Byron Stewart Dinkins (born June 15, 1967) is a retired American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player who played two seasons in the NBA, from 1989 to 1991. He played

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 UNC Charlotte. After his stint in the NBA Dinkins pursued a professional career in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...

College career

After graduating East Mecklenburg Dinkins was recruited by UNC Charlotte. He stayed with the 49ers for four seasons averaging 15.5

points per game Points per game, often abbreviated PPG, is the average number of points scored by a player per game played in a sport, over the course of a series of games, a whole season, or a career. It is calculated by dividing the total number of points by ...

, 2.8 rebounds per game, 4.8 assists per game and 1.2 steals per game in 107 games. Dinkins achieved career-high in scoring during his junior season averaging 21.4 points per game. Dinkins led his school to winning the Sun Belt tournament and earned himself the honors of Sun Belt Player of the Year. He was also named in the All-Sun Belt first team in his junior and senior seasons.

Professional career

NBA

A 6'1" (1.86 m) guard born in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

and from the

University of North Carolina at Charlotte The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte or simply Charlotte) is a public research university in Charlotte, North Carolina. UNC Charlotte offers 24 doctoral, 66 master's, and 79 bachelor's degree programs through nine colle ...

, Dinkins played for 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 (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Divisio ...

during the 1989–90 NBA season and split time with 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 league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

and

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 est ...

during the 1990–91 season. In his NBA career, Dinkins played in 45 games and scored a total of 151 points.

Greece

Although Dinkins never played for an NBA team after 1991, he did have a prosperous basketball career playing professionally in the Greek League for Peristeri Athens, Panionios Athens,

Panathinaikos Athens Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...

(1996–1997), and Iraklis Thessaloniki. In the 1996–97 season he played with Panathinaikos and in September 1996, he helped them win the FIBA Intercontinental Cup. He led the Greek League in assists per game in 1996 and 2000.

Personal life

After his basketball playing career ended, Dinkins returned to his birthplace of

. He now serves as the

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other Coach (sport), coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manage ...

of the Carmel Christian School varsity boys basketball team, and the middle school's gym teacher. Basketball player K. C. Rivers is his nephew.

References

External links

Career stats at basketball-reference.comEurobasket.com Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dinkins, Byron 1967 births Living people African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Cyprus American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Greece American men's basketball players Basketball players from Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte 49ers men's basketball players Columbus Horizon players Greek Basket League players High school basketball coaches in the United States Houston Rockets players Indiana Pacers players Iraklis Thessaloniki B.C. players Panathinaikos B.C. players Panionios B.C. players Peristeri B.C. players Point guards Rapid City Thrillers players San Antonio Spurs players Sportspeople from Charlotte, North Carolina Undrafted National Basketball Association players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople