Hilton Julius Armstrong Jr. (born November 11, 1984) 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 currently working as an assistant coach for 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 ...

. During his

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 ...

career, he played as a forward and center for the Connecticut Huskies. He is currently married and is the father of four children.

College career

After graduating from Peekskill High School, Armstrong started off slowly as a college athlete, averaging under 4 points in each of first 3 seasons at UConn with the Huskies. However, he greatly improved in his senior year, averaging 9.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks, and shooting 61% from the field. He followed after his teammate Josh Boone, and won the

Big East The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

Defensive Player of the Year award in the 2005–06 season.

Professional career

NBA (2006–2011)

He was declared eligible for the

2006 NBA draft The 2006 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2006, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. c ...

, and was selected by the

New Orleans Hornets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

with the 12th overall pick. Known for his shot-blocking and athleticism, he was anticipated by analysts to be an instant contributor to the Hornets front line, but the team then traded for 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 ...

center Tyson Chandler. Chandler was named the starting center and Armstrong played a reserve role throughout his time with the Hornets. On January 11, 2010, Armstrong was traded to the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

for a conditional

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

second-round draft pick. On February 18, 2010, Armstrong was traded to 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) ...

, along with Kevin Martin, for Carl Landry and Joey Dorsey. He was waived by the Rockets on April 10, 2010. Armstrong signed with the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

on July 13, 2010. On February 23, 2011, Armstrong was traded to 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 ...

, along with Kirk Hinrich, in exchange for

Mike Bibby Michael Bibby (born May 13, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player and current head coach at California State University, Sacramento. He played for 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He last served as the ...

, Jordan Crawford, Maurice Evans and a first-round pick in the

2011 NBA draft The 2011 NBA draft was held on June 23, 2011, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The draft started at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (23:00 UTC), and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. Kia Motors was the presenting sponso ...

France (2011–2012)

In July 2011, Armstrong signed with

ASVEL Basket ASVEL Basket, currently known as LDLC ASVEL for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional basketball team located in the commune of Villeurbanne, a suburb of Lyon, France. The club, which is the basketball section of the ASVEL multi-sports ...

of the French Pro A League. In 42 games played for ASVEL, he averaged 10.8 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.

Greece (2012)

In August 2012, he signed with Panathinaikos of the

Greek Basketball League The Greek Basketball League (GBL), and also known as the Stoiximan Greek Basketball League (GBL) for sponsorship reasons, is the first tier level professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by the Hellenic Basketball Associat ...

. In December 2012, he parted ways with Panathinaikos after appearing in 10 games.ShamSports.com: Hilton Armstrong player profile
/ref>

D-League / Return to the NBA (2013–2014)

In January 2013, Armstrong was acquired by the

of the NBA D-League. He played very well for the Warriors, earning 2nd Team All D-League Defensive Team honors. On September 27, 2013, he 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 ...

. However, he was waived on October 26. In November 2013, he was re-acquired by the Santa Cruz Warriors. On December 11, 2013, after playing in six games with Santa Cruz, Armstrong signed 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 29, 2013, he was waived by Golden State. On January 3, 2014, he was re-acquired by Santa Cruz. On February 3, 2014, Armstrong was named to the Futures All-Star roster for the 2014 NBA D-League All-Star Game. On February 22, 2014, he signed a 10-day contract with the Golden State Warriors. On March 4, 2014, he returned to Santa Cruz after his 10-day contract expired. On March 30, 2014, he signed another 10-day contract with the Golden State Warriors. On April 9, 2014, he signed with Golden State for the rest of the 2013–14 season. He started the final game of the regular season and recorded a double-double. On July 30, 2014, he was waived by Golden State. While playing for Golden State, Armstrong became the first player in NBA history to wear jersey number 57.

Turkey (2014–2016)

On August 6, 2014, he signed a one-year deal with Turkish team

Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 18 km2 and its population is 175,190 (2022). It is located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and ...

of the

Turkish Basketball Super 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 w ...

. On May 5, 2015, Armstrong recorded a career-high 30 points, shooting 10-of-14 from the field, along with nine rebounds, three assists and three steals in a 74–94 blowout loss to Fenerbahçe. On July 30, 2015, he signed with Tüyap Büyükçekmece also of Turkey. However, on November 10, 2015, he parted ways with Büyükçekmece and joined Denizli Basket of the

Turkish Basketball First 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 w ...

for the rest of the season.

Japan (2016–2018)

On August 5, 2016, he signed with the Japanese team Chiba Jets of the B.League. In 60 games played for the Jets, Armstrong averaged 10.2 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.4 blocks per game. On July 28, 2017, he signed with the

Ryukyu Golden Kings The are a Japanese professional basketball team based in Okinawa (city), Okinawa, Okinawa Prefecture. They compete in the B.League, the top-tier professional basketball league of Japan. The Golden Kings have won the Japanese national title f ...

for the 2017–18 season.

Israel (2018–2019)

On August 16, 2018, he signed a one-year deal with the Israeli team Bnei Herzliya, joining his former teammate Jeff Adrien. However, on January 10, 2019, Armstrong parted ways with Herzliya after appearing in 13 games.

Return to Japan (2019–present)

On January 25, 2019, he returned to Japan for a second stint, joining the Nagoya Diamond Dolphins for the rest of the season.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , align="left" , , align="left" , New Orleans/Oklahoma City , 56 , , 5 , , 11.3 , , .544 , , .000 , , .597 , , 2.7 , , .2 , , .2 , , .5 , , 3.1 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, 65 , , 3 , , 11.3 , , .453 , , .000 , , .629 , , 2.5 , , .4 , , .2 , , .5 , , 2.7 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 70 , , 29 , , 15.6 , , .561 , , .000 , , .633 , , 2.8 , , .4 , , .4 , , .6 , , 4.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 18 , , 0 , , 13.3 , , .380 , , .000 , , .464 , , 3.4 , , .9 , , .4 , , .4 , , 2.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

, 6 , , 0 , , 9.3 , , .333 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 2.3 , , .3 , , .3 , , .7 , , 1.7 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, 9 , , 0 , , 4.4 , , .294 , , .000 , , .000 , , .7 , , .3 , , .6 , , .0 , , 1.1 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Washington , 41 , , 2 , , 10.0 , , .484 , , .333 , , .609 , , 2.8 , , .2 , , .4 , , .4 , , 1.9 , - , 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 ...

, 12 , , 0 , , 6.3 , , .500 , , 1.000 , , .200 , , 1.4 , , .3 , , .3 , , .4 , , 1.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Golden State , 15 , , 1 , , 6.5 , , .474 , , .000 , , .438 , , 3.1 , , .3 , , .3 , , .3 , , 1.7 , - , align="center" colspan="2" , Career , 292 , , 40 , , 11.6 , , .501 , , .286 , , .582 , , 2.6 , , .3 , , .3 , , .5 , , 3.0

Playoffs

, - , align="left" ,

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, align="left" ,

, 8 , , 0 , , 9.0 , , .615 , , .000 , , .500 , , 2.5 , , .0 , , .0 , , .8 , , 2.6 , - , align="left" ,

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, align="left" ,

, 4 , , 1 , , 13.3 , , .462 , , .000 , , .300 , , 2.0 , , .3 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 3.8 , - , align="left" ,

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, align="left" ,

, 8 , , 0 , , 4.4 , , .200 , , .000 , , .500 , , 1.9 , , .1 , , .4 , , .0 , , .6 , - , align="left" ,

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, align="left" , Golden State , 7 , , 0 , , 2.4 , , .500 , , .000 , , .000 , , .6 , , .3 , , .0 , , .3 , , 1.1 , - , align="center" colspan="2" , Career , 27 , , 1 , , 6.6 , , .487 , , .000 , , .393 , , 1.6 , , .1 , , .3 , , .3 , , 1.8

NBA D-League

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 2012–13 , align="left" , Santa Cruz , 29 , , 24 , , 26.3 , , .628 , , .000 , , .694 , , 6.8 , , .8 , , 1.0 , , 2.2 , , 13.4 , - , align="left" , 2013–14 , align="left" , Santa Cruz , 32 , , 23 , , 26.2 , , .559 , , .333 , , .743 , , 7.4 , , 1.9 , , .7 , , 1.8 , , 12.0 , - , align="center" colspan="2" , Career , 61 , , 47 , , 26.3 , , .592 , , .333 , , .718 , , 7.1 , , 1.4 , , .8 , , 2.0 , , 12.7 , - , align="center" colspan="2" , All-Star , 1 , , 0 , , 19.0 , , .625 , , .000 , , .000 , , 8.0 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 1.0 , , 10.0

Playoffs

, - , align="left" ,

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, align="left" , Santa Cruz , 6 , , 6 , , 23.2 , , .667 , , .000 , , .531 , , 5.5 , , 1.0 , , 1.2 , , 2.3 , , 10.2 , - , align="center" colspan="2" , Career , 6 , , 6 , , 23.2 , , .667 , , .000 , , .531 , , 5.5 , , 1.0 , , 1.2 , , 2.3 , , 10.2

College

, - , align="left" , 2002–03 , align="left" , Connecticut Huskies , 32 , , 22 , , 10.8 , , .545 , , .000 , , .500 , , 2.8 , , .7 , , .2 , , .7 , , 2.8 , - , align="left" , 2003–04 , align="left" , Connecticut Huskies , 35 , , 1 , , 9.1 , , .500 , , .000 , , .388 , , 2.8 , , .3 , , .1 , , .7 , , 2.4 , - , align="left" , 2004–05 , align="left" , Connecticut Huskies , 30 , , 0 , , 12.4 , , .519 , , .000 , , .525 , , 3.4 , , .6 , , .3 , , 1.2 , , 3.8 , - , align="left" , 2005–06 , align="left" , Connecticut Huskies , 34 , , 33 , , 27.7 , , .608 , , .500 , , .692 , , 6.6 , , .7 , , .6 , , 3.1 , , 9.7 , - , align="center" colspan="2" , Career , 131 , , 56 , , 15.1 , , .563 , , .333 , , .578 , , 3.9 , , .6 , , .3 , , 1.4 , , 4.7

Coaching career

On October 8, 2024, Armstrong was hired by the

to be an assistant coach. Prior to this, he was an assistant in the video room and then a player development coach for the Golden State Warrirors.

Acting career

Armstrong appeared as himself in the 2015 independent film ''Four Square Miles to Glory''.

Notes

References

External links

*
DraftExpress.com Profile

ESPN.com Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, Hilton 1984 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in Japan American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's basketball players ASVEL Basket players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players from Westchester County, New York Beşiktaş men's basketball players Bnei Herzliya basketball players Büyükçekmece Basketbol players Centers (basketball) Chiba Jets players Golden State Warriors players Houston Rockets players Nagoya Diamond Dolphins players New Orleans Hornets draft picks New Orleans Hornets players Panathinaikos B.C. players People from Peekskill, New York Power forwards Ryukyu Golden Kings players Sacramento Kings players Santa Cruz Warriors players UConn Huskies men's basketball players Washington Wizards players