Dexter Jerome Pittman (born March 2, 1988) is an American former 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. He played college basketball for the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

High school career

Pittman was a three-year starter at B. F. Terry High School, where he averaged 15 points and 8.5 rebounds per game over his career. In his senior season, he was named the Most Valuable Player for District 24-4A. Considered a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, Pittman was listed as the No. 16 center and the No. 150 player in the nation in 2006.

College career

Pittman was used sparingly in his first two seasons at Texas, averaging less than 3 points per game with just one start. As a junior, he started 24 games–averaging 10 points and 5.5 rebounds per game–and became one of the most dominant centers in the

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 ...

Weight loss

Pittman weighed 388 lbs as a senior at Terry High School. After receiving weight loss tips from Texas' Strength and Conditioning coach Todd Wright, he was able to drop his weight to 366 lbs before enrolling at Texas. His weight still prevented him from doing basic drills in practice, which caused various back and knee aches. Pittman then dedicated himself to a workout program with Wright, which included 5:30 AM workouts and a complete revamp of his diet. Pittman agreed to call Todd Wright before every meal to evaluate his choices. He later characterized the workout regimen as so tough that "I wanted to cry and say, 'Man, I want to give up'". Since losing almost 100 pounds, he has become an icon for admirers, like

Hall of Famer A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

Charles Barkley Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player who is a television analyst on NBA on TNT, TNT and CBS Sports. Nicknamed "Sir Charles", "the Bread Truck", and "the Round Mound of Rebound", ...

, who heard about his weight loss.

College statistics

, - , align="left" , 2006–07 , align="left" ,

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and ...

, 29 , , 0 , , 5.3 , , .604 , , .000 , , .471 , , 1.8 , , .1 , , .2 , , .3 , , 2.6 , - , align="left" , 2007–08 , style="text-align:left;",

, 36 , , 1 , , 6.8 , , .559 , , .000 , , .561 , , 2.4 , , .2 , , .1 , , .5 , , 2.8 , - , align="left" , 2008–09 , align="left" ,

, 35 , , 24 , , 16.6 , , .616 , , .000 , , .691 , , 5.5 , , .4 , , .4 , , .9 , , 10.1 , - , align="left" , 2009–10 , align="left" ,

, 34 , , 34 , , 19.1 , , .654 , , .000 , , .556 , , 5.9 , , .5 , , .4 , , 1.9 , , 10.4 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , , 134 , , 59 , , 12.2 , , .623 , , .000 , , .601 , , 3.9 , , .3 , , .2 , , .9 , , 6.6

Professional career

Pittman was selected with the 32nd overall pick in the

2010 NBA draft The 2010 NBA draft was held on June 24, 2010, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The draft, which started at 7:00 pm Eastern Time Zone, Eastern Daylight Time (2300 Coordinated Universal Time, UTC), was broadcast in the ...

by 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 July 16, 2010, he signed a multi-year deal with the Heat. On November 26, 2010, Pittman was assigned to the

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 December 18, 2010, he was recalled by the Heat. On January 6, 2011, he was reassigned to the Skyforce. He was later selected to the 2011 NBA D-League All-Star game. Pittman made his NBA debut on April 1, 2011, against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Heat made it to the

2011 NBA Finals The 2011 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2010–11 season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. A rematch of the 2006 Finals, the series was contested between the Western Confer ...

but lost to 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 ...

in six games. On April 13, 2012, Pittman scored a career high 16 points in a 105–82 win against the Charlotte Bobcats. In Game 5 of the 2012 Conference semi-finals against the Indiana Pacers, Pittman was assessed a flagrant foul after he came across the lane and used his forearm to hit

Lance Stephenson Lance Stephenson Jr. (born September 5, 1990) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Iowa Wolves of the NBA G League. He attended Lincoln High School in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn, where he was named Mr ...

of the Pacers with 19.4 seconds left in the game. Pittman was later suspended for three games due to the incident. The Heat advanced to the

2012 NBA Finals The 2012 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2011–12 season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. In this best-of-seven series, the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat defeated t ...

and won the series against

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Confer ...

in five games, giving Pittman his first championship. During the 2012–13 season, Pittman was assigned multiple times to the Skyforce. On February 21, 2013, the Heat traded Pittman and a second round pick 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 ...

for a trade exception and the rights to Ricky Sanchez. On April 14, 2013, he was waived by the Grizzlies. Pittman joined 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 ...

for the

2013 NBA Summer League The 2013 NBA Summer League is a pro basketball league run by the NBA just after the 2013 NBA draft. It gives newly drafted players a chance to test their skills against each other, and to give them a feel for professional basketball. All 30 NBA ...

. In September 2013, he signed 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 ...

. However, he was later waived by the Bulls on October 26, 2013. On November 27, 2013, Pittman was acquired by the

Springfield Armor Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queen ...

. However, his contract was bought out by the Armor on December 3, before he appeared in a game for them. He subsequently signed with the

Foshan Long Lions The Guangzhou Loong Lions () are a Chinese professional basketball team based in Guangzhou, Guangdong. They play in the Southern Division of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). History The team was founded in November 2000 as Shaanxi Gait ...

of China as an injury-replacement for Shavlik Randolph. Later that month, he left Foshan after seven games. On January 6, 2014, Pittman was acquired by the Austin Toros. On February 22, 2014, Pittman signed a 10-day contract with 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 ...

. Pittman's final NBA game was on February 26, 2014, in a 104–115 loss to the Boston Celtics. In that game, Pittman only played 30 seconds and didn't record a single statistic. On February 27, 2014, he was waived by the Hawks. On March 2, 2014, he was reacquired by the Toros. On April 10, 2014, he signed 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) ...

. A few days later, he was released by the Rockets before appearing in a game for them. On April 19, 2014, Pittman signed with

Caciques de Humacao Caciques de Humacao was a professional basketball team based in Humacao, Puerto Rico Humacao () is a Humacao barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in Puerto Rico located in the eastern coast of the island, north ...

for the 2014 BSN season. On September 29, 2014, Pittman signed with the Atlanta Hawks. However, he was later waived by the Hawks on October 21, 2014. On November 27, 2014, he signed with TED Ankara of Turkey for the rest of the 2014–15 season. On June 26, 2015, he signed with

Virtus Bologna Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, known for sponsorship reasons as Virtus Segafredo Bologna, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. The club was founded in 1929, which makes it the oldest club in Italy and one ...

of the Italian

Lega Basket Serie A The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club (sport), club basketball list of basketball leagues, league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball ...

for the 2015–16 season. On May 12, 2016, Pittman was acquired by

Santeros de Aguada Santeros de Aguada is a Puerto Rican professional basketball team of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional. The team was originally based in Aguada, Puerto Rico, and although the team moved to Fajardo in 2021, even changing their name and re-branding ...

of the Puerto Rican League. On December 16, 2016, Pittman signed with

Toyama Grouses The Toyama Grouses (富山グラウジーズ,''Toyama Guraujīzu'') are a Japanese basketball team, playing in the second division of the B.League. They are based in Toyama Prefecture. Head coaches *Masato Fukushima *Takatoshi Ishibashi *Charle ...

of the Japanese

B.League The B.League is a men's professional basketball league in Japan. The league is operated by the Japan Professional Basketball League and was formed as a result of a merger between the National Basketball League that was operated by the FIBA-affi ...

. During the 2017–18 season he posted 11.5 points and 6 rebounds per game. He signed with B.League team Rizing Zephyr Fukuoka on September 20, 2018. On October 9, 2021, Pittman signed with Al Sharjah of the

UAE National Basketball League The UAE National Basketball League is the top professional basketball league in the United Arab Emirates. The league was founded in 2013 and features 7 teams.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 ...

, 2 , , 0 , , 5.5 , , .333 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.5 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.0 , - , align="left" style="background:#afe6ba;" , † , align="left" ,

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 ...

, 35 , , 6 , , 8.6 , , .468 , , .000 , , .643 , , 2.0 , , .3 , , .2 , , .2 , , 3.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 4 , , 0 , , 3.0 , , .600 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.8 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.5 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...

, 7 , , 0 , , 2.9 , , .167 , , .000 , , .000 , , .7 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, 2 , , 0 , , 1.5 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.5 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , - , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 50 , , 6 , , 6.9 , , .450 , , .000 , , .545 , , 1.8 , , .2 , , .2 , , .2 , , 2.3

Playoffs

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2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

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, 3 , , 1 , , 2.7 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , .0 , , .3 , , .0 , , .3 , , .0 , - , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 3 , , 1 , , 2.7 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , .0 , , .3 , , .0 , , .3 , , .0

NBA D-League

Regular season

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2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

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Sioux Falls Sioux Falls ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 117th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into northern Lincoln County. The population was 192 ...

, 22 , , 22 , , 27.7 , , .536 , , .000 , , .548 , , 8.2 , , 1.2 , , .4 , , 1.7 , , 14.5 , - , align="left" ,

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, align="left" ,

, 15 , , 12 , , 24.9 , , .470 , , .000 , , .767 , , 8.8 , , .3 , , .9 , , 1.7 , , 12.4 , - , align="left" , 2013–14 , align="left" ,

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

, 28 , , 20 , , 20.5 , , .556 , , .000 , , .705 , , 6.8 , , .5 , , .5 , , 2.3 , , 11.3 , - , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 65 , , 54 , , 24.0 , , .527 , , .000 , , .652 , , 7.7 , , .7 , , .6 , , 1.9 , , 12.6

CBA

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 2013–14 , align="left" ,

Foshan Foshan (, ; Chinese: 佛山) is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. The entire prefecture covers and had a population of 9,498,863 as of the 2020 census. The city is part of the western side of the Pearl River Delta m ...

, 7 , , 0 , , 18.7 , , .649 , , .000 , , .441 , , 5.5, , .4 , , .3 , , 1.0 , , 15.0 , - , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 7 , , 0 , , 18.7 , , .649 , , .000 , , .441 , , 5.5 , , .4 , , .3 , , 1.0 , , 15.0

B.League

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 2016–17 , align="left" , Toyama , 35 , , 19 , , 19.9 , , .538 , , .000 , , .600 , , 7.8 , , .4 , , .3 , , 1.1 , , 12.9 , - , align="left" , 2017–18 , align="left" , Toyama , 57 , , 13 , , 17.8 , , .585 , , .000 , , .608 , , 5.9 , , 1.4 , , .5 , , .6 , , 11.5 , -

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pittman, Dexter 1988 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in China American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Japan American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Austin Toros players Basketball players from Fort Bend County, Texas Caciques de Humacao players Centers (basketball) Guangzhou Loong Lions players Memphis Grizzlies players Miami Heat draft picks Miami Heat players People from Rosenberg, Texas Rizing Zephyr Fukuoka players Santeros de Aguada players Sioux Falls Skyforce players TED Ankara Kolejliler players Texas Longhorns men's basketball players Toyama Grouses players Virtus Bologna players Al-Ahli Club (Manama) basketball players