Billy Garrett Jr.
Billy Garrett Jr. (born October 16, 1994) is an American professional basketball player who last played for Larisa of the Greek Basket League. He played college basketball for DePaul.
![]() Garrett with the Westchester Knicks in 2017 | |
Free agent | |
---|---|
Position | Shooting guard |
Personal information | |
Born | Chicago, Illinois | October 16, 1994
Nationality | American |
Listed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) |
Listed weight | 213 lb (97 kg) |
Career information | |
High school | Morgan Park (Chicago, Illinois) |
College | DePaul (2013–2017) |
NBA draft | 2017 / Undrafted |
Playing career | 2017–present |
Career history | |
2017–2019 | Westchester Knicks |
2019 | New York Knicks |
2019 | Élan Chalon |
2020 | Larisa |
Career highlights and awards | |
High school career
![](../I/m/20130316_IHSA_3A_championship_game_Billy_Garrett_(2).jpg)
Garrett's grandfather was Bill Garrett, the first African-American basketball player in the Big 10.[1] His father, Billy Garrett Sr., is a DePaul assistant coach. The younger Garrett attended Morgan Park High School. He committed to DePaul early in his high school career.[2] Garrett achieved basketball success despite being diagnosed with sickle cell disease.[3] When Wayne Blackshear graduated in 2011, Garrett became the focal point of the team as a junior.[4] As a senior, he led the team to the 2013 IHSA 3A championship over Cahokia High School.[5][6][7]
College career
![](../I/m/20170213_Villanova-Depaul_Billy_Garrett_moves_on_Eric_Paschall.jpg)
In January 2014, he nearly died from a sickle cell crisis. Garrett managed to rebound from his attack and win conference rookie of the year honors.[3] He averaged 12.4 points and 3.2 assists per game as a freshman.[8] As a junior, he averaged 12.6 points, 3.5 assists, and 2.9 rebounds per game on a 9-22 team. "It has been disappointing for me," Garrett said. "I wanted to come in and help change the culture and bring a positive outlook on DePaul basketball citywide and nationwide."[2] As a senior, he averaged 14.9 points per game while shooting 36 percent from three.[9] He was Big East Scholar-Athlete of the year as a senior. Garrett finished his career as DePaul's all-time leader in made free throws.[10]
Professional career
Westchester Knicks (2017–2019)
After going undrafted in the 2017 NBA Draft, Garrett did not play in the NBA Summer League. He joined the Westchester Knicks of the NBA G-League. Garrett increased his role on the team after Trey Burke was called up to the New York Knicks.[10] Garrett averaged 11.9 points, 2.7 boards, 2.5 assists and 1.0 steals in 27.1 minutes per game. On October 4, 2018, he signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the New York Knicks.[11]
New York Knicks (2019)
On April 2, 2019, the New York Knicks announced that they had signed Garrett to a 10-day contract.[12] He became the first NBA player with sickle-cell disease. In four games, he averaged 6.5 points per game.[13] In July 2019, Garrett joined the Phoenix Suns for the 2019 NBA Summer League.[14]
Élan Chalon (2019)
On July 25, 2019, Garrett signed a deal with French club Élan Chalon.[15]
The Basketball Tournament
Garrett joined House of 'Paign, a team comprised primarily of Illinois alumni in The Basketball Tournament 2020. He scored nine points in a 76-53 win over War Tampa in the first round.[17]
Career statistics
GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
NBA
Regular season
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018–19 | New York | 4 | 0 | 15.8 | .407 | .000 | 1.000 | .8 | 1.8 | .3 | .3 | 6.5 |
Career | 4 | 0 | 15.8 | .407 | .000 | 1.000 | .8 | 1.8 | .3 | .3 | 6.5 |
References
- Dauster, Rob (July 17, 2012). "Billy Garrett Jr. follows family's example in fight against sickle cell". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
- Helfgot, Mike (November 10, 2016). "DePaul preview: Billy Garrett Jr. has one more go-round to turn losing tide". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
- Haugh, David (January 25, 2015). "DePaul's Billy Garrett Jr. not letting sickle cell disease slow him down". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
- Powers, Scott (November 21, 2011). "Top 20 boys basketball preview". ESPN. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
- "Class 3A Boys Basketball Brackets — 2012-13". Illinois High School Association. March 18, 2013. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
- "Boys Basketball Class 3A State Final Results — 2012-13". Illinois High School Association. March 16, 2013. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
- "Chicago Morgan Park wins the IHSA Class 3A Championship". Peoria Journal Star. March 16, 2013. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
- Hamilton, Brian (March 6, 2014). "DePaul star freshman Billy Garrett Jr. thrives in defiance of his disease". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
- Hudrick, Paul (June 13, 2017). "Billy Garrett shares Sixers' desire to win after 4 straight losing seasons at DePaul". NBC Sports. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
- Stack, Dan (February 8, 2018). "Billy Garrett Jr. chases dream in the G League". 247 Sports. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
- "Knicks' Billy Garrett: Signing with Knicks". CBS Sports. October 4, 2018. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
- "Billy Garrett Inks 10-Day Contract with New York Knicks". NBA.com. April 2, 2019. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
- Price, Khobi (July 24, 2019). "Billy Garrett Jr., the only NBA player with sickle cell disease, is an inspiration". Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
- Cunningham, Cody (July 10, 2019). "Lecque Hits Game-Winning Free Throws as Suns Defeat Spurs". NBA.com. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
- "Billy Garrett nouvel arriere de L'Elan Chalon". elanchalon.com (in French). July 25, 2019. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
- "Billy Garrett va tenter de rebondir en Grèce, à Larissa". Bebasket.fr (in French). Retrieved January 4, 2020.
- Richey, Scott (July 4, 2020). "Thrive and advance". The News-Gazette. Retrieved July 5, 2020.