Ovinton J'Anthony Mayo (born November 5, 1987) 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 (appr ...

player who plays for

Zamalek SC Zamalek Sporting Club ( ar, نادي الزمالك للألعاب الرياضية), commonly referred to as Zamalek, is an Egyptian sports club based in Giza. It is one of the most successful football clubs in Africa and the Middle East, an ...

of the

Egyptian Basketball Super League The Egyptian Basketball Super League, also known as the Egyptian Basketball Premier League A, is the top professional basketball division of the Egyptian basketball league system. Administrated by the Egyptian Basketball Federation (EBBFED), it is ...

(EBSL). He played a single season of

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC), located in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ' ...

while earning first-team All-Pac-10 honors. Mayo entered the 2008 NBA draft and was selected by 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 ...

with the third overall pick. He was later traded to the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

, with whom he played four seasons. Mayo signed with the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

in 2012, and then 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 league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

in 2013. However, he was retroactively declared ineligible when it was discovered that he had received improper benefits in violation of

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

rules before he even played a game, and the

Trojans Trojan or Trojans may refer to: * Of or from the ancient city of Troy * Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans Arts and entertainment Music * ''Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 1890 ...

vacated all of their 21 wins from the 2007–08 season. In July 2016, Mayo was banned from the NBA for violating the league's anti-drug program. After a two-year hiatus, he resumed his career with

Atléticos de San Germán Atléticos de San Germán is a basketball club of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN) based in San Germán, Puerto Rico. Founded in the 1930s after the amalgamation of the old San Germán team and the Farmacia Martín team, the team is one of ...

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 ...

(BSN) in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

High school career

Mayo began playing high school basketball at

Rose Hill Christian High School Rose Hill Christian High School is a private, non-profit Christian school operated by the Rose Hill Missionary Baptist Church in Ashland, Kentucky, United States. Organized in 1980, the school draws students from several Kentucky counties, as wel ...

Ashland, Kentucky Ashland is a home rule-class city in Boyd County, Kentucky, United States. The largest city in Boyd County, Ashland is located upon a southern bank of the Ohio River at the state border with Ohio and near West Virginia. The population was 21,6 ...

. In Kentucky, grade schoolers can play high school basketball, and Mayo averaged 23.1 points for Rose Hill's varsity team while in 7th grade. In 8th grade he was just turning 15 and tallied 27 points per game and was named a first-team all-state player by the ''

Louisville Courier-Journal The ''Courier Journal'', also known as the ''Louisville Courier Journal'' (and informally ''The C-J'' or ''The Courier''), and called ''The Courier-Journal'' between November 8, 1868, and October 29, 2017, is the highest circulation newspape ...

''. Mayo then moved to suburban Cincinnati to live with club team coach Dwaine Barnes. (Mayo referred to him as his "grandfather" but the two aren't related.) Mayo enrolled at

North College Hill High School North College Hill High School is a Public High school in North College Hill, Ohio. It is the only high school in the North College Hill City Schools district and has an enrollment of approximately 400 to 450 students. Innovative new buildings ...

North College Hill, Ohio North College Hill is a city in Hamilton County in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio approximately ten miles north of downtown Cincinnati. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 9,397. The city takes its name from its proxim ...

in April 2003. ''

The Cincinnati Enquirer ''The Cincinnati Enquirer'' is a morning daily newspaper published by Gannett in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. First published in 1841, the ''Enquirer'' is the last remaining daily newspaper in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, alth ...

'' and local television stations sent reporters to cover Mayo's first day of school at NCH. Mayo was selected as Mr. Basketball of Ohio for the second consecutive season, in addition to being named Associated Press Division III Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. He averaged nearly 29 points, nine rebounds, and six assists per game. He also led his team to three consecutive AP poll titles and appeared in the pages of ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

'' among other publications. In February 2006, Mayo attracted the largest crowd to ever see a high school game in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

when 16,202 fans watched North College Hill fall to the nation's number one rated team, Oak Hill Academy. Mayo had been considered a lock to make the leap straight from high school to the NBA, but the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NBA and its players instituted a rule that a player must be at least a year out of high school before he can enter the NBA, effectively curtailing those plans. On July 5, 2006, it was reported by

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

that he would attend

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

. Mayo enrolled at Huntington High School in

Huntington, West Virginia Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Cabell County, and the largest city in the Huntington–Ashland metropolitan area, sometimes referred to as the Tri-State Area. A h ...

for the 2006–07 school year. He formally committed to USC in November 2006. In January 2007, Mayo allegedly assaulted referee Mike Lazo after being ejected from a Huntington High game vs. Capital High School at the

Charleston Civic Center The Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center (originally known as Charleston Civic Center) is a municipal complex located in the downtown area of Charleston, West Virginia, United States. Originally completed in 1958, it consists of four main co ...

. In accord with

West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission The West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission (WVSSAC, but colloquially referred to as SSAC) is the main governing body of high school sports, cheerleading, and marching bands in West Virginia, United States. For sports other than basket ...

rules, Mayo was suspended for two games. However, due to allegations that Lazo had overreacted and faked the incident, a temporary restraining order was signed by Cabell County Circuit Court Judge Dan O'Hanlan, temporarily lifting the suspensions on Mayo and five other players suspended due to incidents at that game. However, shortly after, the restraining order was nullified, and Mayo was suspended for three games, a punishment that Mayo described as "fair".

Awards and honors

Mayo was selected by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association as the 2007 recipient of the Bill Evans Award for the state's boys basketball player of the year. Mayo led the state in scoring for the 2006–2007 season at 28.4 points per game. Runner-up in the voting was teammate Patrick Patterson. On March 17, 2007, Mayo led Huntington High School to its third consecutive Class AAA basketball championship in the state of

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

with 103–61 rout of South Charleston. Mayo finished with a triple-double: 41 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists. He graduated in May 2007 and signed a

letter of intent A letter of intent (LOI or LoI, or Letter of Intent) is a document outlining the understanding between two or more parties which they intend to formalize in a contract, legally binding agreement. The concept is similar to a Heads of agreement ( ...

to enroll at USC. He scored a 29 on the ACT, placing him in the 95th percentile nationally.

College career

Russell Westbrook guarding OJ Mayo cropped

Mayo had given

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

a soft verbal commitment to play for them, but retracted it when head coach

Bob Huggins Robert Edward Huggins (born September 21, 1953) is an American college basketball coach. Nicknamed “Huggy Bear,” he is currently the head coach of the West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team. Huggins previously held the head coach ...

announced he would take the same position at West Virginia. Frank Martin, by whom Mayo was recruited, was named head coach. Former teammate at

Bill Walker Bill Walker may refer to: Australian rules football * Bill A. Walker (1886–1934), Australian rules footballer for Essendon * Bill Walker (Australian footballer, born 1883) (1883–1971), Australian rules footballer for Fitzroy * Bill J. V. Wal ...

opted to stay and play for Martin. Mayo enrolled at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

(USC) in the summer of 2007, taking two classes. While waiting for the season to begin, he played pickup basketball at the UCLA men's gym against

NBA 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 St ...

players such as

Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant ( ; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he spent his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely r ...

Sam Cassell Samuel James Cassell Sr. (born November 18, 1969) is an American professional basketball coach and former point guard who serves as an assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Drafted 24th overall i ...

Kevin Garnett Kevin Maurice Garnett ( ; born May 19, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player who played for 21 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed KG by his initials, and the "Big Ticket" for his emphatic dunki ...

Mike Dunleavy, Jr. Michael Joseph Dunleavy Jr. (born September 15, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player who is the vice president of basketball operations for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previou ...

D. J. Augustin Darryl Gerard "D. J." Augustin Jr. (born November 10, 1987) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Texas Longhor ...

Jason Kidd Jason Frederick Kidd (born March 23, 1973) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Regarded as one of the greatest point guards ...

Adam Morrison Adam John Morrison (born July 19, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. Morrison played for three years at Gonzaga University and was considered to be one of the top college basketball players in 2005–06. He was a finalist ...

, and J. J. Redick. Mayo earned All-Pac-10 first team honors. In the

2008 Pacific-10 Conference men's basketball tournament The 2008 Pacific Life Pacific-10 Conference men's basketball tournament was held between March 12 and March 15, 2008, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. All ten schools in the conference qualified for the tournament. Number one seed UCLA defeat ...

, the Trojans lost to

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, featuring

Kevin Love Kevin Wesley Love (born September 7, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a five-time All-Star, a two-time member of the All-NBA Second Team and ...

and

Russell Westbrook Russell Westbrook III (born November 12, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A member of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, he is a nine-time NBA All-Star and ...

, in the semi-finals. Both Mayo and Love were selected to the All-Pac-10 tournament team. In his NCAA Tournament debut with the Trojans, Mayo scored 20 points as USC was beaten by

. Mayo did not return for his sophomore season, opting to instead enter the 2008 NBA draft.

Improper benefits and rules violation

On May 11, 2008,

reported that a former "confidant", Louis Johnson, revealed on ESPN's TV show ''

Outside the Lines ''Outside the Lines'', or also referred to as ''OTL'', is an American television program on ESPN that looks "outside the lines" and examines critical issues in mostly American sports on and off the field of play. The primary host of the show is ...

'' that Mayo received numerous gifts in violation of NCAA rules. The report stated that Mayo received the gifts from Rodney Guillory before and during his tenure at USC. Guillory is said to have received the money from the Bill Duffy Associates Sports Management (BDA). In April 2009, the NCAA combined its investigations of Mayo and former running back

Reggie Bush Reginald Alfred Bush Jr. (born March 2, 1985) is an American former football running back who now serves as an on-air college football analyst for Fox Sports. He played college football at USC, where he earned consensus All-American honors twi ...

into a single probe of the Trojans' athletic program. On January 3, 2010, USC announced that it had determined Mayo was ineligible for the 2007–2008 season because he had received improper benefits, and had thus forfeited his amateur status before ever playing a game for USC. As a result, USC vacated all 21 of its wins from the 2007–08 season, dropping its record to 0–12. A vacated game does not count as a win for the other team, but is officially treated as having never happened. USC also withdrew from postseason consideration (including the Pac-10 conference tournament) for the 2009–10 season.

Professional career

Memphis Grizzlies (2008–2012)

On June 26, 2008, Mayo was selected 3rd overall in the 2008 NBA draft by the Timberwolves. Later that day, he was traded, along with

Marko Jarić Marko Jarić ( sr-cyr, Марко Јарић, ; el, Μάρκο Γιάριτς, Marko Yiarits; born 12 October 1978) is a Serbian former professional basketball player. Standing at 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in), he mainly played the shooting guard po ...

Antoine Walker Antoine Devon Walker (born August 12, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. He was drafted with the sixth overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft out of the University of Kentucky and played in the NBA from 1996 to 2008. Walker ...

, and

Greg Buckner Gregory Derayle Buckner (born September 16, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player who is the associate head coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He had previously served as an assis ...

, to the

in exchange for

, Mike Miller,

Brian Cardinal Brian Lee Cardinal (born May 2, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player. He played 456 games in the NBA between 2000 and 2012, and won an NBA championship with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011. Before his NBA career, he was one o ...

, and

Jason Collins Jason Paul Collins (born December 2, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player who was a center for 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Stanford Cardinal, where he was ...

. Mayo was a part of the Select Team that helped get the U.S. national team ready for the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

in Beijing. Mayo was the runner-up for the 2008–09

NBA Rookie of the Year Award The National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the top rookie(s) of the regular season. Initiated following the 1952–53 NBA season, it confers the Eddie Gottl ...

, finishing second behind

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...

point guard

Derrick Rose Derrick Martell Rose (born October 4, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one year of college basketball for the Memphis Tigers before being drafted ...

. On November 1, 2009, Mayo scored a career-high 40 points against the Denver Nuggets on 17 of 25 shooting. Mayo was late for a game-day shootaround and was taken out of the starting lineup starting November 20, 2010. On a return flight to Memphis from Los Angeles, Mayo was involved in a fight with teammate Tony Allen over a debt from an in-flight card game. On January 27, the NBA suspended Mayo for 10 games following a positive test for the steroid dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), which violates the league's anti-drug program. Mayo blamed an over the counter supplement that he didn't know was banned by the NBA for the positive test, but he declined to say which supplement he used. He later said an unnamed energy drink he bought at a

gas station A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Gasoline ...

contained the banned substance. Despite playing in all 66 games of the shortened 2011–12 season, Mayo did not start in any games for the Grizzlies, playing as a

sixth man The sixth man in basketball is a player who is not a starter but comes off the bench much more often than other reserves, often being the first player to be substituted in. The sixth man often plays minutes equal to or exceeding some of the sta ...

. When he was asked if being a reserve hurt his value, he answered, "I would say so, I would probably say so. What do you think?"

Dallas Mavericks (2012–2013)

The Grizzlies did not sign a qualifying offer sheet for Mayo, making him an

unrestricted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. On July 19, Mayo officially signed with the Mavericks. On December 8, Mayo tied his career-high of 40 points in a game against the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

. Two days later, he tied a career high of playing 52 minutes in a double-overtime loss to the Boston Celtics. On December 28, 2012, Mayo had a career high of 5 steals against the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

. On March 6, Mayo recorded a new career high of 12 assists against the

. After Nowitzki, the Mavericks' all-time leading scorer, returned, Mayo saw his scoring average dip. Mayo said, "I'm a scorer and can shoot the ball a little bit, but I like to be a playmaker. I like to try to take what the defense gives you and not just concentrate on scoring the ball. Find other guys." Mayo finished the season with averages of 15.3 points, 4.4 assists and 3.5 rebounds while playing a team-high 35.5 minutes per game. His production dropped considerably after the All-Star break, when star player Nowitzki re-emerged after missing the first 27 games. On April 18, 2013, he announced he would decline the player option on his contract for the following season and become a free agent.

Milwaukee Bucks (2013–2016)

On July 13, 2013, Mayo signed a three-year, $24 million contract with the

. The signing was essentially a trade of starting shooting guards, as

Monta Ellis Monta Ellis ( ; born October 26, 1985) is a former American professional basketball player. Ellis attended Lanier High School in Jackson, Mississippi, where he was a McDonald's All-American and first-team ''Parade'' All-American. He entered the ...

departed Milwaukee to sign with Dallas. On October 30, 2013, in his Bucks debut, Mayo recorded 13 points and 5 rebounds in a loss to 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 New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

. Mayo later missed time during the 2013–14 season due to issues with his conditioning as he appeared in a career-low 52 games. Mayo bounced back for the Bucks in 2014–15, recording seven 20-plus point games on the season. In Game 4 of the Bucks' first round playoff match-up against the

, Mayo scored 18 points and hit a clutch three-pointer with 1:42 left in the game to give the Bucks a six-point lead. On November 19, 2015, Mayo made his season debut for the Bucks after missing the first 11 games of the season due to a strained right hamstring he suffered in the final preseason game. On December 5, he had a season-best game after coach Jason Kidd started him at point guard, largely due to the Bucks being down on point guards due to injury. In 35 minutes of action, he recorded 17 points and 5 assists in a 106–91 win over the New York Knicks. On February 9, 2016, he returned to action against the Boston Celtics after missing 11 games with a left hamstring injury. On March 10, he was ruled out for the rest of the season after he suffered a fractured right ankle. On July 1, 2016, Mayo was dismissed from the NBA for a drug violation. He was eligible for reinstatement around the start of the

2018–19 NBA season The 2018–19 NBA season was the 73rd season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The regular season began on October 16, 2018, and ended on April 10, 2019. The 2019 NBA All-Star Game was played on February 17, 2019, at the Spectrum Cen ...

Atléticos de San Germán (2018)

On April 4, 2018, Mayo was reported to sign with

of the

. On June 27, he was released. Mayo started 18 of his 21 appearances with the team, shooting just 39.0 percent from the field and 34.7 percent from beyond the arc. He averaged 13.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.1 steals.

Dacin Tigers (2018–2019)

On October 22, 2018, Mayo was reported to sign with

Dacin Tigers The Dacin Tigers () was a semi-professional basketball club based in Taipei, Taiwan that plays in the Super Basketball League ( SBL). They won SBL championships in 2009 and 2017. On May 17, 2019, Dacin Engineering issued a statement that it w ...

of the

Super Basketball League The Super Basketball League (超級籃球聯賽), often abbreviated as the SBL, is a semi-professional men's basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Taiwan. Current clubs Currently, there are four teams competing in the SBL. They are ...

in Taiwan. Mayo finished the 2018–19 SBL season with averages of 22.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.6 steals in 36 total games played (33 in the regular season and 3 in the playoffs), averaging 28.2 minutes per game and shooting 47.7% from the field (36.2% from the 3-point line).

Hunan Jinjian Miye (2019)

Soon after the Taiwan's SBL season ended, Mayo signed with Hunan Jinjian Miye of National Basketball League (NBL), the second-tier league in China.

Taipei Fubon Braves (2019–2020)

On October 17, 2019, The

Taipei Fubon Braves The Taipei Fubon Braves () are a professional basketball team, that currently plays in the Taiwanese P. League+, since the league's foundation in 2020. From 2014 to 2019, they played in the semi-professional Super Basketball League (SBL). They ...

officially announced that they signed Mayo for the upcoming

ASEAN Basketball League The ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) is a professional men's basketball league in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong/Macau, which includes six teams from Southeast Asian nations (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam), one tea ...

(ABL) season.

Liaoning Flying Leopards (2020–2021)

Mayo signed with the

Liaoning Flying Leopards The Liaoning Flying Leopards (), also known as the Liaoning Shenyang Sansheng Flying Leopard Club or Liaoning Bengang ( simplified Chinese: 辽宁本钢), are a Chinese professional basketball team based in Hunnan District, Shenyang, Liaoning ...

of the

Chinese Basketball Association The Chinese Basketball Association (), often abbreviated as the CBA, is the first-tier professional men's basketball league in China. The league is commonly known by fans as the CBA, and this acronym is even used in Chinese on a regular basis ...

(CBA) and made his debut in the 2019–20 CBA season on June 23, 2020 scoring 28 points in a 102–106 loss to the

Guangzhou Loong Lions The Guangzhou Loong Lions () are a Chinese professional basketball team based in Guangzhou, Guangdong. They play in the Southern Division of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). History The team was founded in November 2000 as Shaanxi Gait ...

. On July 17, 2020, Mayo scored 44 points in a win against Ty Lawson's

Fujian Sturgeons Fujian SBS Xunxing Sturgeons (Simplified Chinese: 福建SBS浔兴鲟) or Fujian Xunxing or Fujian SBS are a Chinese professional men's basketball team in the Chinese Basketball Association, based in Jinjiang, Quanzhou, Fujian. The "SBS" reflects c ...

, while shooting 8–10 from the three-point line. On July 26, Mayo won the CBA Player of the Month award for the month of July. Over 15 regular season games, Mayo averaged 28.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.5 steals per game, shooting 57% from the field (43.5% from three) in 35.9 minutes of average playing time. On November 13, 2020, Mayo set a new career-high of 48 points in a win against the

Qingdao Eagles The Qingdao Guoxin Haitian Eagle Club, also known as Qingdao Daily Fresh or Qingdao Eagles are a Chinese professional basketball team which is based in Qingdao, Shandong. The club plays in the North Division of the Chinese Basketball Association ...

. He also had 8 rebounds and 6 assists.

UNICS (2021–2022)

On September 20, 2021, Mayo signed a one-year contract with the Russian team

UNICS Kazan BC UNICS (russian: БК УНИКС) is a professional basketball club in Kazan, Russia, that plays in the VTB United League, and formerly played in the EuroLeague. On February 28, 2022, EuroLeague Basketball suspended the team because of the 2022 ...

of the

VTB United League VTB United League (russian: Единая Лига ВТБ) is an international professional men's club basketball list of basketball leagues, league that was founded in 2008. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus an ...

. On February 7, 2022, Mayo scored a buzzer-beating game-winner against arch-rivals

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow (russian: ЦСКА Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was a central piece ...

to give UNICS the win after triple overtime. He averaged 7.2 points on 35.4% shooting in nine games.

Zamalek (2022–present)

In December 2022, Mayo joined the Egyptian club

Zamalek Zamalek ( ar, الزمالك , ''al zamalek'') is an affluent district of western Cairo encompassing the northern portion of Gezira Island in the Nile River. The island is connected with the river banks through three bridges each on the east an ...

of the

National team career

Mayo was a part of the Select Team that helped get the U.S. national team ready for the

in Beijing.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

, style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , 82 , , 38.0 , , .438 , , .384 , , .879 , , 3.8 , , 3.2 , , 1.1 , , .2 , , 18.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , 82 , , 38.0 , , .458 , , .383 , , .809 , , 3.8 , , 3.0 , , 1.2 , , .2 , , 17.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 71 , , 17 , , 26.3 , , .407 , , .364 , , .756 , , 2.4 , , 2.0 , , 1.0 , , .4 , , 11.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, style="background:#cfecec;", 66* , , 0 , , 26.8 , , .408 , , .364 , , .773 , , 3.2 , , 2.6 , , 1.1 , , .3 , , 12.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , 82 , , 35.5 , , .449 , , .407 , , .820 , , 3.5 , , 4.4 , , 1.1 , , .3 , , 15.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

, 52 , , 23 , , 25.9 , , .407 , , .370 , , .864 , , 2.4 , , 2.2 , , .5 , , .3 , , 11.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 71 , , 15 , , 23.9 , , .422 , , .357 , , .827 , , 2.6 , , 2.8 , , .8 , , .3 , , 11.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 41 , , 24 , , 26.6 , , .371 , , .321 , , .775 , , 2.6 , , 2.9 , , 1.2 , , .2 , , 7.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 547 , , 325 , , 30.9 , , .429 , , .373 , , .820 , , 3.1 , , 2.9 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 13.8

Playoffs

, - , style="text-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 ...

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

, 13 , , 2 , , 27.8 , , .388 , , .408 , , .793 , , 3.2 , , 2.4 , , .8 , , .3 , , 11.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

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

, 7 , , 0 , , 23.3 , , .274 , , .292 , , .778 , , 3.6 , , 2.1 , , 1.3 , , .1 , , 8.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

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

, 6 , , 0 , , 26.0 , , .333 , , .316 , , 1.000 , , 3.3 , , 3.0 , , 1.2 , , .2 , , 9.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 26 , , 2 , , 26.2 , , .348 , , .359 , , .824 , , 3.3 , , 2.5 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , 10.1

College

, - , align="left" , 2007–08 , align="left" ,

, 33 , , 32 , , 36.8 , , .442 , , .409 , , .803 , , 4.5 , , 3.3 , , 1.5 , , 0.4 , , 20.7

Others

, - , style="text-align:left" , 2018–2019 , style="text-align:left" , SBL- Dacin , 33 , , 33 , , 28 , , .433 , , .368 , , .814 , , 7.3 , , 4.3 , , 1.6 , , 0.2 , , 22.6

Personal life

His parents are Alisha Mayo and Kenneth Maurice Ziegler. Mayo did not live with his father while growing up. Mayo's brother, Todd, played basketball for the Marquette Golden Eagles. He was selected by the

Westchester Knicks The Westchester Knicks are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in White Plains, New York, and are affiliated with the New York Knicks. The Knicks typically play their home games at Westchester County Center in Whit ...

in the 2014 NBA Development League Draft and played for them until being waived on January 28, 2015.

Legal issues

On March 9, 2007, Mayo and three other men were cited by the Cabell County Sheriff's Department for misdemeanor simple possession of marijuana. Officers found the cannabis in a car in which Mayo was a passenger and, since no one claimed possession, all occupants were ticketed. Charges against Mayo were dropped on March 12, 2007 after one of the other passengers in the vehicle took responsibility for the marijuana.

References

External links

Milwaukee Bucks bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayo, O. J. 1987 births Living people African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in China American expatriate basketball people in Taiwan American men's basketball players American sportspeople in doping cases ASEAN Basketball League players Atléticos de San Germán players Basketball players from Kentucky Basketball players from West Virginia Dallas Mavericks players Doping cases in basketball Liaoning Flying Leopards players McDonald's High School All-Americans Memphis Grizzlies players Milwaukee Bucks players Minnesota Timberwolves draft picks National Basketball Association players banned for drug offenses Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) People from North College Hill, Ohio Shooting guards Sportspeople from Ashland, Kentucky Sportspeople from Huntington, West Virginia USC Trojans men's basketball players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people Huntington High School (West Virginia) alumni Taipei Fubon Braves players Dacin Tigers players Super Basketball League imports

High school career

Awards and honors

College career

Improper benefits and rules violation

Professional career

Memphis Grizzlies (2008–2012)

Dallas Mavericks (2012–2013)

Milwaukee Bucks (2013–2016)

Atléticos de San Germán (2018)

Dacin Tigers (2018–2019)

Hunan Jinjian Miye (2019)

Taipei Fubon Braves (2019–2020)

Liaoning Flying Leopards (2020–2021)

UNICS (2021–2022)

Zamalek (2022–present)

National team career

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

Playoffs

College

Others

Personal life

Legal issues

See also

References

External links