Elijah Wayne Hughes (born March 10, 1998) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for the

CB Breogán Club Baloncesto Breogán, S.A.D., also known as Río Breogán for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in Lugo, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB. The club was founded in 1966 by the Varela-Portas brothers. The team pla ...

of the

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administered by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, w ...

. He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

East Carolina Pirates The East Carolina Pirates are the sport, athletic teams that represent East Carolina University (ECU), located in Greenville, North Carolina. All varsity-level sports teams participate at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA ...

and the

Syracuse Orange The Syracuse Orange are the college athletics in the United States, athletic teams that represent Syracuse University. The school is a member of NCAA Division I and the Atlantic Coast Conference. Until 2013, Syracuse was a member of the Big East ...

Early life

Hughes was born in

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ) is a city within the Poughkeepsie (town), New York, Town of Poughkeepsie, New York (state), New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, New York, Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsie i ...

and grew up in

Beacon, New York Beacon is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city located on the Hudson River in Dutchess County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population was 13,769. Beacon is part of the Kiryas ...

. He started playing basketball through the

Catholic Youth Organization Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) is an international Catholic youth movement founded by Bishop Bernard Sheil in Chicago in 1930. It became a major factor in the development of race relations in the US Catholic Church following World War II. ...

(CYO) and began playing on the

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...

(AAU) circuit for local coach, Kenney Dawson. Hughes became well-known in Beacon for his basketball ability, dominating games at Loopers Park.

High school career

Following his eighth-grade basketball season, Hughes was called up to the

varsity team A varsity team is the highest-level team in a sport or activity representing an educational institution. Varsity teams train to compete against each other during an athletic season or in periodic matches against rival institutions. At high schools ...

at Beacon High School in

. Early in high school, he mainly played the

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

position despite his exceptional size. After two years at the school, Hughes transferred to John F. Kennedy Catholic High School in

Somers, New York Somers is a Town (New York), town located in northern Westchester County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town had a population of 21,541. The nearby Metro-North Commuter Railroad provides service to Grand Central Terminal i ...

with hopes of receiving more exposure. As a junior, Hughes led his team to a 26–2 record and runners-up finish at the

Catholic High School Athletic Association The Catholic High School Athletic Association or CHSAA is a high school athletic association made up of Catholic high schools based in New York City, Long Island, Westchester and Buffalo. It is the largest Catholic high school athletic league ...

(CHSAA) championship. Hughes was named first-team Class A All-State and CHSAA Class A

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

(MVP). He scored 42 points against Jamesville Dewitt High School. After the season, he committed to play

for East Carolina. However, he struggled academically, in part due to the long commute and the school's competitive academic environment. To help improve his grades and meet

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA) requirements, Hughes transferred to

South Kent School South Kent School, a private all-boys boarding school in South Kent, Connecticut, United States, is located on a campus in western Litchfield County. It is sited on Spooner Hill east of Bull's Bridge, overlooking the former Housatonic Valle ...

, a

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

South Kent, Connecticut South Kent is a village located in Litchfield County, Connecticut, Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States, alongside the border with New York (state), New York, and within and part of Kent, Connecticut, Kent, Connecticut. South Kent has its ...

, and later attended

summer school Summer school (or summer university) is a school, or a program generally sponsored by a school or a school district, or provided by a private company, that provides lessons and activities during the summer vacation. Participation in summer school ...

. He became teammates with many other

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

prospects, including

Tremont Waters Tremont Waters (born January 10, 1998) is an American-Puerto Rican professional basketball player who last played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for the LSU Tigers, and was draft ...

and Myles Powell. Hughes was a three-star recruit and the No. 5 player in his state according to

247Sports 247Sports is an American network of websites that focus mainly on college recruiting, athletic recruitment in college football and college basketball, basketball. It is owned and operated by Paramount Global, Paramount. The website hosts a large ...

College career

Hughes began his collegiate career at East Carolina. As a freshman, he averaged 7.8 and 2.3 rebounds in 27 games, missing seven games due to injury. The Pirates finished 15–18, and Hughes gained weight due to the injury. His season-high 19 points came against

South Florida South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...

on December 28, 2016. Following the end of the season, Hughes announced that he would be leaving East Carolina. Hughes decided to transfer to

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

over an offer from

Seton Hall Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizab ...

. After redshirting a year due to NCAA transfer rules, during which he improved his strength and diet, Hughes was named a starter for the Orange going into his

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

sophomore season. He was the team's second leading scorer with 13.7 points per game while also averaging 4.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He took more three-pointers than any other teammate and made 36.9 percent of them. Hughes scored a career-high 25 points in the season-ending loss to Baylor in the NCAA tournament. Entering his junior season, Hughes was named to the watch list for the

Julius Erving Award The Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award is an annual basketball award given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the top men's collegiate small forward. Following the success of the Bob Cousy Award which had been awarde ...

, which honors the top collegiate

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three, is one of the five Basketball position, positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than Power forward (basketball), power forwards and Cent ...

. On February 11, 2020, Hughes left a game against

NC State North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina sy ...

early with a lower body injury. At the conclusion of the regular season, Hughes was selected to the First Team All-ACC. As a junior, Hughes averaged 19 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game. After the season, he declared for the

2020 NBA draft The 2020 NBA draft was held on November 18, 2020. The draft was originally scheduled to be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on June 25, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was instead conducted at ESPN's facilities in Bristol, Connecticut, wi ...

Professional career

Utah Jazz (2020–2022)

Hughes was selected with the 39th pick in the second round of the

by the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Confere ...

. His draft rights were traded to the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

. On November 24, 2020, the

announced that they had signed with Hughes. He was assigned to the

Salt Lake City Stars The Salt Lake City Stars are an American minor-league professional basketball team. They are a member of the NBA G League, based in the Salt Lake City suburb of West Valley City, Utah, and are affiliated with the Utah Jazz. Before the 2016–17 ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

on February 15, 2021.

Portland Trail Blazers (2022)

On February 9, 2022, Hughes was traded to the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

in a three-team trade.

Wisconsin Herd (2022–2024)

On November 3, 2022, Hughes was named to the opening night roster for the

Wisconsin Herd The Wisconsin Herd are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and are affiliated with the Milwaukee Bucks. The Herd play their home games at Oshkosh Arena. History On June 29, 2016, it was anno ...

. On July 3, 2023, Hughes signed with Manisa BB of the Turkish

Basketbol Süper Ligi The Basketball Super League (; TBSL), also known as the Türkiye Sigorta Basketbol Süper Ligi for sponsorship reasons, is the top men's professional basketball division of the Turkish basketball league system. It replaced the former Turkish Bas ...

, but on August 22, without having played a single game, he parted ways with the club for personal reasons. On October 19, he signed with the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

, but was waived two days later. Nine days later, he joined the

. On July 9, 2024, Hughes signed with Promitheas Patras of the

Greek Basket League The Greek Basketball League (GBL), and also known as the Stoiximan Greek Basketball League (GBL) for sponsorship reasons, is the Greek basketball league system, first tier level professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by the ...

, but never played for them.

Cleveland Charge (2024–2025)

On October 16, 2024, Hughes signed with the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

, but was waived two days later. On October 26, he joined the

Cleveland Charge The Cleveland Charge are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Cleveland, and are affiliated with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Since 2024, the team plays its home games at Public Auditorium in downtown Cleveland, thoug ...

CB Breogán (2025–present)

Hughes was announced as a new

player on April 12, 2025. Signing for the

Lugo Lugo (, ) is a city in northwestern Spain in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. It is the capital of the Lugo (province), province of Lugo. The municipality had a population of 100,060 in 2024, ...

-based

team after

Darrun Hilliard Darrun Hilliard II (born April 13, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for BC UNICS of the VTB United League. Hilliard attended Liberty High School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where he was a two-time ''Associated Press'' first ...

's departure, this was Hughes' first experience in Europe.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, 18 , , 0 , , 3.6 , , .333 , , .348 , , .750 , , .5 , , .3 , , .1 , , .1 , , 1.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 14 , , 1 , , 8.0 , , .417 , , .357 , , 1.000 , , 1.2 , , .4 , , .3 , , .1 , , 3.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

, 22 , , 3 , , 14.6 , , .296 , , .224 , , .667 , , 1.9 , , .7 , , .5 , , .3 , , 3.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 54 , , 4 , , 9.2 , , .328 , , .280 , , .769 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , .3 , , .2 , , 2.9

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;", East Carolina , 25 , , 7 , , 20.5 , , .349 , , .273 , , .684 , , 2.3 , , 1.3 , , .6 , , .4 , , 7.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:center;" colspan="11",

Redshirt , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

, 34 , , 34 , , 32.7 , , .420 , , .369 , , .742 , , 4.3 , , 1.5 , , 1.2 , , .8 , , 13.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;",

, 32 , , 32 , , 36.7 , , .427 , , .342 , , .813 , , 4.9 , , 3.4 , , 1.2 , , .8 , , 19.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 91 , , 73 , , 30.7 , , .411 , , .342 , , .763 , , 4.0 , , 2.1 , , 1.0 , , .7 , , 13.9

Personal life

Hughes is the sixth of seven children. Hughes' father, Wayne, works for

information technology Information technology (IT) is a set of related fields within information and communications technology (ICT), that encompass computer systems, software, programming languages, data processing, data and information processing, and storage. Inf ...

company

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

. His mother, Penny, was a teacher's aide for Beacon City Schools before counseling at a

methadone clinic A methadone clinic is a medical facility where medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) are dispensed—historically and most commonly methadone, although buprenorphine is also increasingly prescribed. Medically assisted drug therapy treatment i ...

. Hughes' older sister, Talah, played college basketball for Saint Peter's and scored over 1,000 career points.

References

External links

Syracuse Orange bioEast Carolina Pirates bioHughes speaks to the Inside Syracuse Basketball Podcast in 2023
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Elijah 1998 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen American men's basketball players Basketball players from New York (state) Cleveland Charge players East Carolina Pirates men's basketball players New Orleans Pelicans draft picks People from Beacon, New York Sportspeople from Dutchess County, New York Portland Trail Blazers players Salt Lake City Stars players Small forwards South Kent School alumni Sportspeople from Poughkeepsie, New York Syracuse Orange men's basketball players Utah Jazz players Wisconsin Herd players