Antonio Reeves (born November 20, 2000) 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

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 ...

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

Illinois State Redbirds The Illinois State Redbirds are the athletic teams that represent Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois. Teams play at the NCAA Division I level ( FCS in football). Most teams compete in the Missouri Valley Conference except football (M ...

and the

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30, ...

High school career

After a prep career at Shadow Mountain High School in Phoenix and

Simeon Career Academy Neal F. Simeon Career Academy (formerly known as Westcott Vocational High School, Neal F. Simeon Vocational High School, Neal F. Simeon Career Technical Academy), locally known simply as Simeon, is a public four-year vocational school, vocational ...

in his hometown

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Reeves committed to Illinois State over offers from several other

mid-major Mid-major conferences in American college sports at the NCAA Division I level are athletic conferences that are not among the power conferences. The grouping is most commonly used in men's college basketball to describe conferences outside of the ...

programs.

College career

Illinois State

Reeves was a key contributor for his first two seasons, earning a spot on the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the fourth-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern Unite ...

(MVC) all-bench team as a sophomore. He declared for the

2021 NBA draft The 2021 NBA draft, the 75th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft, was held on July 29, 2021, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. The NBA draft returned to Brooklyn after 2020 NBA draft, the pre ...

but ultimately chose to return to the Redbirds for his junior season. In the 2021–22 season, Reeves averaged a career-high 20.1 points per game And was named second-team All-MVC, however, the team was not successful and coach Dan Muller was fired. With the coaching change, Reeves decided to transfer to a winning program.

Kentucky

Reeves ultimately chose Kentucky and coach

John Calipari John Vincent Calipari (; born February 10, 1959) is an American basketball coach who is the head coach at the Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball, University of Arkansas. He has been named Naismith College Coach of the Year three times (1996, 2 ...

. As a senior, he mostly came off the bench for the Wildcats and ranked second on the team in scoring behind

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

Oscar Tshiebwe Oscar Tshiebwe ( ; born 27 November 1999) is a Demographics of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congolese professional basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Salt Lake ...

at 14.4 points per game. At the close of the season, Reeves was named 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) co-Sixth Man of the Year. He again tested the NBA draft waters and considered another transfer, but ultimately chose to return to Kentucky for a fifth year granted to players whose eligibility was affected by the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

pandemic. Entering his fifth year, Reeves was named preseason second-team All-SEC. As the season wore in, Reeves emerged as a key player for the Wildcats and senior presence for their talented recruiting class. In January 2024, he was named to the 25-man Wooden Award midseason watch list in recognition of his performance, along with teammate Reed Sheppard.

Professional career

New Orleans Pelicans / Birmingham Squadron (2024–present)

On June 27, 2024, Reeves was selected with the 47th overall pick by the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

in the

2024 NBA draft The 2024 NBA draft was the 78th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft. Unlike recent years, the 2024 draft took place over two nights. This was the first NBA draft to be held on multiple nights since the draft ...

, however, immediately on draft night, he was traded to the

in exchange for two second-round pick swaps in 2030 and 2031. On July 23, he signed with the Pelicans. Throughout his rookie season, he has been assigned several times to the

Birmingham Squadron The Birmingham Squadron are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Birmingham, Alabama, and are affiliated with the New Orleans Pelicans. The Squadron play their home games at Legacy Arena. The team began play in 20 ...

. Reeves made his NBA debut on October 23, 2024, in a 123-111 win over the

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 Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

. On November 20, Reeves put up a career-high 34 points in a 128–100 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 ...

Career statistics

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;", Illinois State , 31 , , 3 , , 22.4 , , .384 , , .314 , , .659 , , 2.5 , , .7 , , .6 , , .1 , , 7.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2020–21 , style="text-align:left;", Illinois State , 25 , , 24 , , 29.9 , , .425 , , .306 , , .763 , , 3.3 , , 1.4 , , .4 , , .2 , , 12.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , style="text-align:left;", Illinois State , 33 , , 33 , , 34.9 , , .469 , , .390 , , .818 , , 3.5 , , 1.8 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , 20.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2022–23 , style="text-align:left;",

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, 34 , , 14 , , 27.9 , , .416 , , .398 , , .783 , , 2.1 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , .2 , , 14.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2023–24 , style="text-align:left;",

, 33 , , 33 , , 31.4 , , .512 , , .447 , , .863 , , 4.2 , , 1.6 , , .7 , , .2 , , 20.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 156 , , 107 , , 29.3 , , .452 , , .384 , , .801 , , 3.1 , , 1.3 , , .6 , , .2 , , 15.1

References

External links

Kentucky Wildcats bioIllinois State Redbirds bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reeves, Antonio 2000 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Chicago Birmingham Squadron players Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball players Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball players New Orleans Pelicans players Orlando Magic draft picks Shooting guards