Jaleel "J. J." O'Brien (born April 8, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for

Tofaş Tofaş (acronym for ''Türk Otomobil Fabrikası Anonim Şirketi''; ''Turkish Automobile Factory Joint-Stock Company'' pronounced ) is a Turkish automobile manufacturer which was established in 1968 by Vehbi Koç, who was the founder of Koç Hold ...

of Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL) and the Basketball Champions League (BCL). He played college basketball for San Diego State and the University of Utah.

High school career

O'Brien attended the Alta Loma High School in

Rancho Cucamonga, California Rancho Cucamonga ( ) is a city located just south of the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains and Angeles National Forest in San Bernardino County, California, United States. About east of Downtown Los Angeles, Rancho Cucamonga is the 28th ...

. As a senior, he averaged 24 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.1 steals, earning a first-team all-league selection, being nominated for the McDonald's All-American and ended as Alta Loma's all-time leading scorer with 2,200 points.

College career

O'Brien began his basketball career with Utah. In his freshman season, he played in 22 games starting 21 averaging 6.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 27.7 minutes after missing 9 games due to a broken foot. The next year, O'Brien transferred to San Diego State and sat out that season. On his sophomore season, he played in all 34 games, starting 33 averaging 7.2 points on 52.6 percent shooting, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists. He scored in double figures in 10 of his final 16 outings, including six of his final 11 games, ending with 13 double-figures scoring. He was the Mountain West Player of the Week on January 28. As a junior, O'Brien played and started 35 of 36 games averaging a career-high 7.8 points and 4.7 rebounds also setting career highs in minutes played (27.9), free-throw percentage (.644) and three-point field-goal percentage (.278). All of this earned him an All-Mountain West Honorable Mention. As a senior with the Aztecs, O'Brien averaged 10.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists.

Professional career

After going undrafted in the 2015 NBA draft, O'Brien joined the Utah Jazz for the Utah Summer League, where he saw action in all three games, averaging 4.0 points and 2.3 rebounds in 13.0 minutes. He also played with Utah at the Las Vegas Summer League, owning averages of 4.6 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 18.8 minutes. On August 28, 2015, he signed with the Jazz, but was later waived by the team on October 13 after appearing in one preseason game. On November 1, 2015, he was acquired by the Idaho Stampede of the

NBA Development 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 ...

as an affiliate player of the Jazz. On November 13, he made his professional debut in a 110–106 loss to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, recording 12 points, three rebounds, two steals and two blocks in 42 minutes. On January 16, 2016, O'Brien signed a 10-day contract with the Jazz. Later that night, he made his NBA debut 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 ...

, recording one rebound and one steal in four minutes of action. On January 26, he returned to Idaho after his contract with the Jazz expired. At the season's end, he earned NBA D-League All-Rookie Team honors. In July 2016, O'Brien re-joined the Utah Jazz for the Utah Summer League, and then played for the Brooklyn Nets at the Las Vegas Summer League. On September 8, 2016, he signed with the Milwaukee Bucks, but was waived on October 22 after appearing in five preseason games. On October 31, he was re-acquired by the now Salt Lake City Stars. On August 23, 2017, O'Brien was selected by the

Agua Caliente Clippers The Ontario Clippers, formerly known as the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario, are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Ontario, California, and are affiliated with the Los Angeles Clippers. The team began play in ...

in the NBA G League expansion draft. He averaged 15.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game with the Clippers. On August 7, 2018, O'Brien signed with BC Astana in Kazakhstan. He signed with Monaco of the

LNB Pro A The LNB Pro A, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Betclic Élite, is the top-tier men's professional basketball league in France. The competition has existed since 1921. Since 1987, the Ligue Nationale de Basket has governed the league. ...

in 2019. O'Brien averaged 12.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game, shooting 52% from the field and 74% from the foul line. He re-signed with the team on July 16, 2020. On November 11, 2022, he signed with Nanterre 92 of the French Pro A. On July 4, 2023, he signed with

of Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL).

Career statistics

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Personal life

O'Brien is the son of Catherine O'Brien, a middle school teacher who played college basketball at

Notre Dame Notre Dame, French for "Our Lady", a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, most commonly refers to: * Notre-Dame de Paris, a cathedral in Paris, France * University of Notre Dame, a university in Indiana, United States ** Notre Dame Fighting Irish, th ...

. He has two sisters, Noelle and Malika.

References

External links

San Diego State bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:OBrien, J. J. 1992 births Living people American men's basketball players Agua Caliente Clippers players AS Monaco Basket players Basketball players from San Diego Idaho Stampede players Sportspeople from Rancho Cucamonga, California Salt Lake City Stars players San Diego State Aztecs men's basketball players Small forwards Basketball players from San Bernardino County, California Undrafted National Basketball Association players Utah Jazz players Utah Utes men's basketball players