Antonio Blakeney
Antonio Davon Blakeney (born October 4, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Jiangsu Dragons of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for the LSU Tigers.
.JPG) | |
| No. 2 – Jiangsu Dragons | |
|---|---|
| Position | Shooting guard |
| League | CBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | October 4, 1996 Watertown, New York |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Listed weight | 192 lb (87 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Oak Ridge (Orlando, Florida) |
| College | LSU (2015–2017) |
| NBA draft | 2017 / Undrafted |
| Playing career | 2017–present |
| Career history | |
| 2017–2019 | Chicago Bulls |
| 2017–2018 | →Windy City Bulls |
| 2019–present | Jiangsu Dragons |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
High school career
Born in Watertown, New York,[1] Blakeney was a 2015 McDonald's All-American[2] and Florida's Mr. Basketball.[3] He finished the 2014-15 season averaging 29 points, 6.9 rebounds as well as 2.7 assists for Oak Ridge High School in Orlando, Florida.
Blakeney was rated as a 5 star recruit by Rivals, ESPN, and 247 Sports. Rivals had him as the #13 overall recruit, while ESPN had him at #15 and 247 at #16. Both ESPN and 247 ranked him as the #3 SG in the nation.[4][5][6]
College career
Blakeney initially gave a verbal commitment to the University of Louisville, but then Blakeney changed his mind about 10 days later and decommitted. Blakeney ended up committing to Louisiana State University. At Louisiana State University he was featured in 34 games as a freshman, playing alongside Ben Simmons. Behind Simmons and Keith Hornsby, Blakeney was LSU's third-leading scorer in 2015-16, averaging 12.6 points a contest,[7] hitting a team-best 52 three-point shots on the season.
The 2016–17 season saw him emerge as LSU's leading scorer, pouring in 17.2 points per contest, while corralling 4.8 rebounds a game and handing out 1.7 assists per outing. Blakeney took home an All-SEC Second Team selection that year.[8] In April 2017, he announced to forgo the remaining two years of his eligibility and declared for the 2017 NBA draft.[9]
Professional career
Chicago Bulls (2017–2019)
After going undrafted, Blakeney joined the Chicago Bulls for the 2017 NBA Summer League.[10] Based on his performance there, Blakeney was signed to a two-way contract by the Bulls. Under the terms of the deal, he split time between the Bulls and their G League affiliate, the Windy City Bulls.[11] He made his professional debut with Chicago on October 19 against the Toronto Raptors. On November 21, 2017, Blakeney scored 15 points in 18 minutes off the bench in a 113-105 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.[12] He won the NBA G League Rookie of the Year Award for his time with the Windy City Bulls.[13]
On July 19, 2018, Blakeney was signed to an NBA contract by the Bulls.[14]
In the season opener on October 18, 2018, Blakeney scored 15 points off the bench in a 127–108 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.[15] In a 107-105 loss to the Indiana Pacers on November 2, 2018, Blakeney scored a career-high 22 points off the bench.[16]
On September 9, 2019 Blakeney was released by the Bulls.[17]
Jiangsu Tigers
In September Blakeney signed with the Jiangsu Dragons of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). In 4 games, Blakeney averaged 36.3 points per game and 6.5 rebounds per game before the league was suspended due to COVID–19 pandemic. He returned to the Dragons in June 2020 upon the recommencement of the 2019–20 CBA season.[18]
The Basketball Tournament
On March 31, Florida TNT announced Blakeney would suit up for them in the 2020 The Basketball Tournament.
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
References
- "Class of 2015 prospect - Antonio Blakeney". rivals.com. 17 January 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
- Kaberon, Eli. "Simmons, Blakeney lead East to victory at McDonald's All-American game". OrlandoSentinel.com. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
- "LSU-bound Antonio Blakeney named Florida Mr. Basketball ahead of Ben Simmons". NOLA.com. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
- "Antonio Blakeney Basketball Recruit". Rivals.com. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
- "Basketball Recruiting - Antonio Blakeney". ESPN. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
- "Antonio Blakeney, Oak Ridge, Shooting Guard". 247 Sports. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
- "Antonio Blakeney Has The Potential To Be A Star For LSU - TU". www.todaysu.com. Archived from the original on 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
- "LSU's Antonio Blakeney named second-team All-SEC". NOLA.com. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
- "Blakeney, LSU's top scorer, entering NBA draft". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
- "2017-18 NBA Undrafted Free Agent List: Summer League rosters". CSN Mid-Atlantic. 2017-06-23. Retrieved 2017-07-01.
- "BULLS SIGN BLAKENEY TO TWO-WAY CONTRACT". Chicago Bulls. July 14, 2017. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
- "Antonio Blakeney". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-03-01.
- "Windy City's Antonio Blakeney Named 2017-18 NBA G League Rookie of the Year". OurSportsCentral.com. April 5, 2018.
- https://www.nba.com/bulls/news/bulls-sign-antonio-blakeney
- "Simmons triple-double leads 76ers past Bulls 127-108". ESPN.com. October 18, 2018. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
- "Oladipo leads balanced Pacers past Bulls 107-105". ESPN.com. November 2, 2018. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
- "Bulls waive Blakeney". NBA.com. September 9, 2019. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
- "CBA highlights on Jun. 28: Yi Jianlian is CBA career rebound leader". CGTN. June 28, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2020.