Dakota Daniel Mathias (born July 11, 1995) 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 Indiana Mad Ants of the

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 ...

. 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

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

High school career

Mathias was a star basketball player at Elida High School. He entered the starting lineup as a freshman and scored over 1,000 points and broke the school scoring record with 1,902. Mathias scored 28 points a game as a senior at Elida and was First Team All-Ohio twice. He committed to Purdue in November 2013.

College career

Prior to Mathias's freshman season at Purdue, he suffered from

mononucleosis Infectious mononucleosis (IM, mono), also known as glandular fever, is an infection usually caused by the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV). Most people are infected by the virus as children, when the disease produces few or no symptoms. In young adu ...

and threw up before every practice. By the time his health was better, he suffered injuries to both ankles. Despite this, he never missed any games as a freshman but was not at full strength. He averaged 4.8 points and 2.1 rebounds per game as a freshman but shot just 32.2 percent from three-point range. He had a procedure to correct sinus issues and a deviated septum prior to his second year. As a junior, Mathias averaged 9.7 points a game, led the team in three-pointers and started every game. He developed a reputation as a coach on the floor, with players frequently going to him if they did not understand something basketball-related. He was an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention and was named to the conference Defensive Team. As a senior, Mathias evolved into one of the best defensive players in the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

. He scored 23 points against Fairfield on November 29, 2017. In the Round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament, he hit the critical 3-pointer with 13 seconds remaining that decided Purdue's 76–73 victory over

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...

. As a senior, he averaged 12.0 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game on a 30–7 squad. Mathias finished sixth in the NCAA in three-point field goal percentage at 46.6 percent and owns the Purdue record for career threes with 250. He was again an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention and named to the conference Defensive Team.

Professional career

Joventut (2018–2019)

After going undrafted in 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 ...

, Mathias signed a partially guaranteed contract with 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 ...

, joining the team for Summer League. On August 1, 2018, he signed with Divina Seguros Joventut of the

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administered by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, w ...

in Spain. After an ankle injury that sidelined him between October and December, some pain remained which prevented him from playing regularly, and on March 3, 2019, he and the club agreed to cancel their contract.

Texas Legends (2019–2020)

On July 26, 2019, Mathias signed a training camp contract 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 Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

. He was waived on October 16, 2019, but later added to the roster of the Mavs'

affiliate, the

Texas Legends The Texas Legends are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Frisco, Texas, and are affiliated with the Dallas Mavericks. The Legends play their home games at the Comerica Center. The team began as the Colorado 14 ...

. He scored 30 points in a win over

Sioux Falls Skyforce The Sioux Falls Skyforce are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and are affiliated with the Miami Heat. The team has played its home games in the Sanford Pentagon since the 2013–14 ...

on November 27. Mathias scored 30 points in a victory over the

Oklahoma City Blue The Oklahoma City Blue are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City and are affiliated with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Blue compete in the NBA G League as members of the Western Conference. The Blue play their home games ...

on December 9. Mathias averaged 18.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal per game.

Philadelphia 76ers (2020–2021)

On December 3, 2020, Mathias signed a two-way contract with 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 ...

, splitting time with their G League affiliate 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 ...

. He was waived on January 18, 2021, after averaging 6.0 points and 1.6 assists per game in eight games.

Memphis Grizzlies / Texas Legends (2021–2022)

On December 30, 2021, Mathias signed a 10-day contract with 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 ...

via the hardship exception. On January 9, 2022, Mathias was reacquired by the

. On January 14, 2022, Mathias signed a 10-day contract with the Memphis Grizzlies. On January 24, 2022, Mathias was reacquired by the Texas Legends. On February 10, he was waived.

Memphis Hustle (2022–2023)

Mathias joined the

for the

2022 NBA Summer League The 2022 NBA Summer League, also branded as the NBA 2K23 Summer League 2022, was an off-season competition held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) primarily at the Thomas and Mack Center and Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada on the cam ...

. On November 4, 2022, Mathias was named to the opening-night roster for the

Memphis Hustle The Memphis Hustle are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in the Greater Memphis suburb of Southaven, Mississippi, and are affiliated with the Memphis Grizzlies. The team plays their home games at the Landers C ...

Lenovo Tenerife (2023)

On April 6, 2023, Mathias signed with Lenovo Tenerife of the

ratiopharm Ulm (2023–2024)

On August 1, 2023, Mathias signed with

ratiopharm Ulm Ratiopharm Ulm, officially stylized as ratiopharm ulm, is a professional basketball club based in Ulm, Germany. The club has two teams, one professional team, which plays in the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), the major German professional league an ...

of the

Basketball Bundesliga The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the German basketball league system, highest level Sports league, league of professional club basketball in German ...

Indiana Mad Ants (2024–present)

On August 26, 2024, Mathias signed with 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 ...

, but was waived three days later. On October 27, he joined the Indiana Mad Ants.

National team career

Mathias was a part of the Purdue team chosen to represent the United States in the

2017 Summer Universiade The 2017 Summer Universiade (), officially known as the XXIX Summer Universiade ( zh, t=第二十九屆夏季世界大學運動會, p=Dì èrshíjiǔ jiè xiàjì shìjiè dàxué yùndònghuì) and commonly called Taipei 2017 ( zh, t=台北201 ...

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

, Taiwan. The U.S. received a silver medal after losing in the title game to Lithuania. In 2021, Mathias joined the national team to compete in the Americup qualifiers.

Personal life

Mathias is the son of Dan & Tracy Mathias and has two older brothers: Dustin & Bo. Mathias married Gabby Gary, daughter of former Mercer men's basketball head coach Greg Gary, in August 2019.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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References

External links

Purdue Boilermakers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathias, Dakota 1995 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players Basketball players from Ohio FISU World University Games silver medalists for the United States Indiana Mad Ants players Joventut Badalona players Liga ACB players Medalists at the 2017 Summer Universiade Memphis Grizzlies players Memphis Hustle players Philadelphia 76ers players Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball players Ratiopharm Ulm players Shooting guards Sportspeople from Lima, Ohio Summer World University Games medalists in basketball Texas Legends players Undrafted NBA players United States men's national basketball team players