Rivals.com.

College career

Freshman season

In his freshman season at Syracuse, Waiters averaged 6.6 points, 1.5 assists and 1.6 rebounds per game. In a second round loss to Marquette in the NCAA Tournament, Waiters shot 8-for-10 with 18 points.

Sophomore season

In his sophomore season at Syracuse, Waiters averaged 12.6 points, 2.5 assists and 2.3 rebounds per game. He was named the

Big East Conference The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

Sixth Man of the Year, earned third-team All-Big East honors, was named AP Honorable Mention All-American, and was selected to the All-Big East Tournament team.

Professional career

Cleveland Cavaliers (2012–2015)

Waiters was selected fourth overall in the

by the

despite choosing not to work out for any teams before the draft. This was a choice he made after receiving a promise from a team in the middle of the lottery that they would draft him if available. Many scouts also found it a surprise that Waiters was drafted so high because he did not start in college and played zone defense at Syracuse. On January 14, 2013, Waiters scored a career-high 33 points against the Sacramento Kings, doing so on 12-of-18 shooting. Waiters was selected to play in the Rising Stars Challenge game during 2013 NBA All-Star Weekend, along with teammates Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson, and Tyler Zeller. Waiters came off the bench to score 23 points for Team Shaq. Throughout his rookie season, Waiters both started and came off the bench for the Cavaliers. He was consistently bothered by a sprained ankle and loose cartilage in his knee, forcing him to miss 21 games over the year. After his rookie season, Waiters was graded as the fourth-best overall rookie by NBA.com and placed fifth in

NBA Rookie of the Year The National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the top rookie(s) of the regular season. Initiated following the 1952–53 NBA season, it confers the Eddie Gottlieb T ...

voting with 21 points. On February 14, 2014, Waiters participated in the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge. He finished the game with 31 points and 7 assists. On March 18, 2014, Waiters recorded his first career double-double with 17 points and a career-high 11 assists in a loss to the Miami Heat. On November 5, 2014, Waiters was absent for the U.S. national anthem and was quoted saying that he stayed in the locker room because of his Muslim faith. He later stated that the report about his religious beliefs having anything to do with him skipping the national anthem was entirely false.

Oklahoma City Thunder (2015–2016)

On January 5, 2015, Waiters was traded to the

from the Cavaliers in a three-team trade that also involved 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 ...

. Cleveland received Iman Shumpert and J. R. Smith from the Knicks and a first-round pick in the

2015 NBA draft The 2015 NBA draft was held on June 25, 2015, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. It was televised nationally in the U.S. by ESPN. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eli ...

from the Thunder, while Cleveland sent

Lou Amundson Louis Gabriel Amundson ( born December 7, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the UNLV Runnin' Rebels and professionally for 12 years, including 10 seasons in the National Basketball Assoc ...

, Alex Kirk, and a second-round pick in the

2019 NBA draft The 2019 NBA draft was held on June 20, 2019. It took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible p ...

to the Knicks, and the Thunder sent Lance Thomas to the Knicks. After a poor debut for the Thunder against the Sacramento Kings on January 7 where he scored 4 points on 1-of-9 shooting, he scored 15 points on 7-of-14 shooting two days later to help the Thunder defeat the Utah Jazz, 99–94. On April 15, 2015, in the team's final game of the season, Waiters tied his career-high with 33 points in a 138–113 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Waiters garnered a bench role for the Thunder in 2015–16 under new head coach

Billy Donovan William John Donovan Jr. (born May 30, 1965) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Before moving to the NBA, he served as the head ...

. He started in just two games for the team over the first half of the season, playing back up to André Roberson. On November 10, 2015, he scored a season-high 25 points in a 125–101 win over the Washington Wizards. With a knee injury to Roberson in late January, Donovan entrusted Waiters with stepping up to a starting role. On January 26, in his first start since November 22, Waiters scored 14 points in a 128–122 overtime win over the New York Knicks. He returned to the bench on February 24 following Roberson's return from injury. On April 6, he tied his season-high with 25 points in a 120–115 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. In Game 2 of the Thunder's semi-final series against the San Antonio Spurs, with San Antonio trailing 98–97 with 13.5 seconds remaining and Oklahoma City out of timeouts, Waiters elbowed Spurs guard

Manu Ginóbili Emanuel David "Manu" Ginóbili ( , ; born 28 July 1977) is an Argentine former professional basketball player. Credited for popularizing the Euro step move in the NBA, he is regarded as one of the greatest shooting guards and sixth men in the le ...

to get the space needed to inbound the ball. Following the game, Waiters and the referees were highly scrutinized by the public and media personnel. On June 27, 2016, the Thunder tendered a qualifying offer to make Waiters a

restricted free agent A restricted free agent (RFA) is a type of free agent in some sports leagues, such as the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), and National Basketball Association (NBA). Such players have special restrictions on the term ...

. However, on July 18, the Thunder rescinded their qualifying offer, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent.

Miami Heat (2016–2020)

On July 26, 2016, Waiters signed with the

. He made his debut for the Heat in their season opener on October 26 against the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

. In 34 minutes as a starter, he recorded nine points, six rebounds and four assists in a 108–96 win. On November 26, he scored a then season-high 28 points in a 110–107 loss 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 Southwest Division of the ...

. Four days later, he was ruled out for two weeks after an MRI revealed he had suffered a

Pectineus The pectineus muscle (, from the Latin word ''pecten'', meaning comb) is a flat, quadrangular muscle, situated at the anterior (front) part of the upper and medial (inner) aspect of the thigh. The pectineus muscle is the most anterior adductor o ...

tear. He returned to action on January 4, 2017, against 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 Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

after missing 20 straight games. On January 21, he tied a career-high with 33 points in a 109–97 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 ...

. Two days later, he made a three-pointer with 0.6 seconds left to cap his second-straight 33-point effort, as he lifted the Heat to a 105–102 win over the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

. He finished the game with six three-pointers on eight attempts. On January 30, 2017, he was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played Monday, January 23 through Sunday, January 29. Waiters led the Heat to a 4–0 week as Miami extended its winning streak to seven games. He averaged 23.3 points (tied for eighth in the East), 5.0 assists and 4.5 rebounds. Waiters missed the final 13 games of the season with an ankle injury, as the Heat missed a playoff spot with a ninth-seed finish and a 41–41 record. On July 7, 2017, Waiters re-signed with the Heat. On October 30, 2017, he tied his career high with 33 points in a 125–122 overtime loss to the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

. In January 2018, his long-problematic left ankle forced him to the sidelines indefinitely, and on January 22, he underwent successful surgery to repair instability in the left ankle. A preexisting navicular bone fracture was also repaired. On December 28, 2018, Waiters was sent to Miami's

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

affiliate team, the

Sioux Falls Skyforce The Sioux Falls Skyforce are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and are affiliated with the Miami Heat. The team has played its home games in the Sanford Pentagon since the 2013–14 ...

, for a rehabilitation assignment. On January 2, 2019, he made his return for the Heat, scoring seven points in six minutes in a 117–92 win over the

. It was his first game since December 22, 2017. Far from 100 percent fit, he played the game due to

Dwyane Wade Dwyane Tyrone Wade Jr. ( or , born January 17, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player who is currently the co-owner of the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association. He is also currently the host of the American a ...

being sidelined by a virus. His second game of the season came on January 8, scoring a team-high 15 points in a 103–99 loss to 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 ...

. On October 19, 2019, Waiters was suspended for Miami's 2019–20 season debut game for "conduct detrimental to the team." On November 8, Waiters missed a game against the

due to a

panic attack Panic attacks are sudden periods of intense fear and Comfort, discomfort that may include palpitations, otherwise defined as a Tachycardia, rapid, Arrhythmia, irregular Heart rate, heartbeat, Hyperhidrosis, sweating, chest pain or discomfort, s ...

he experienced while flying to the game. His panic attack stemmed from over-consumption of THC-infused edibles. Two days later, the Heat suspended Waiters for 10 games, including the previous game he missed, for the consumed edible. On December 12, the Heat suspended him again, this time for six games, for calling in to work with an illness, then posting a picture of himself on his

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

page on a boat celebrating his birthday. On January 24, 2020, Waiters made his season debut scoring 14 points in a 122–117 loss against the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The ...

. On February 6, 2020, Waiters was traded to the

in a three-team trade also involving the

and three days later, he was waived by the Grizzlies.

Los Angeles Lakers (2020)

On March 6, 2020, Waiters signed with the

. On July 30, 2020, he made his Lakers debut in a 103–101 win against the

, scoring 11 points. The Lakers went on to make the

2020 NBA Finals The 2020 NBA Finals was the NBA Finals, championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2019–20 NBA season, 2019–20 season and conclusion of 2020 NBA playoffs, the season's playoffs. In this best-of-seven playoff series, th ...

, facing the

. The Lakers beat the Heat in 6 games to give Waiters his first championship. On August 8, 2023, the

held a free agent workout with Waiters.

Hiatus

Waiters' most recent professional stint was in the

2019–20 NBA season The 2019–20 NBA season was the 74th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The regular season began on October 22, 2019, and originally was supposed to end on April 15, 2020. The 2020 NBA All-Star Game was played on February 16, ...

, before taking a break for three years. During his hiatus, he suffered from depression. On July 13, 2023, he held a private workout in front of

NBA 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 ...

scouts at the Victoria Fertitta Middle School, for a chance to re-join the league.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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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 ...

, 61 , , 48 , , 28.8 , , .412 , , .310 , , .746 , , 2.4 , , 3.0 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 14.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 70 , , 24 , , 29.6 , , .433 , , .368 , , .685 , , 2.8 , , 3.0 , , .9 , , .2 , , 15.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 33 , , 3 , , 23.8 , , .404 , , .256 , , .783 , , 1.7 , , 2.2 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , 10.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

, 47 , , 20 , , 30.3 , , .392 , , .319 , , .625 , , 2.9 , , 1.9 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , 12.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 78 , , 15 , , 27.6 , , .399 , , .358 , , .713 , , 2.6 , , 2.0 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , 9.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, 46 , , 43 , , 30.1 , , .423 , , .395 , , .646 , , 3.3 , , 4.3 , , .9 , , .4 , , 15.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 30 , , 30 , , 30.6 , , .398 , , .306 , , .739 , , 2.6 , , 3.8 , , .8 , , .3 , , 14.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 44 , , 28 , , 25.9 , , .414 , , .377 , , .500 , , 2.6 , , 2.8 , , .7 , , .2 , , 12.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 0 , , 14.0 , , .385 , , .471 , , .000 , , 3.7 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .7 , , 9.3 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", † , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 7 , , 0 , , 23.6 , , .425 , , .233 , , .875 , , 1.9 , , 2.4 , , .6 , , .6 , , 11.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 419 , , 211 , , 28.2 , , .412 , , .346 , , .694 , , 2.6 , , 2.8 , , .9 , , .3 , , 13.1

Playoffs

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2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

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, 18 , , 0 , , 27.3 , , .417 , , .375 , , .667 , , 2.6 , , 2.3 , , .6 , , .2 , , 8.4 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

† , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 5 , , 0 , , 7.6 , , .333 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , .4 , , .4 , , .2 , , .2 , , 2.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 23 , , 0 , , 23.0 , , .410 , , .350 , , .688 , , 2.1 , , 1.9 , , .5 , , .2 , , 7.0

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2010–11 , style="text-align:left;",

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

, 34 , , 0 , , 16.3 , , .411 , , .329 , , .813 , , 1.6 , , 1.5 , , 1.1 , , .1 , , 6.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2011–12 , style="text-align:left;",

, 37 , , 0 , , 24.1 , , .476 , , .363 , , .729 , , 2.3 , , 2.5 , , 1.8 , , .3 , , 12.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 71 , , 0 , , 20.4 , , .453 , , .348 , , .753 , , 1.9 , , 2.0 , , 1.5 , , .2 , , 9.7

Awards

* Second-team ''Parade'' All-American (2010) * Jordan Brand All-American (2010) * Big East Sixth Man of the Year (2012) * Third-team All-Big East (2012) * Big East All-Tournament Team (2012) * NBA Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month (February 2013) * NBA All-Rookie First Team (2013) * 2× NBA Rising Star (2013, 2014) * NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week (January 23–29, 2017)Dion Waiters becomes Miami Heat's first NBA Player of the Week in a year
/ref> * NBA Champion (2020)

References

External links

Syracuse Orange bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Waiters, Dion 1991 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen African-American Muslims American men's basketball players Basketball players from Philadelphia Cleveland Cavaliers draft picks Cleveland Cavaliers players Doping cases in basketball Life Center Academy alumni Los Angeles Lakers players Miami Heat players Muslims from Pennsylvania Oklahoma City Thunder players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Shooting guards South Kent School alumni Syracuse Orange men's basketball players