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Bernard James

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Bernard James
James with the Mavericks in 2013
Personal information
Born (1985-02-07) February 7, 1985 (age 39)
Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight240 lb (109 kg)
Career information
High schoolWindsor Forest
(Savannah, Georgia)
College
NBA draft2012: 2nd round, 33rd overall pick
Selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers
Playing career2012–2017
PositionCenter
Number5, 55
Career history
2012–2014Dallas Mavericks
2014→Texas Legends
2014Texas Legends
2014–2015Shanghai Sharks
2015Dallas Mavericks
2015–2016Shanghai Sharks
2016Galatasaray
2017Limoges CSP
2017Anhui Dragons
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Bernard Ronald James (born February 7, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for Florida State University. He is also the oldest player ever to be drafted in the National Basketball Association (NBA) at 27 years and 148 days old.[2]

Background

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In a 2012 piece for The Tipoff, the magazine of the United States Basketball Writers Association, ESPN.com writer Dana O'Neil called James

...the most unconventional of high school dropouts, a kid who grew disenchanted with the social hierarchy of school yet would head to Barnes & Noble to read on the days that he cut.[1]

After dropping out, he earned his GED, and shortly afterwards enlisted in the United States Air Force while still 17.[1] He served six years in the Air Force as a security forces specialist, attaining the rank of Staff Sergeant. He was assigned to the 9th Security Forces Squadron at Beale Air Force Base[3][4] and deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom to Iraq, Qatar, and Afghanistan.[5]

He initially planned to have a career in the military, but was drafted onto an intramural basketball team at his base. During this time, he underwent a late growth spurt of 5 inches (13 cm), and soon rose through the ranks of military basketball to the Air Force's all-star team. This in turn led him to pursue basketball as a potential career path; when his enlistment term expired, he left the Air Force and enrolled at Tallahassee Community College so that he could eventually fully qualify for NCAA Division I.[1]

Professional career

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James was selected as the 33rd overall pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2012 NBA draft. He was later traded to the Dallas Mavericks in a draft night trade that included the 24th overall pick Jared Cunningham and the 34th overall pick Jae Crowder. The Cavaliers received guard Kelenna Azubuike and the 17th overall pick Tyler Zeller.[6][7]

On July 25, 2012, James signed with the Dallas Mavericks.[8] On July 19, 2013, he was waived by the Mavericks, but he was quickly re-signed on July 26.[9][10]

On February 27, 2014, James was assigned to the Texas Legends of the NBA D-League.[11] He was recalled the next day.

On September 3, 2014, James re-signed with the Mavericks.[12] However, he was later waived by the Mavericks on October 25, 2014.[13] On November 3, 2014, he was acquired by the Texas Legends as an affiliate player.[14] After playing in the Legends' first two games of the season, he left the team in order to sign in China.[15] On November 21, 2014, he signed with the Shanghai Sharks for the 2014–15 CBA season.[16]

On February 11, 2015, James signed a 10-day contract with the Dallas Mavericks, returning to the franchise for a second stint.[17] He signed a second 10-day contract with the Mavericks on February 21,[18] and for the rest of the season on March 3.[19]

On July 31, 2015, James re-signed with the Shanghai Sharks for the 2015–16 CBA season.[20] On March 12, 2016, he signed with Galatasaray of Turkey for the rest of the 2015–16 Turkish Basketball Super League season.[21] In early May 2016, he left Galatasaray.[22]

On January 6, 2017, James signed with French club Limoges CSP for the rest of the 2016–17 Pro A season.[23] On February 7, 2017, he parted ways with Limoges after appearing in two games.[24]

NBA career statistics

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Legend
  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

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2012–13 Dallas 46 11 9.9 .515 .000 .610 2.8 .1 .3 .8 2.8
2013–14 Dallas 30 0 4.9 .478 .000 .545 1.4 .1 .1 .3 .9
2014–15 Dallas 16 2 9.9 .444 .000 .870 2.4 .3 .1 .9 2.8
Career 92 13 8.3 .497 .000 .680 2.3 .1 .2 .7 2.2

Playoffs

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2014 Dallas 2 0 4.0 .000 .000 .000 .5 .0 .5 .0 .0
2015 Dallas 1 0 2.0 .000 .000 .000 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0
Career 3 0 3.3 .000 .000 .000 .3 .0 .3 .0 .0

References

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  1. ^ a b c d O'Neil, Dane (March 2012). "Most Courageous honors go to Summitt, Florida State's James". The Tipoff. United States Basketball Writers Association. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
  2. ^ Beltran, Jess Matthew. "Bernard James: The 27-Year-Old Rookie". BleacherReport.com.
  3. ^ Beale Airman turned NBA pro Archived April 20, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ For Florida State Center, Military Was a Steadying Influence
  5. ^ Bernard James discusses path from Air Force serviceman to NBA rookie
  6. ^ Mavs add Kelenna Azuibuike to trade
  7. ^ Reaction: Mavs pick Bernard James, Jae Crowder
  8. ^ Mavs sign second round pick Bernard James
  9. ^ Center Bernard James is back with the Dallas Mavericks
  10. ^ Mavericks re-sign Bernard James
  11. ^ "MAVERICKS ASSIGN CROWDER, JAMES AND LARKIN TO TEXAS LEGENDS". Archived from the original on April 18, 2016. Retrieved February 28, 2014.
  12. ^ "Mavs Re-Sign Center Bernard James". Archived from the original on October 25, 2014. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
  13. ^ "Mavericks request waivers on Bernard James, Ivan Johnson and Doron Lamb". mavs.com. October 25, 2014. Archived from the original on October 25, 2014. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  14. ^ Training Camp Roster Archived 2014-11-06 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ Bernard James to play in China
  16. ^ "Shanghai Sharks land Bernard James". Sportando.com. November 21, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  17. ^ Mavericks sign Bernard James
  18. ^ Mavericks sign C Bernard James to another 10-day contract
  19. ^ "Mavericks sign Bernard James for remainder of season". Archived from the original on March 15, 2015. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  20. ^ "Former Dallas Maverick Bernard James signs with team in China". DallasNews.com. July 31, 2015. Archived from the original on October 5, 2015. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  21. ^ "Galatasaray announces Bernard James". Sportando.com. March 12, 2016. Archived from the original on April 7, 2016. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  22. ^ "Bernard James leaves Galatasaray". Sportando.com. May 2, 2016. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
  23. ^ "Le Limoges CSP recrute l'intérieur US Bernard JAMES". limogescsp.com (in French). January 6, 2017. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
  24. ^ "Information effectif". Limogescsp.com (in French). February 7, 2017. Archived from the original on February 11, 2017. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
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