It is finally official for Kai Jones, the latest Bahamian basketball player to be drafted in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as he signed his contract with the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday.
Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. The Hornets President of Basketball Operations & General Manager Mitch Kupchak made the announcement on Tuesday. James Bouknight was also signed the same day.
He was selected in 19th overall in the 2021 NBA Draft that was held last week at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
It has been a busy week for the Bahamian as he did photoshoots, got introduced by the team and ended it with the signing of his contract. Now the forward-center turns his focus towards the 2021 NBA Summer League, where he will don the Hornets uniform to get his feet wet in the league.
The University of Texas Longhorns product made the moves to the pros after two seasons playing for Shaka Smart.
The 20-year-old has shown that he can be efficient from the field. In his sophomore year, his final season at Texas, he shot 58 percent from the field including shooting 38.2 percent from deep. Jones made his first 14 field goal attempts last season. He averaged 8.8 points per game, 4.8 rebounds and .92 blocks in 22.8 minutes per game in 26 games played.
Those stats were good enough to him being named the 2020-21 Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year. He was an All-Big 12 honorable mention.
He got on the basketball radar after he was an All-Star in the Basketball Without Borders camp that was held here in New Providence in 2017. A year later he was at the NBA Global Camp in Treviso, Italy.
Before playing for the Longhorns he was in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire playing for Brewster Academy. During the 2017-2018 season he played for Orlando Christian Preparatory in Orlando, Florida.
He is now the third active Bahamian NBA player. He joins the Sacramento Kings’ Chavano “Buddy” Hield and the Phoenix Suns’ DeAndre Ayton. Both players congratulated him via social media on his jump to the NBA.
The Bahamas Basketball Federation (BBF) sent out congratulations to the big man on his accomplishment.
“The Bahamas Basketball Federation wishes Kai the best, believing that he will fulfill the expectations of being a fine athletic ‘stretch big’, along with the complementary ability to attack the basket, an exceptional rim runner and an intimidating defensive wizard. There is no doubt that he will full out and strengthen his 6’11’’ frame to defend inside, this to go along with the rare ability of players his size to defend on the exterior, also. Remarkably, there is much ahead for him as he has only been playing the game of basketball formally for five years,” the statement noted.
Also sending congratulations on him being drafted was the Opposition Leader Philip Brave Davis.
“It is with tremendous pride that I extend congratulations to Kai Jones and his family and wish him winning success in the NBA,” Davis said in a statement. “Kai’s journey serves as an inspiration for particularly young Bahamians and offers the profound reminder that anything is possible if we dare to dream and put in the work.”
The MGM Resorts NBA Summer League gets underway at the Thomas and Mack Center, and Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada. Jones and the Hornets will play their first game on Sunday against the Portland Trailblazers at 6 p.m. (Eastern Time).
The post Jones signs with the Charlotte Hornets appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.
source https://thenassauguardian.com/jones-signs-with-the-charlotte-hornets/
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