Diamon Simpson (born September 8, 1987) 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 working as an assistant coach for the Capital City Go-Go 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 the

Saint Mary's Gaels The Saint Mary's Gaels are the athletic teams that compete at Saint Mary's College of California in Moraga, California. The nickname applies to the college's intercollegiate NCAA Division I teams and to the school's club sports teams. Most vars ...

Early life

Born in

Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the List of United States counties and county equivalents, most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 202 ...

, Simpson grew up in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

city of Hayward, and graduated from Hayward High School in 2005.

College

Simpson attended the

Saint Mary's College of California Saint Mary's College of California is a Private college, private Catholic college in Moraga, California, United States. Established in 1863, it is administered by the De La Salle Brothers. The college offers undergraduate and graduate programs w ...

and played for the

in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

West Coast Conference The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting o ...

(WCC) between 2005 and when he graduated in 2009. He was a teammate of Australian and

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

backup

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

Patrick Mills Patrick Sammie Mills (born 11 August 1988) is an Australian ( Kokatha and Dauareb-Meriam) professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Mills was born and raised in Canberra, and is ...

when playing for the Gaels from 2007 to 2009. Over his 4 seasons with the Gaels the Simpson played 128 games averaging 12.5 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. His career field goal percentage of 50.6% is currently 23rd on the all-time list for the WCC while his 1130 rebounds a Gaels record and all time 2nd in the WCC and 20th in the NCAA. Simpson is the Saint Mary's Gaels all-time leading rebounder (1130), shot blocker (239), he leads in steals (174) and free throws made and attempted (470/777 at 60.5%).

Professional career

NBA D-League (2009–2010)

After graduating from Saint Mary's, Simpson started 2009 by attending the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

training camp but was unable to secure a spot on the Warriors roster. From there he signed to play for the

Los Angeles D-Fenders 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 ...

of the

NBA D-League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

in 2009–10 where he averaged 15.5 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in his 30 games.

Philippines (2010)

Simpson was bought out of his D-Fenders contract by the Alaska Aces of the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines, composed of twelve company-branded Franchising, franchise teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia ...

(PBA) for the 2010 Fiesta Conference (despite a league rule that import players must be no taller than 198 cm). In his opening game for the Aces, he scored an impressive 36 points and grabbed 25 rebounds. By season's end, he was averaging around 25 points and 16 rebounds a game in a dominant display which made him a favorite of the Aces supporters. Despite not winning the Best Import award, he was able to lead the Aces in winning the championship over 18-time champions

San Miguel Beermen The San Miguel Beermen are a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). It is one of three PBA clubs owned by the San Miguel Corporation group of companies along with Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and Magnolia ...

which had returning import

Gabe Freeman Gabriel DeAndre Freeman (born November 5, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. Freeman also has experience with the London Lightning in the NBL Canada and steered them to a 2012 Finals victory. He won the ASEAN Basketball L ...

as well as

Dondon Hontiveros Donaldo "Dondon" Cabañes Hontiveros (born June 1, 1977) is a Filipino politician and former professional basketball player and coach. He has been serving as vice mayor of Cebu City since 2024 by virtue of succession, due to the suspension of ...

and Arwind Santos for the locals.

Turkey (2010–2011)

After leaving the Aces Simpson signed with

Turkish Basketball League Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The ...

team

Türk Telekom Türk Telekomünikasyon A.Ş. () is a state-owned Turkish telecommunications company. Türk Telekom was separated from Turkish Post (PTT) in 1995. Türk Telekom Group provides integrated telecommunication services for PSTN, GSM, and wideband I ...

for part of the 2010–11 Turkish season where he averaged just 7.3 points and 5.8 rebounds and 0.3 blocks per game in four games primarily playing at

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three, is one of the five Basketball position, positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than Power forward (basketball), power forwards and Cent ...

Australia (2011–2012)

Simpson signed for the Adelaide 36ers after original import John Williamson was ruled out with a knee injury. Simpson joined the 36ers for Round 3 of the 2011-12 NBL season. Throughout the season, he averaged 14.3 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 27 games. He also posted 12 double-doubles and had five 20-point performances with Adelaide and is widely considered to be easily the best performed of the imports for the 36ers during an era where the club claimed 3 wooden spoons in 4 seasons.

National Basketball Association (2012)

On April 13, 2012, Simpson signed with the Houston Rockets of the NBA for the remainder of the 2011–12 season. He was waived by the Rockets on September 7, 2012, without making an appearance for them.

Spain (2016–17)

On March 1, 2016, Simpson signed with

CB Estudiantes Club Baloncesto Estudiantes, S.A.D., (English: Club Basketball Students) known simply as Estu and as Movistar Estudiantes for sponsorship reasons, is a basketball team based in the city of Madrid, Spain. It is a member of the Liga ACB, Asociación ...

of the Spanish

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 ...

Israel and Russia (2017-18)

On March 1, 2017, Simpson signed a one-month contract with

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv () is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such as football, basketball, j ...

. On April 7, 2017, he was parted ways with Maccabi after appearing in six Euroleague games. On August 26, 2018, Simpson signed with the Russian team

Avtodor Saratov BC Avtodor (), commonly known as simply Avtodor and internationally as Avtodor Saratov, is a Russian professional basketball club based in Saratov. It plays in the VTB United League, the highest level of Russian basketball. In early 2022, after ...

for the 2018–19 season. However, on October 2, 2018, Saratov parted ways with Simpson due to a back injury before appearing in any game for them. On December 22, 2018, Simpson returned to Israel for a fourth stint, signing with Maccabi Rishon LeZion for the rest of the season. On June 10, 2019, Simpson recorded season-highs of 28 point and 20 rebounds, shooting 12-of-17 from the field, leading Rishon LeZion to the Israeli League Final after a 92–86 win over Hapoel Jerusalem.

Alaska (2019)

On June 27, 2019, Simpson returned to the Alaska Aces for a third stint, signing for the 2019 PBA Commissioner's Cup.

Israel (2020-present)

On January 7, 2020, Simpson signed with

Ironi Nahariya Ironi Nahariya Basketball Club () known for sponsorship reasons as Ironi Rain Nahariya () is a professional basketball club based in city of Nahariya in northern Israel. The team plays in the Liga Leumit (the second tier of Israeli basketball) and ...

for the rest of the season, replacing

Jeff Adrien Jeff Adrien (born February 10, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for the Piratas de Quebradillas of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). He played college basketball for the UConn Huskies. High school career Adrien was raise ...

. He subsequently joined

Quimsa Asociación Atlética Quimsa, usually called simply Quimsa, is an Argentine sports club located in the city of Santiago del Estero in the homonymous province. The club's professional basketball team plays in the Liga Nacional de Básquet (LNB), t ...

of the Argentine Liga Nacional de Basquetbol, averaging 11.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. In 2021, Simpson signed with Plateros de Fresnillo of the

Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional The National Professional Basketball League ( or LNBP), officially known as the Liga Grupo Caliente, Caliente LNBP for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball sports league, league in Mexico. The league was founded in 2000 with 1 ...

and averaged 9.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. On November 30, 2021, he signed with Maccabi Rishon LeZion.

The Basketball Tournament

Simpson played for Team Gael Force in the

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

edition of

The Basketball Tournament The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is an open-invitation, single-elimination tournament, single-elimination tournament played each summer in the United States, with the stakes being a cash prize (the most recent tournament in The Basketball Tournam ...

. Team Gael Force made it to the Super 16 before falling to eventual tournament runner-up Eberlein Drive.

Professional career

On October 16, 2024, Simpson was hired as an assistant coach by the Capital City Go-Go.

Career statistics

EuroLeague

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References

External links