Enrique Gabriel Freeman (born July 29, 2000) is an American

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 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 ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA), on a

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless o ...

with 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 the

Akron Zips The Akron Zips are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio, United States. The Zips compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the NCAA Division I, Division I level as a memb ...

College career

After a prep career at St. Martin de Porres High School in

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, Freeman had no college basketball offers. He accepted an academic scholarship to the

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public university, public research university in Akron, Ohio, United States. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM fields, STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advance ...

and at the urging of friends and family, tried out for a walk-on spot with the school's basketball team, earning a roster spot. He played sparingly as a freshman, totaling 13 minutes on the season. He grew four inches between his first and second years and earned a scholarship and a starting role for the Zips. He earned his first

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...

(MAC) all-defensive team honor. As Freeman established himself as one of the top defensive players in the MAC during the 2021–22 season, his offense began to develop as well. He averaged a

double-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the ter ...

for the season and led the nation in

field goal percentage Field goal percentage in basketball is the ratio of field goals made to field goals attempted. Its abbreviation is FG%. Although three-point field goal percentage is often calculated separately, three-point field goals are included in the gene ...

. He earned second-team All-MAC honors and was named the conference Defensive Player of the Year. He led the Zips to a MAC tournament title, and was named the tournament MVP. Following the 2022–23 season, Freeman declared for the

2023 NBA draft The 2023 NBA draft, the 77th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft, was held on June 22, 2023, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The draft consisted of 58 picks instead of the typical 60 for the second ...

but retained his college eligibility. He worked out for several teams but ultimately decided to return to Akron for his senior season. Entering his final season at Akron, Freeman was named preseason All-MAC and added to the 20-man watch list for the Karl Malone Award for top

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

in the nation. On February 2, 2024, he was named to the 10-man finalist pool for the award. At the close of the regular season, Freeman was named MAC Player of the Year.

Professional career

On June 27, 2024, Freeman was selected with the 50th overall pick by the

in the

2024 NBA draft The 2024 NBA draft was the 78th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft. Unlike recent years, the 2024 draft took place over two nights. This was the first NBA draft to be held on multiple nights since the draft ...

. On August 8, 2024, Freeman signed a

with them. Freeman made his NBA debut on October 23, 2024, in a 115-109 win over the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

, scoring 2 points.

Career statistics

NBA

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Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, 22 , , 1 , , 8.2 , , .432 , , .100 , , .684 , , 1.4 , , .4 , , .1 , , .1 , , 2.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 22 , , 1 , , 8.2 , , .432 , , .100 , , .684 , , 1.4 , , .4 , , .1 , , .1 , , 2.1

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;",

Akron Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 census. The Akron metropolitan area, covering Summit and Portage counties, had ...

, 7 , , 0 , , 1.9 , , 1.000 , , — , , .750 , , .6 , , .0 , , .0 , , .1 , , .7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2020–21 , style="text-align:left;",

, 23 , , 20 , , 22.3 , , .740 , , — , , .659 , , 9.2 , , .3 , , .5 , , 1.9 , , 7.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , style="text-align:left;",

, 34 , , 34 , , 28.8 , , .665 , , .000 , , .649 , , 10.8 , , 1.4 , , .5 , , 1.1 , , 13.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2022–23 , style="text-align:left;",

, 33 , , 33 , , 31.2 , , .616 , , .333 , , .616 , , 11.2 , , 1.9 , , .6 , , 1.2 , , 16.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2023–24 , style="text-align:left;",

, 35 , , 35 , , 32.5 , , .584 , , .370 , , .728 , , style="background:#cfecec;" , 12.9* , , 1.6 , , .8 , , 1.7 , , 18.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 132 , , 122 , , 27.8 , , .628 , , .350 , , .670 , , 10.6 , , 1.3 , , .6 , , 1.4 , , 14.0

Personal life

Freeman is of Puerto Rican descent.

References

External links

Akron Zips bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Enrique 2000 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen Akron Zips men's basketball players American men's basketball players American people of Puerto Rican descent Basketball players from Cleveland Indiana Mad Ants players Indiana Pacers draft picks Indiana Pacers players Power forwards