Elijah Pemberton (born May 31, 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 who last played for

MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg BG Ludwigsburg, for sponsorship reasons MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg (), is a professional basketball club that is based in Ludwigsburg, Germany. The club currently plays in the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), the first tier of basketball in Germany. Fo ...

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 ...

(BBL). 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

Hofstra Pride The Hofstra Pride (formerly the Hofstra Flying Dutchmen) are composed of 17 teams representing Hofstra University in intercollegiate athletics, including men and women’s basketball, cross-country running, golf, lacrosse, soccer, tennis and tra ...

High school career

Pemberton attended Xavier High School for three years. He played one season at The Masters School and one at

Cheshire Academy Cheshire Academy is a co-educational college preparatory school located in Cheshire, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1794 as the Episcopal Academy of Connecticut, it is the eleventh oldest boarding school in the United States. In 1917, th ...

, scoring more than 2,000 points in his scholastic career. Pemberton averaged 26 points per game in 2014–15 and 21 points per game in 2015–16. He became a four-time team Most Valuable Player between 2013 and 2016, a four time All-Connecticut selection. He also became the 2016 Jordan Brand Classic Regional Game MVP, a first team All-New England pick as a senior and a second team All-New England as a junior.

College career

Pemberton played

for Hofstra. He started his second game as a freshman and was named CAA rookie of the week on three occasions. Pemberton averaged 12.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game, and ranked third in the CAA with a .406 three point percentage as a freshman. As a sophomore, he averaged 15.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. Pemberton averaged 15 points and 4.8 rebounds per game as a junior, helping lead Hofstra to a CAA regular season championship. In his senior season, he saw action in 34 games with averages of 17.6 points (8th in the CAA), 5.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.29 steals over 36.3 minutes per game, and had a free throw percentage of .854 (3rd). Pemberton led Hofstra to a berth in the 2020 NCAA tournament, but the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. By the end of his college career, he had earned All-CAA Second Team honors as a junior and a senior in addition to the 2020 All-CAA Tournament honors. Pemberton saw action in 129 career games while averaging 15.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 34.8 minutes per contest. Pemberton ranks ninth in Hofstra program history with 1,982 career points and fourth with 215 three-pointers.

Professional career

Santa Cruz Warriors (2021–2023)

After going undrafted in the

2020 NBA draft The 2020 NBA draft was held on November 18, 2020. The draft was originally scheduled to be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on June 25, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was instead conducted at ESPN's facilities in Bristol, Connecticut, wi ...

, Pemberton signed an

Exhibit 10 The NBA salary cap is the limit to the total amount of money that National Basketball Association (NBA) teams are allowed to pay their players. Like the other major professional sports leagues in North America, the NBA has a salary cap to control ...

deal with 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 ...

on December 19, 2020, but was waived the same day. On January 12, 2021, he signed as an affiliate player with the

Santa Cruz Warriors The Santa Cruz Warriors are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Santa Cruz, California, and are affiliated with the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors play their home games at Kaiser Permanente Arena. Prior to ...

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 ...

, where he played 10 games and averaged 6.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 17.6 minutes per game.

Ottawa BlackJacks (2023)

On April 27, 2023, Pemberton signed with 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 ...

, for whom he played two games. However, he was released on June 20.

Reeder Samsunspor (2023)

On August 16, 2023, Pemberton signed with Reeder Samsunspor of the Turkish

Basketbol Süper Ligi The Basketball Super League (; TBSL), also known as the Türkiye Sigorta Basketbol Süper Ligi for sponsorship reasons, is the top men's professional basketball division of the Turkish basketball league system. It replaced the former Turkish Bas ...

, for whom he played three games.

Hapoel Be'er Sheva (2023–2024)

On December 26, 2023, Pemberton 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

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl (, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is a professional basketball league in Israel and the highest level of basketball in the country. The league's name is abbreviated as either BSL ...

Hubo Limburg United (2024–2025)

On June 21, 2024, Pemberton signed with Hubo Limburg United of the

BNXT League The BNXT League is a professional basketball league in Belgium and the Netherlands. The league is the first tier in both the Dutch and Belgian system, replacing the Dutch Basketball League, DBL and Pro Basketball League, PBL. The inaugural season ...

Riesen Ludwigsburg players (2025)

On January 23, 2025, he signed with

of the

(BBL).

Personal life

Pemberton has one brother, William Allen, who played basketball at Johnson C. Smith and a cousin, Chauncey Hardy, who played basketball at

Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus () is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus Christ is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devotion to Christ is p ...

. He earned a degree in Management in May, 2020.

References

External links

Hofstra Pride bioRealGM.com profileTwitter handle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pemberton, Eli 1997 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen American expatriate basketball people in Canada American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's basketball players Basketball players from Connecticut Cheshire Academy alumni Hapoel Be'er Sheva B.C. players Hofstra Pride men's basketball players Ottawa Blackjacks players Riesen Ludwigsburg players Samsunspor (basketball) players Santa Cruz Warriors players Shooting guards Sportspeople from Middletown, Connecticut United States men's national basketball team players