Brandon Sampson (born May 1, 1997) 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 Ottawa Blackjacks of the

Canadian Elite Basketball League The Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL; ) is the premier men's professional basketball league in Canada, as recognized by Canada Basketball. The CEBL was founded in 2017 and began play in 2019 with six teams all owned and operated by owner ...

(CEBL). 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

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

(LSU).

High school career

Sampson was named Louisiana Mr. Basketball as a senior for Madison Preparatory Academy in 2015 after averaging 15.9 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game in leading the team to a state championship. He signed with coach

Steve Lavin Stephen Michael Lavin (born September 4, 1964) is an American college basketball coach and former broadcaster who is the head coach of the San Diego Toreros men's basketball team at the University of San Diego (USD). He previously served as head ...

at St. John's, but reopened his commitment when Lavin was fired in 2015. He ultimately signed with hometown

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

College career

Sampson was part of a heralded LSU recruiting class for coach Johnny Jones, which also included future NBA players

Ben Simmons Benjamin David Simmons (born 20 July 1996) is an Australian professional basketball player who plays for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for one season with the LSU Tigers, a ...

and Antonio Blakeney. After a disappointing freshman season, which saw the Tigers underperform as a team and Sampson's minutes fluctuate, he found more consistency as a sophomore in the 2016–17 season. He averaged 11.6 points and 3.1 rebounds in 27.5 minutes per game, starting the majority of the season. As a

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Aircraft * Ekolot JK-05L Junior, a Polish ultralight aircraft * PZL-112 Junior, a Polish training aircraft * SZD-51 Junior, a Polish-made training and club glider Arts and entertainment Characters * Bowser Jr., ...

the following year, Sampson suffered a severe ankle sprain, which caused him to miss a month of the season. Upon his return, Sampson had difficulty with consistency due to the lingering effects of the injury. On the season, he averaged 7.7 points in 18.9 minutes per game.

Professional career

Following his junior season, Sampson declared for the

2018 NBA draft The 2018 NBA Draft was held on June 21, 2018, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, including internationa ...

, but was not selected. After playing for 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 ...

in the

2018 NBA Summer League The 2018 NBA Summer League consisted of three pro basketball leagues organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA): the Sacramento Kings's California Classic Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas Summer League. The Sacr ...

. He then signed an exhibit 10 contract with 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) ...

, who ultimately placed him on their

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

affiliate, the

Rio Grande Valley Vipers The Rio Grande Valley Vipers are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Edinburg, Texas, and are affiliated with the Houston Rockets. The Vipers play their home games at the Bert Ogden Arena. The Vipers have won f ...

. In 18 games with the Vipers, Sampson averaged 17.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. On December 27, 2018, Sampson signed a

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless o ...

with 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 ...

. Under the terms of the agreement, he would split time with the Bulls' G League affiliate, the

Windy City Bulls The Windy City Bulls are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, and are affiliated with the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls play their home games at Now Arena, from Chicago. It became the thirte ...

. He was assigned and made his Windy City debut the next night, scoring 17 points and passing for 5 assists in a win. Sampson later made his NBA debut on January 30, 2019, with 5 points and 2 rebounds recorded in a 105–89 win over 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 ...

. On October 27, 2019, Sampson was included in the training camp roster of the

. He had a season high 27 points on January 13, 2020, additionally posting five rebounds and two assists in a win over the

South Bay Lakers The South Bay Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, that competes in the NBA G League. Founded in 2006 as the Los Angeles D-Fenders, the team is owned by the Los Angeles Lakers, who were the first ...

. In 42 games, Sampson averaged 13.2 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. In 2020–21, Sampson played for the

Delaware Blue Coats The Delaware Blue Coats are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Wilmington, Delaware. They are the G-League affiliates of the Philadelphia 76ers. The Blue Coats play their home games at Chase Fieldhouse. The Bl ...

, appearing in 6 games in the pandemic-shortened season. On October 26, 2021, Sampson joined the

Iowa Wolves The Iowa Wolves are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Des Moines, Iowa, and are affiliated with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Wolves play their home games at the Wells Fargo Arena and compete in the Western ...

after a trade. In 30 appearances, he averaged 14.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.0 assists. On April 12, 2022, Sampson signed with the

Newfoundland Growlers The Newfoundland Growlers were a professional minor league ice hockey team in the East Coast Hockey League, ECHL based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. The team began play in the 2018–19 ECHL season, 2018–19 season with home games ...

of the CEBL.

Return to Iowa (2022–2023)

On November 2, 2022, Sampson was named to the opening night roster for the

Wisconsin Herd (2023)

On February 24, 2023, Sampson was traded to the

Wisconsin Herd The Wisconsin Herd are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and are affiliated with the Milwaukee Bucks. The Herd play their home games at Oshkosh Arena. History On June 29, 2016, it was anno ...

Hapoel Be'er Sheva (2023)

On August 5, 2023, Sampson signed with

Hapoel Be'er Sheva Hapoel Be'er Sheva Football Club (, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Be'er Sheva'') is an Israeli professional association football, football club from the city of Beersheba, Be'er Sheva, that competes in the Israeli Premier League. The club was estab ...

of the Ligat HaAl.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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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 ...

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References

External links

LSU Tigers bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sampson, Brandon 1997 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen American men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Canada American expatriate basketball people in Israel Basketball players from Baton Rouge, Louisiana Chicago Bulls players Delaware Blue Coats players Hapoel Be'er Sheva B.C. players Iowa Wolves players LSU Tigers men's basketball players Newfoundland Growlers (basketball) players Ottawa Blackjacks players Rio Grande Valley Vipers players Shooting guards Undrafted NBA players Windy City Bulls players Wisconsin Herd players