Derrick Isaiah Joe (born July 2, 1999) nicknamed "Zai", 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

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Confer ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). 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 Arkansas Razorbacks.

Early life

Joe grew up in

Fort Smith, Arkansas Fort Smith is the List of municipalities in Arkansas, third-most populous city in Arkansas, United States, and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County, Arkansas, Sebastian County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the pop ...

, where he attended Northside High School alongside Jaylin Williams, his now professional teammate. He shot 41% from three-point range in his sophomore season and committed to play

at the University of Arkansas during the summer going into his junior year over offers from

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

and Arkansas-Little Rock. As a junior, Joe averaged 18.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game and helped lead the Grizzlies to an Arkansas Activities Association (AAA) 7A state championship and was named first-team All-State. As a senior, Joe averaged 22.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.9 steals per game and was named the Gatorade Arkansas Boys Basketball Player of the Year and the State Player of the Year by

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

as he led Northside to the state title game before eventually falling to

North Little Rock High School North Little Rock High School is a public school in North Little Rock, Arkansas, that is administered by the North Little Rock School District. As of the 2016–17 school year, the high school consists of one campus, which holds 9th - 12th gr ...

College career

Joe averaged 13.9 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.5 steals per game over 34 games played as a freshman and was named to the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC) All-Freshman team. He made 113 three-pointers on 273 attempts (41.4%), breaking the Arkansas record previously held by Scotty Thurman (102) and tying the record for a freshman in the SEC while also leading the conference in three-point percentage. He was also named the SEC Player of the Week after scoring 34 points on 10 of 13 shooting from three (11–14 overall) against FIU on December 1, 2018. Entering his sophomore season, Joe was named preseason All-SEC and to Jerry West Award watchlist. Joe was also named the 80th-best collegiate basketball player going into the 2019–20 season by CBS Sports and the 33rd-best prospect for the 2020 NBA draft by

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

. Joe was named the SEC co-Player of the Week on January 2, 2020, following a 24-point, five rebound performance in a 71–64 win against

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. Joe scored 34 points, including 26 in the second half, on January 12 to lead Arkansas in a 76–72 comeback win over Ole Miss. On February 4, Joe underwent an arthroscopic procedure on his knee after an MRI revealed inflammation and was ruled out indefinitely. As a sophomore, Joe averaged 16.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. Following the season he declared for the 2020 NBA draft. On August 1, Joe announced he was withdrawing from the draft and returning to Arkansas. However, on August 17 he reversed course and left Arkansas for the professional ranks. Joe is also a member of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity.

Professional career

Philadelphia 76ers (2020–2022)

Joe was selected with the 49th overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. On December 3, he signed with the 76ers. Joe made his NBA debut on December 27, 2020, playing seven minutes and scoring two points on 1-of-2 shooting with one rebound, one assist, and one steal in a 118–94 loss to 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 ...

. On October 13, 2022, he was waived.

Oklahoma City Thunder (2022–present)

On October 16, 2022, Joe signed a deal with the

. On February 24, 2023, Joe scored a then career-high 28 points in a 124–115 loss to the Phoenix Suns. On March 29, 2023, Joe put up a career-high 33 points in a 137–134 loss to the Charlotte Hornets. On November 16, Joe made all seven of his three-point attempts en route to 23 points in a 128–109 win against the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

. On July 1, 2024, Joe re-signed a four-year, $48 million deal with the Thunder. On January 10, 2025, Joe scored 31 points on 11-of-16 shooting, connecting on a career-high eight three-pointers made in a 126–101 win over the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, 41 , , 1 , , 9.3 , , .361 , , .368 , , .750 , , .9 , , .5 , , .3 , , .1 , , 3.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 55 , , 1 , , 11.1 , , .350 , , .333 , , .935 , , 1.0 , , .6 , , .3 , , .1 , , 3.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

, 73 , , 10 , , 19.1 , , .441 , , .409 , , .820 , , 2.4 , , 1.2 , , .7 , , .1 , , 9.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 78 , , 1 , , 18.5 , , .458 , , .416 , , .865 , , 2.3 , , 1.3 , , .6 , , .3 , , 8.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 74 , , 16 , , 21.7 , , .440 , , .412 , , .821 , , 2.6 , , 1.6 , , .6 , , .1 , , 10.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 321 , , 29 , , 16.9 , , .431 , , .402 , , .827 , , 2.0 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , .1 , , 7.6

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2021 , style="text-align:left;",

, 4 , , 0 , , 2.4 , , .333 , , .000 , , , , .0 , , .3 , , .0 , , .0 , , .5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2022 , style="text-align:left;",

, 7 , , 0 , , 2.1 , , .400 , , .333 , , , , .3 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2024 , style="text-align:left;",

, 10 , , 2 , , 17.3 , , .444 , , .410 , , , , 2.2 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , .0 , , 6.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 21 , , 2 , , 9.4 , , .435 , , .386 , , , , 1.1 , , .5 , , .2 , , .0 , , 3.4

College

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

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, 34 , , 34 , , 30.1 , , .413 , , .414 , , .756 , , 2.8 , , 1.7 , , 1.5 , , .1 , , 13.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;",

, 26 , , 25 , , 36.1 , , .367 , , .342 , , .890 , , 4.1 , , 1.7 , , 1.4 , , .3 , , 16.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 60 , , 59 , , 32.7 , , .390 , , .378 , , .827 , , 3.4 , , 1.7 , , 1.5 , , .2 , , 15.2

Personal life

Joe's brother, Jacob, plays

for the Newman Jets. In 2024, Joe hosted a "Shooters Shoot" youth training camp in his hometown of Fort Smith, Arkansas, with over 200 kids participating.

References

External links

Arkansas Razorbacks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Joe, Isaiah 1999 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportsmen American men's basketball players Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball players Basketball players from Arkansas Delaware Blue Coats players Oklahoma City Thunder players Philadelphia 76ers draft picks Philadelphia 76ers players Shooting guards Sportspeople from Fort Smith, Arkansas 21st-century American sportsmen