Mojave King

Mojave King (born 11 June 2002) is a New Zealand-American professional basketball player for the NBA G League Ignite of the NBA G League. He previously played for the Southland Sharks of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL).

Mojave King
King with the NBA Global Academy in 2020
No. 7 – NBA G League Ignite
PositionShooting guard
LeagueNBA G League
Personal information
Born (2002-06-11) 11 June 2002
Dunedin, New Zealand
NationalityNew Zealand / American
Listed height195 cm (6 ft 5 in)
Listed weight88 kg (194 lb)
Career information
High schoolBrisbane State
(Brisbane, Queensland)
Playing career2018–present
Career history
2018Brisbane Capitals
2019BA Centre of Excellence
2020–2021Cairns Taipans
2021–2022Adelaide 36ers
2022Southland Sharks
2022–presentNBA G League Ignite
Career highlights and awards

Early life and career

King was born in Dunedin, New Zealand and was named after the Mojave Desert in the southwestern United States.[1][2]

In 2007, at the age of four, Mojave moved with his family to Mackay, Queensland when his father accepted a role to coach the Mackay Meteors in Australia's semi-professional Queensland Basketball League.[3] The family settled in Brisbane four years later when the father accepted a position to coach the Brisbane Spartans in the South East Australian Basketball League.[4] Mojave attended Brisbane State High School as a teenager.[4]

In January 2019, King joined the NBA Global Academy, a training center at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra. In association with the academy, he played for BA Centre of Excellence in the NBL1, an Australian semi-professional league.[4] Later that year, King represented Queensland South at the Australian Under-18 Championships, where he led the competition in scoring with 26.6 points per game.[4] At the NBA Academy Games in Atlanta, Georgia in July 2019, he averaged a tournament-high 19.2 points per game.[2]

Professional career

On 12 March 2020, at the age of 17, King signed with the Cairns Taipans of the National Basketball League (NBL) as a part of the league's Next Stars program to develop NBA draft prospects.[5][6] By joining the NBL, he turned down offers from several NCAA Division I programs, including Arizona, Baylor, Oregon and Virginia.[7] During the 2020–21 season, King averaged 6.2 points and 2.4 rebounds.[8] On 14 July 2021, King was transferred to the Adelaide 36ers for the final year of his Next Stars contract.[9]

On 19 April 2022, King signed with the Southland Sharks for the 2022 New Zealand NBL season.[10]

On 7 September 2022, King signed a contract with the NBA G League Ignite.[11][12] He was named to the G League's inaugural Next Up Game for the 2022–23 season.[13]

National team

King is a dual citizen of New Zealand and the United States.[14] His intention in 2019 was to obtain Australian citizenship in order to represent the Australian national team.[14][15]

Personal life

King is the son of Tracey and Leonard King. His father, Leonard, is from the United States and is of Native American as well as African American descent.[2] Leonard played and coached professionally in New Zealand.[2][1][16] King's mother, Tracey, is a New Zealand native and played NCAA basketball for Duquesne.[15] His older sister, Tylah, played for Pacific in the NCAA.[2] King's maternal grandfather, John Paul, coached basketball in Otago for over 50 years and is one of the region's most prominent basketball figures.[1]

References
  1. Cheshire, Jeff (10 April 2019). "Young Dunedin-born player turning heads in US". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  2. Glier, Ray (8 August 2019). "From Down Under, With a Nod to the Mojave Desert, Comes a New Hoops Star". OZY Media. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  3. Payne, Charlie (13 January 2011). "Gypsy king moving on from Mackay". Daily Mercury. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  4. "Meet Mojave King: Brisbane's next NBA prospect". The Pick and Roll. 11 November 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  5. "Mojave King Joins Cairns Taipans as NBL Next Star". NBL. 12 March 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  6. Uluc, Olgun (13 March 2020). "Mojave King signs with Cairns Taipans as part of NBL's Next Stars program". Fox Sports. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  7. Daniels, Evan (12 March 2020). "Mojave King bypasses college options to sign with NBL". 247Sports. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  8. "Mojave King". www.NBL.com.au. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  9. "Mojave King Moves to Adelaide 36ers for NBL22". NBL.com.au. 14 July 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  10. "Sharks score coup to sign NBA prospect King". sharksbasketball.co.nz. 19 April 2022. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  11. "Mojave King, Leonard Miller officially signs contracts with G League Ignite". 7 September 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  12. "Mojave King, Leonard Miller Sign With NBA G League Ignite". ignite.gleague.nba.com. 7 September 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  13. "Wolves' Garza And Ignite's Henderson Named Captains For NBA G League Next Up Game". NBA G League. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  14. "Meet Mojave King: Brisbane's next NBA prospect". pickandroll.com.au. 11 November 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  15. Santamaria, Liam (11 April 2019). "Meet Mojave King: Australian Basketball's Next Big Thing". NBL. Archived from the original on 16 March 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  16. Kossatch, Nick (6 December 2015). "Elite coach praises local basketball talent". Gladstone Observer. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
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