Théo Louis Maledon (born 12 June 2001; pronounced ) is a French 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 for the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...

of the

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

(NBA), on a

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...

with the

Greensboro Swarm The Greensboro Swarm are an American basketball team of the NBA G League based in Greensboro, North Carolina, and are affiliated with the Charlotte Hornets. The Swarm play their home games at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex#Fieldhouse, Greensbor ...

of the

NBA G 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 De ...

. He plays the point guard position. Born in

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the region of Normandy and the department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, the population ...

, Maledon played youth basketball for French sports institute

INSEP INSEP, the National Institute of Sport, Expertise, and Performance (Institut national du sport, de l'expertise et de la performance), is a French training institute and center for excellence in sports that trains elite athletes. It is located on th ...

before joining the youth ranks of ASVEL at age 16. One year later, at the senior level, he became the youngest LNB All-Star in history and won the

LNB Pro A Best Young Player The LNB Pro A Best Young Player Award (french: Meilleur Jeune de LNB Pro A) is an annual 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 co ...

award. He helped ASVEL win Pro A and

French Cup The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and professional ...

titles, while being named French Cup Final Most Valuable Player (MVP). At the youth international level, Maledon won a gold medal with

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

at the

2016 FIBA U16 European Championship The 2016 FIBA U16 European Championship was the 30th edition of the European Under-16 Basketball Championship. Sixteen teams participated in the competition, held in Radom, Poland, from 12 to 20 August 2016. Bosnia and Herzegovina, the defending ...

and a silver medal at the 2018 FIBA Under-17 World Cup. He has also played for the senior national team.

Early life and career

Maledon was born on 12 June 2001 in

in Normandy, France. At age three, Maledon began playing basketball with his local club Mesnil-Esnard in

Seine-Maritime Seine-Maritime () is a department of France in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre. Until 1955 it was named Seine-Infér ...

. After reaching the under-11 age group, he moved to SPO Rouen, the most prominent club in his area. In 2015, at age 14, Maledon joined the National Institute of Sport, Expertise, and Performance (

), a sports institute in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

, on a scholarship. In the 2015–16 season, he played three games for INSEP-affiliated team

Centre Fédéral de Basket-ball Centre Fédéral de Basket-ball (), shortly CFBB, is a French basketball club, based in Paris. The club's squads are filled with players from the training institute INSEP. The first team of the club currently plays in the Nationale Masculine 1, the ...

in the

Nationale Masculine 1 The Nationale Masculine 1, abbreviated as NM1, ( English: National Male 1), is the professional level third-tier division of men's club basketball in France. The two top teams from each season of the competition are promoted to the LNB Pro B, wh ...

(NM1), the amateur third-tier division of French basketball, and two games for INSEP's under-18 team in the

Adidas Next Generation Tournament The Euroleague Basketball Next Generation Tournament is an international boy's youth age basketball tournament that is contested between the best basketball clubs in Europe in the Under-18 age category. The tournament is organized by Euroleague Ba ...

(ANGT). In 2016–17, Maledon became a regular starter with Centre Fédéral in the NM1, where he averaged 8.2 points, 2.4

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

, and 2.7 assists in 25.6 minutes per game. He scored a season-best 20 points, along with five rebounds and four assists, in a 23 April 2017 loss to . In the same month, Maledon took part in the

Jordan Brand Classic The Jordan Brand Classic is a high school All-Star basketball game played annually in April. The game's rosters feature the best and most highly recruited high school boys in the senior class including alumns like Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, B ...

Global Showcase at the

Barclays Center Barclays Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The arena is home to the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association and the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association. The ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

, where he scored 15 points.

Professional career

ASVEL (2017–2020)

2017–18 season

On 16 June 2017, Maledon joined the junior team of

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 ...

club

ASVEL ASVEL Basket, commonly known as ASVEL or sometimes as ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne, and also known as LDLC ASVEL for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional basketball team that is located in the city of Villeurbanne, which is a suburb of Lyon ...

that played in the , the French U21 league. In his season debut on 24 September 2017, he recorded 10 points and five assists in a 71–61 win over Espoirs

Limoges Limoges (, , ; oc, Lemòtges, locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region ...

. Maledon made his Pro A debut for the senior team on 30 September at age 16, playing one minute versus

Cholet Cholet (, , probably from Latin ''cauletum'', "cabbage") is a commune of western France in the Maine-et-Loire department. With 54,307 inhabitants (2019), it is the second most populous commune of Maine-et-Loire, after the prefecture Angers. G ...

. He became the second youngest debutant in club history. On 17 October, he made his first appearance in the EuroCup against

ratiopharm Ulm Ratiopharm Ulm, officially stylized as ratiopharm Ulm, is a professional basketball club based in Ulm, Germany. The club has two teams, one professional team, which plays in the Basketball Bundesliga, the major German professional league and one ...

. In January 2018, Maledon played for ASVEL's under-18 team at the ANGT in L'Hospitalet. He recorded 35 points and 11 assists on 7 January to help defeat the junior team of

Gran Canaria Gran Canaria (, ; ), also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, an archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa which is part of Spain. the island had a population of that co ...

in his final game in the tournament. On 12 May 2018, Maledon scored 26 points against Espoirs

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word ...

, his season-high in the LNB Espoirs. Through 33 Espoirs games, he averaged 15.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game. During summer 2018, he graduated high school one year in advance with major in science.

2018–19 season

On 13 August 2018, Maledon signed his first professional contract, agreeing to remain with ASVEL for three years. In the 2018–19 season, he assumed a greater role for the senior team and frequently made its starting lineup. On 6 October, Maledon recorded 15 points, four rebounds, and four assists, making six of seven

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...

attempts, in an 88–64 victory over Fos Provence. His of 22 in the game was the most by a Pro A player under age 18 since

Tony Parker William Anthony Parker Jr. (born 17 May 1982) is a French-American former professional basketball player and majority owner of ASVEL Basket in LNB Pro A. Himself the son of a basketball pro, Parker started his career at Paris Basket Racing in ...

recorded a ranking of 24 against

BCM Gravelines Basket Club Maritime Gravelines-Dunkerque, commonly referred to as BCM Gravelines-Dunkerque, is a French professional basketball club based in Gravelines. They currently play in the Pro A, the highest professional league in France. The team plays ...

in 1999. On 3 November, Maledon recorded a career-high 16 points, four rebounds, and two steals against

JDA Dijon Jeanne d'Arc Dijon Basket, commonly known as JDA Dijon Basket or simply Dijon, is a professional basketball club from the city of Dijon, France. The club currently plays in the LNB Pro A, the French first tier division. The club has won the Frenc ...

. He eclipsed his career-high on 18 November versus Le Mans Sarthe, when he recorded 20 points, four assists, and two steals. On 18 December 2018, against

Zenit Saint Petersburg Football Club Zenit (russian: link=no, Футбольный клуб «Зенит» ), also known as Zenit Saint Petersburg or simply Zenit, is a Russian professional football club based in Saint Petersburg. Founded in 1925 (or in 1914, acc ...

, Maledon had 13 points, along with seven rebounds and three assists, for his best scoring effort in the EuroCup. He recorded 18 points, five assists, two steals, and a career-best ranking of 26, against Levallois on 26 December. Maledon played in the

LNB All-Star Game The LNB All-Star Game is the annual All-Star Game that is organised by France's professional club basketball governing body, the LNB. The LNB organizes both of the top two French men's pro club competitions, the top-level LNB Pro A, and the secon ...

on 29 December, and at age 17 and a half, became the youngest All-Star since the event was created in 1987. On 12 May 2019, he scored a team-high 13 points in a 70–61 win over Le Mans in the

championship and was named Final MVP. Maledon was named

at the end of the season. In June 2019, he helped ASVEL win the Pro A finals over Monaco. In a total of 62 games in the season, Maledon averaged seven points, 2.1 rebounds, and two assists in 17.3 minutes per game.

2019–20 season

Entering the 2019–20 season, Maledon was considered the favorite to win the

EuroLeague Rising Star The EuroLeague Rising Star in an annual award of the EuroLeague, which is the top-tier level European-wide professional club basketball league, that is given to the player the EuroLeague deems its "top rising star". The award began in the 2004� ...

award by the league's website. In his season opener, a Pro A win over

on 22 September 2019, he recorded six points and eight assists in 19 minutes. On 4 October, Maledon made his EuroLeague debut, playing nine minutes in a victory over

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

. In his subsequent game, two days later against

, he suffered a shoulder injury that forced him to miss over one month of action. On 17 January 2020, Maledon recorded a career-high 10 assists, along with five points and six rebounds, in a 101–74 loss to Anadolu Efes. One week later, he scored 19 points, his best mark in the EuroLeague, in a 100–88 loss to Panathinaikos. On 14 February, Maledon matched his career high in scoring with 20 points in an 88–59 victory over

Metropolitans 92 Metropolitans 92 is a French professional basketball club that is based in Levallois-Perret, in the Paris metropolitan area. The club currently plays in the LNB Pro A, the highest-tier level in French basketball. The club was established in 2007 ...

at the

LNB Pro A Leaders Cup The LNB Pro A Leaders Cup, or French Basketball League Cup, is the annual national league cup competition for teams from the top-tier level of French professional basketball, the LNB Pro A. It was created in its current form in 2003 (after origi ...

semifinals. On 5 April, while the basketball season was suspended due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

, he declared for the

2020 NBA draft The 2020 NBA draft was held on November 18, 2020. The draft was originally scheduled to be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on June 25, but due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it was instead conducted at ESPN's facilities in Bristol, Connecti ...

. Maledon finished the season averaging 7.3 points, 2.7 assists, and 1.9 rebounds in 17.3 minutes per game, through 46 combined appearances in the EuroLeague, Pro A and Leaders Cup.

Oklahoma City Thunder (2020–2022)

Maledon was selected with the 34th overall pick by the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known 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 league's Ea ...

in the 2020 NBA draft. On 8 December 2020, Maledon's draft rights were traded 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 league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...

, and the next day, he signed a contract. On September 30, 2022, Maledon was traded, along with

Derrick Favors Derrick Bernard Favors (born July 15, 1991) is an American professional basketball player who is currently a free agent. Favors played college basketball for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets for one season before being selected by the New Jersey N ...

Ty Jerome Ty Jeremy Jerome (born July 8, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA G League. He played colle ...

Maurice Harkless Maurice José "Moe" Harkless (born May 11, 1993) is an American-Puerto Rican professional basketball player who is currently a free agent. He played college basketball for the St. John's Red Storm men's basketball, St. John's Red Storm before bei ...

, and a future second-round pick, 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 team of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Divisio ...

in exchange for

David Nwaba David Ugochukwu Nwaba (born January 14, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Motor City Cruise of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for Santa Monica College and Cal Poly. High school career Nwaba attended ...

, Sterling Brown,

Trey Burke Alfonso Clark "Trey" Burke III (born November 12, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Stockton Kings of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines where in the 2012–13 season, he earne ...

, and

Marquese Chriss Marquese De'Shawn Chriss (born July 2, 1997) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Washington Huskies and was sele ...

. On October 11, he was waived.

Charlotte Hornets (2022–present)

On October 15, 2022, Maledon signed a contract with the

National team career

French junior national team

Maledon made his youth debut for

at the 2016 FIBA Under-16 European Championship in

Radom Radom is a city in east-central Poland, located approximately south of the capital, Warsaw. It is situated on the Mleczna River in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), having previously been the seat of a separate Radom Voivodeship (1975–1 ...

, Poland. Through seven games, he averaged 8.4 points, four rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game. Maledon played for the French team at the 2017 FIBA Under-16 European Championship in

Podgorica Podgorica (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Подгорица, ; Literal translation, lit. 'under the hill') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city was formerly known as Titograd ...

, Montenegro. He averaged 14.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game through seven contests, scoring 20 points in the final against Montenegro to help France win the gold medal. Maledon was named captain for France at the

2018 FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup The 2018 FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup (Spanish: Copa del Mundo de Baloncesto FIBA Sub-17 2018) was the 5th edition of the FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup, the biennial international men's youth basketball championship contested by the U17 ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

. Through seven games, he averaged 11.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game as France finished in second place.

French senior national team

On 24 February 2019, Maledon debuted for the French senior national team during the 2019 FIBA World Cup qualification stage. He played 15 minutes, recording three points and three rebounds, in a 76–69 loss to

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

. On 7 August, Maledon scored 14 points, making 4–of–5 field goal attempts, in a 94–56 victory over

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

in preparation for the World Cup. He was among the final cuts from France's World Cup roster, in part due to a shoulder injury.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , 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 capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, an ...

, 65 , , 49 , , 27.4 , , .368 , , .335 , , .748 , , 3.2 , , 3.5 , , .9 , , .2 , , 10.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 51 , , 7 , , 17.8 , , .375 , , .293 , , .790 , , 2.6 , , 2.2 , , .6 , , .2 , , 7.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 116 , , 56 , , 23.2 , , .371 , , .322 , , .766 , , 2.9 , , 2.9 , , .8 , , .2 , , 8.8

EuroCup

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

, 18 , , 12 , , 17.8 , , .409 , , .351 , , .826 , , 2.4 , , 2.1 , , .4 , , .2 , , 7.1

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;",

, 22 , , 12 , , 17.7 , , .456 , , .367 , , .689 , , 1.8 , , 3.1 , , .3 , , .1 , , 7.4

Personal life

Both of Maledon's parents played basketball: his mother, Sylvie, with the French junior national team, and his father, Claude, in the NM1. His uncle, Dominique Guéret, was an assistant coach for

LNB Pro B The LNB Pro B, commonly known as Pro B, is the 2nd-tier level men's professional basketball league in France. It is the second division of the Ligue Nationale de Basket (LNB), which has organized the league since the year 1987. The regular seaso ...

club ALM Évreux, and his older sister, Lena, plays

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

in the United States and his little brother Matys plays in Montville, France.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maledon, Théo 2001 births Living people ASVEL Basket players Black French sportspeople Charlotte Hornets players French expatriate basketball people in the United States French men's basketball players National Basketball Association players from France Oklahoma City Blue players Oklahoma City Thunder players Philadelphia 76ers draft picks Point guards Sportspeople from Rouen