Damien Lamont Wilkins (born January 11, 1980) is an American former 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 (appr ...

player and basketball executive who played in the

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

for ten seasons. He is the General Manager and Head of Basketball at Overtime Elite. He is the son of retired 13-year NBA veteran

Gerald Wilkins Gerald Bernard Wilkins (born September 11, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player. He is a 6'6" (1.98 m) shooting guard/small forward, who played collegiately at Moberly Area Community College and the University of Tennessee a ...

and nephew of nine-time NBA All-Star, Hall of famer

Dominique Wilkins Jacques Dominique Wilkins (born January 12, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player who primarily played for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Wilkins was a nine-time NBA All-Star, a seven-time All ...

College career

After graduating from

Dr. Phillips High School Dr. Phillips High School is a public high school in Dr. Phillips, Florida, United States, near Orlando. It serves the Dr. Phillips census-designated place (CDP), the Bay Hill CDP, and the residential portion of Lake Buena Vista. History Dr ...

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

, Wilkins enrolled at

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

. Two years into a quick and promising start to his NCAA career at North Carolina State, Wilkins entered the

2001 NBA Draft The 2001 NBA draft took place on June 27, 2001 in New York City, New York. Kwame Brown became the first high school player to be drafted with the first overall pick in the history of the NBA. The selection of Kwame Brown by the Washington Wizards, ...

but decided to withdraw and transfer to

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

. There, he had two solid but unspectacular seasons and went undrafted in 2004.

Professional career

Diligence in the weight room helped Wilkins have a big summer league and shine in preseason action for the Sonics, allowing him to make the team. After working after practice, Wilkins got his shot towards the end of his rookie season and scored 21 points at Portland on March 24, 2005. Wilkins would start seven games the rest of the way as the Sonics battled injuries. He proved himself in the 2005 Playoffs when injuries struck again, finishing with 15 points, six rebounds and five steals in the Sonics' Game 4 win over San Antonio. A restricted free agent in the summer of 2005, Wilkins received an offer from the Minnesota Timberwolves in August 2005, which the Sonics matched within 7 days. WilkinsLayup

In the 2007 season, the departure of

Rashard Lewis Rashard Quovon Lewis (born August 8, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player. Lewis entered the NBA directly from Alief Elsik High School. He rose to prominence in the NBA as a scorer with the Seattle SuperSonics, and was later ...

and

Ray Allen Walter Ray Allen Jr. (born July 20, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. He played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in ...

made Wilkins a starter. On November 16, 2007 he scored a career-high 41 points and grabbed 9 rebounds in a game against the Atlanta Hawks. On July 27, 2009, Wilkins was traded to the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

along with

Chucky Atkins Kenneth Lavon "Chucky" Atkins (born August 14, 1974) is an American former professional basketball player who played for nine different NBA teams throughout his career. Basketball career Atkins played college basketball at the University of South ...

for center

Etan Thomas Dedrick Etan Thomas (born April 1, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Washington Wizards, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is also a published poet ...

and two future second-round draft picks. On September 28, 2010, he was signed by the Memphis Grizzlies, but he was waived at the end of training camp on October 21. On December 3, 2010, he signed a contract with the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...

after Joe Johnson's injury. The Hawks released him after one month. On January 8, 2011, the Atlanta Hawks signed Wilkins to a 10-day contract. On January 28, 2011, the Hawks signed him for the remainder of the season. During the 2011–12 season, Wilkins played for the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...

. In September 2012, he signed with the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

. On September 30, 2013, he rejoined the

. On October 14, 2013, he was waived by the Hawks. In December 2013, he signed with the Beijing Ducks of China. In his first game for the Ducks, he recorded 10 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 assist in a 106-99 victory over Liaoning. On May 1, 2014, he signed with

Indios de Mayagüez The Indios de Mayagüez (Mayagüez Indians) are a baseball team in Puerto Rico's Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente (Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League, in Spanish). Based in Mayagüez, the ''Indios'' have won 18 national ...

for the rest of the 2014 BSN season. On November 1, 2014, he was selected by the

Iowa Energy Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

with the 16th overall pick in the 2014

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

draft. On February 4, 2015, he was named to the Futures All-Star team for the 2015

NBA D-League All-Star Game The NBA D-League All-Star Game was an annual exhibition basketball game held by the NBA Development League (D-League). The D-League was founded in 2001 as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) and later as the NBA Development League. ...

. On April 20, he returned to Indios de Mayagüez. After initially signing with a Venezuelan team for the 2015–16 season, Wilkins was swayed into re-entering the NBA following the injury to

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist Michael Anthony Edward Kidd-Gilchrist ( Gilchrist; born September 26, 1993) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Kidd-Gilchrist was drafted second ove ...

of the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...

. He and his agent contacted the Hornets and the two parties came to an agreement on a non-guaranteed training camp contract on October 5, 2015. On October 16, he officially signed with the Hornets. However, he was waived by the Hornets a week later after appearing in three preseason games. Two days later, he signed with

Guaros de Lara Guaros de Lara is a Venezuelan Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass a ...

of the

Venezuelan League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Early years Baseball exp ...

. On October 31, 2016, Wilkins was acquired by the

Greensboro Swarm The Greensboro Swarm are an American basketball team of the NBA G League based in Greensboro, North Carolina, and are affiliated with the Charlotte Hornets. The Swarm play their home games at the Greensboro Coliseum Fieldhouse. The team became ...

of the

. In April 2017, Wilkins joined

Brujos de Guayama Brujos de Guayama is a Puerto Rican professional basketball team of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional based in Guayama, Puerto Rico. Despite being in the league since 1971, the team has not won any BSN Championships but have made 2 finals appeara ...

of the

Baloncesto Superior Nacional The Baloncesto Superior Nacional, abbreviated as BSN, is the first-tier-level professional men's basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1929 and is organized by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation. T ...

. On August 15, 2017, Wilkins signed with the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

, returning to the NBA for the first time since 2013. On January 7, 2018, Wilkins was waived by the Pacers. On February 1, 2018, Wilkins returned to

National team career

Wilkins represented the United States national team at the

2015 Pan American Games Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak alb ...

, where he won a bronze medal.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, 29 , , 7 , , 17.9 , , .435 , , .271 , , .618 , , 2.3 , , .9 , , .8 , , .3 , , 6.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 82 , , 12 , , 18.6 , , .444 , , .250 , , .840 , , 2.3 , , 1.3 , , .9 , , .1 , , 6.5 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 82 , , 31 , , 24.8 , , .435 , , .410 , , .882 , , 2.8 , , 1.9 , , 1.1 , , .2 , , 8.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 76 , , 31 , , 24.3 , , .403 , , .323 , , .736 , , 3.2 , , 2.0 , , .8 , , .3 , , 9.2 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

, 41 , , 14 , , 15.5 , , .362 , , .375 , , .804 , , 1.7 , , .9 , , .5 , , .2 , , 5.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, 80 , , 31 , , 19.8 , , .433 , , .295 , , .798 , , 3.1 , , 1.7 , , .8 , , .3 , , 5.6 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, 52 , , 0 , , 13.0 , , .504 , , .200 , , .714 , , 1.7 , , .8 , , .5 , , .2 , , 3.5 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, 60 , , 2 , , 15.4 , , .394 , , .304 , , .630 , , 1.7 , , .7 , , .5 , , .2 , , 3.2 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, 61 , , 21 , , 18.0 , , .459 , , .333 , , .743 , , 1.7 , , 1.5 , , .6 , , .3 , , 6.4 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, 19 , , 1 , , 8.0 , , .333 , , .222 , , .750 , , .8 , , .5 , , .1 , , .1 , , 1.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 582 , , 150 , , 18.9 , , .426 , , .327 , , .783 , , 2.3 , , 1.4 , , .7 , , .2 , , 6.2

Playoffs

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2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

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, 7 , , 0 , , 19.4 , , .444 , , .273 , , .444 , , 2.6 , , .4 , , 1.4 , , .1 , , 5.6 , - , align="left" ,

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, align="left" ,

, 8 , , 0 , , 4.9 , , .538 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , .3 , , .3 , , 1.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , class="sortbottom" , 15 , , 0 , , 11.7 , , .469 , , .231 , , .444 , , 1.7 , , .3 , , .8 , , .2 , , 3.5

Personal life

Wilkins is the son of retired 13-year NBA veteran

and nephew of nine-time NBA All-Star

. Isaiah Wilkins, the stepson of

Dominique "Dominique" is a 1963 French language popular song, written and performed by the Belgian female singer Jeannine Deckers, better known as Sœur Sourire ("Sister Smile" in French) or The Singing Nun. The song is about Saint Dominic, a Spanish-bo ...

, also plays basketball professionally since 2018. Wilkins has been the General Manager and Head of Basketball of Overtime Elite since September 2022.

References

External links

NBA.com profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkins, Damien 1980 births Living people African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in China American expatriate basketball people in Venezuela American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players at the 2015 Pan American Games Basketball players from North Carolina Beijing Ducks players Big3 players Detroit Pistons players Dr. Phillips High School alumni Georgia Bulldogs basketball players Greensboro Swarm players Guaros de Lara (basketball) players Indiana Pacers players Iowa Energy players McDonald's High School All-Americans Minnesota Timberwolves players NC State Wolfpack men's basketball players Oklahoma City Thunder players Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in basketball Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) People from Washington, North Carolina Philadelphia 76ers players Seattle SuperSonics players Shooting guards Small forwards Undrafted National Basketball Association players United States men's national basketball team players Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games American men's 3x3 basketball players