Alec Burks (born July 20, 1991) 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

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

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 was selected by 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 ...

as the 12th overall pick in the

2011 NBA draft The 2011 NBA draft was held on June 23, 2011, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The draft started at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (23:00 UTC), and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. Kia Motors was the presenting sponso ...

. Burks primarily plays the

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game ...

position. He played for the

Colorado Buffaloes men's basketball The Colorado Buffaloes men's basketball team represents the University of Colorado Boulder. The team competes in the Big 12 Conference of NCAA Division I. They are currently coached by Tad Boyle. The Buffaloes have competed in sixteen NCAA T ...

team during his college years and was most notably the school's first-ever

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida ...

Freshman of the Year in 2010. As a sophomore, Burks was statistically the eighteenth-best scorer in the Division I. With Colorado, he missed only a single college game. Burks also gained national attention after being selected to the Big 12 First Team in his second season with the Buffaloes. He entered the

shortly after his sophomore year, projected to be a first-round draft pick despite playing just two seasons at Colorado.

High school career

Burks attended Grandview High School, where in 2009 he was named the

Gatorade Player of the Year The Gatorade Player of the Year awards are given annually to up and coming high school student-athletes in the United States. They are given for boys baseball, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls cross country, boys football, boys and girl ...

in the state of Missouri. As a senior, he averaged 23.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He was also named the

Kansas City Star ''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and a ...

and Metro Sports Player of the Year during his senior year. Prior to his senior year of high school, Burks signed with Colorado during the November 2008 signing period. Considered a three-star recruit by 247Sports.com, Burks was listed as the No. 49 shooting guard and the No. 196 player in the nation in 2009.

College career

In his freshman year at

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, Burks was awarded the 2010 Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Year, while also being named in the Big 12 All-Rookie team. In his sophomore year, he was named in the All-Big 12 first team. In April 2011, Burks decided to forgo his two remaining eligible college years to enter the NBA draft.

Professional career

Utah Jazz (2011–2018)

Burks was selected with the 12th overall pick in the

by the

. On December 9, 2011, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Jazz. On October 25, 2012, the Jazz exercised their third-year team option on Burks' rookie scale contract, extending the contract through the 2013–14 season. On October 29, 2013, the Jazz exercised their fourth-year team option on Burks' rookie scale contract, extending the contract through the 2014–15 season. On January 13, 2014, Burks scored a career-high 34 points in a 118–103 win over 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 Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

. On October 31, 2014, Burks signed a four-year, $42 million contract extension with the Jazz. On December 30, he was ruled out for the rest of the 2014–15 season due to a shoulder injury. On December 27, 2015, Burks was ruled out for six weeks with an ankle fracture. Two days later, he elected to undergo surgery on his fractured left fibula. On April 8, 2016, he returned to action after missing 50 games with the injury. In 13 minutes off the bench, he scored 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting in a 102–99 overtime loss to the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The ...

. On November 1, 2016, Burks was ruled out indefinitely after undergoing an

arthroscopic Arthroscopy (also called arthroscopic or keyhole surgery) is a minimally invasive surgical procedure on a joint in which an examination and sometimes treatment of damage is performed using an arthroscope, an endoscope that is inserted into the j ...

procedure to debride his left ankle. On January 9, 2017, he spent a day with Utah's D-League affiliate, 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 ...

. He was reassigned to Salt Lake City on January 11, and then recalled the next day after appearing in a game for the Stars. On January 21, 2017, he came off the bench for the Jazz and scored a season-high 13 points in a season-high 18 minutes in a 109–100 win over 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 Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

. Seven days later, he set a new season high with 15 points in a 102–95 loss 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 Southwest Division of the ...

. On November 30, 2017, Burks scored a season-high 28 points off the bench in a 126–107 win over the

. On December 4, 2017, he scored 27 points in a 116–69 win over the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

for his third straight game with 20 or more—his best string since three straight 20-point games in February 2014. On November 5, 2018, Burks scored a season-high 22 points, alongside three assists, in a 124–111 loss to the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...

Cleveland Cavaliers (2018–2019)

On November 29, 2018, Burks was traded, along with two future second-round picks, 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 ...

in exchange for

Kyle Korver Kyle Elliot Korver (born March 17, 1981) is an American professional basketball executive and former player who is the assistant general manager for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for ...

. Burks made his Cavaliers debut the next day, recording 15 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals in a 128–95 loss to the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

. On December 3, he made a game-winning dunk with 3.2 seconds left to give the Cavaliers a 99–97 win over the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), ...

. He also had 13 points and seven rebounds in the game. On December 7, Burks tied his season high of 22 points, alongside seven rebounds and a season-high nine assists, in a 129–110 loss to the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

. On January 13, 2019, he had 17 points and a season-high 13 rebounds in a 101–95 win over the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

Sacramento Kings (2019)

On February 7, 2019, Burks was traded to the

in a three-team trade involving 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 of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

. He made his Kings debut a day later, recording nine points and four rebounds in a 102–96 win over the

Golden State Warriors (2019–2020)

On July 11, 2019, Burks signed with 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 ...

. He made his Warriors debut on October 30, recording seven points and two assists in a 121–110 loss to the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

. On January 20, 2020, Burks scored a season-high 33 points, alongside seven rebounds, eight assists and three blocks, in a 129–124 overtime loss 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 ...

. On January 30, he switched his jersey number from 8 to 20 out of respect for the late

Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant ( ; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, spent his entire 20-year career with t ...

, who died in a helicopter crash four days earlier.

Philadelphia 76ers (2020)

On February 6, 2020, Burks was traded, alongside

Glenn Robinson III Glenn Alann ‘Tre’ Robinson III (born January 8, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Seoul Samsung Thunders of the Korean Basketball League (KBL). He was drafted 40th overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2014 N ...

, to the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially 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 Atlan ...

in exchange for three future second-round picks. Burks made his 76ers debut on February 11, recording two points and two assists in a 110–103 win over the

. The 76ers faced the

during their first round playoff series, but they were eliminated in a four-game sweep.

New York Knicks (2020–2022)

On November 22, 2020, Burks signed a one-year, $6 million contract with 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 ...

. He made his Knicks debut on December 23, recording 22 points, four rebounds and three assists in a 121–107 loss to the

. On May 13, 2021, Burks scored a season-high 30 points, alongside ten rebounds and two assists, in a 102–98 win over the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

. He helped the Knicks qualify for the playoffs for the first time since

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, and they faced 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 Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

during their first-round series. On May 23, Burks recorded 27 points, three rebounds and four assists in a 107–105 Game 1 loss. The Knicks ended up losing the series in five games. On August 18, 2021, Burks re-signed with the Knicks on a three-year, $30 million contract. On December 29, he scored a career-high 34 points, alongside four rebounds, two assists and three steals, in a 94–85 win over 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 Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

. The Knicks failed to qualify for the playoffs during the 2021–22 season, finishing with a 37–45 record.

Detroit Pistons (2022–2024)

On July 11, 2022, Burks was traded, alongside

Nerlens Noel Nerlens Noel (born April 10, 1994) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). His collegiate basketball career ended in his first season with a tear of his ant ...

, to the

in exchange for the draft rights to Nikola Radičević and a 2025 protected second-round pick. Burks made his Pistons debut on November 11, recording 17 points and two rebounds in a 121–112 loss to the

. On June 29, 2023, the

exercised Burks' team option for the

2023–24 NBA season The 2023–24 NBA season was the 78th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The regular season began on October 24, 2023, and ended on April 14, 2024. The NBA held their first-ever in-season tournament from November 3 to December ...

. On January 16, 2024, Burks tied a career–high in points, registering 34 points while going 11–for–17 on field goals against the

Return to the Knicks (2024)

On February 8, 2024, Burks and Bojan Bogdanović were traded to the

in exchange for Ryan Arcidiacono, Malachi Flynn,

Evan Fournier Evan Mehdi Fournier (; born 29 October 1992) is a French–Algerian professional basketball player for Olympiacos of the Greek Basketball League (GBL) and the EuroLeague. He played junior basketball at the French INSEP academy from 2007 to 2009. ...

Quentin Grimes Quentin Marshall Grimes (born May 8, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kansas Jayhawks and the Houston Cougars. High ...

and two second-round picks.

Miami Heat (2024–present)

On July 4, 2024, Burks signed with the

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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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 ...

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Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

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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 ...

, 18 , , 1 , , 20.2 , , .461 , , .416 , , .829 , , 3.1 , , 2.1 , , .7 , , .0 , , 12.2 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

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Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

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, 43 , , 0 , , 20.9 , , .394 , , .401 , , .903 , , 2.6 , , 1.6 , , .5 , , .3 , , 12.6 , - , align="left" ,

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Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, 49 , , 14 , , 17.6 , , .424 , , .425 , , .776 , , 2.5 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , .1 , , 7.3 , - class="sortbottom" , align="center" colspan="2", Career , 791 , , 158 , , 22.2 , , .415 , , .386 , , .805 , , 3.3 , , 1.9 , , .7 , , .2 , , 10.6

Playoffs

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College

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Personal life

Burks is the son of Steve and Dina Burks. He also has an older brother, Steve Jr.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burks, Alec 1991 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen American men's basketball players Basketball players from Missouri Cleveland Cavaliers players Colorado Buffaloes men's basketball players Detroit Pistons players Golden State Warriors players Miami Heat players New York Knicks players People from Grandview, Missouri Sportspeople from Jackson County, Missouri Philadelphia 76ers players Sacramento Kings players Salt Lake City Stars players Shooting guards Small forwards Sportspeople from the Kansas City metropolitan area Utah Jazz draft picks Utah Jazz players