Ishmail Carzell Wainright (born September 12, 1994) 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 for

Hapoel Tel Aviv Hapoel Tel Aviv () is a sports club in Israel, founded in the 1920s, and part of the Hapoel association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as football, basketball, w ...

of the Ligat HaAl and the

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

. He also represents the senior Ugandan national team. 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

Baylor Bears The Baylor Bears are the athletic teams that represent Baylor University. The teams participate in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as one of only three private school members of the Big 12 Conference. Prior t ...

, as well as played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

as a

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

. Wainright is the grandson of former NBA player Maurice King.

High school career

Wainright played two seasons for head coach Stu Vetter at

Montrose Christian School Montrose Christian School was a private Christian school in North Bethesda, Maryland, with a Rockville postal address. It was formerly operated by the Montrose Baptist Church, Maryland's second largest Southern Baptist church. It educated around ...

in Rockville, Maryland, helping the team to 19–5 record as senior in 2012–13. He earned 2013 All-MET honors after averaging 8.8 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 8.2 assists for Mustangs. He began his prep career at

Raytown South High School Raytown South Senior High School is a high school located in Raytown, Missouri. The school was established in 1961, and graduated its first class of seniors in 1964. As Raytown became less of a "destination-suburb" in the 1990s, the enrollment f ...

in suburban Kansas City, where he averaged 13.6 points and 9.8 rebounds as a sophomore in 2010–11. A consensus top-75 recruit, he was ranked No. 28 in 2013 class by ESPN.com, No. 51 by Scout.com, No. 52 by Rivals.com, and No. 62 by 247Sports.com.

College career

Wainright played four seasons of basketball for the

. He averaged 5.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game as a junior. As a senior, Wainright averaged 5.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.7 steals per game. He was named to the

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate 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, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Okla ...

All-Defensive Team. He played one season of football after his basketball career, playing tight end. Wainright had four catches for 34 yards and two touchdowns. After finishing his career at Baylor, Wainright joined the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

of the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

as an undrafted free agent, but he did not make the final roster.

Professional career

Nürnberg Falcons (2018–2019)

Wainright returned to basketball and signed with

Nürnberg Falcons BC Nürnberg Falcons BC, formerly called Nürnberger BC (abbreviated as NBC) is a basketball club based in Nuremberg, Germany. The club currently plays in the ProA, the German professional second division. In 2010–11 Nürnberg was promoted from t ...

on September 3, 2018. He averaged 12.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.7 steals per game.

Rasta Vechta (2019–2020)

On July 2, 2019, Wainright signed with

Rasta Vechta Sports Club Rasta Vechta is a German basketball club based in Vechta, Lower Saxony. The club plays in the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), following their promotion from the ProA in 2022–23. Founded in 1979, the club has spent the majority of its ...

. Wainright averaged 10.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.4 assist and 1.8 steals per game.

SIG Strasbourg (2020–2021)

On June 17, 2020, he signed with

SIG Strasbourg Strasbourg Illkirch-Graffenstaden Basket, most commonly known as SIG Basket or SIG Strasbourg, is a French professional basketball club that is based in Strasbourg. The club, founded in 1929, competes domestically in the French Pro A League. The ...

. He averaged 11.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.6 steals per game.

Phoenix Suns (2021–2023)

On August 7, 2021, Wainright signed a two-year, non-guaranteed deal with the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...

, but was waived by the Raptors on October 17. Five days later, he signed 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

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

. Wainright later made his NBA debut on November 19 near the end of a win against 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 ...

, with him recording his first official points, rebounds, and assist two days later in a blowout win over the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

. On January 30, 2022, Wainright scored a then-season-high 10 points and put up two blocks in 20 minutes of action (including the entirety of the fourth quarter) in a 115–110 win over 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 ...

. On April 6, he surpassed his season bests with career highs of 20 points and 8 rebounds in a close loss to the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The ...

. On April 10, the Suns converted his deal into a standard contract. Wainright joined the Suns'

2022 NBA Summer League The 2022 NBA Summer League, also branded as the NBA 2K23 Summer League 2022, was an off-season competition held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) primarily at the Thomas and Mack Center and Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada on the cam ...

roster. On August 4, 2022, Wainright signed a two-way contract with the Suns. After dealing with lower back pain and then the death of his father,

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

Calvin Wainright, Ishmail Wainright returned to action with the Suns on November 16, hitting a three-pointer in a 130–119 win over the defending champion

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 February 24, 2023, Wainwright signed a two-year, $2.5 million deal with the Suns, including a team option for the 2023–24 season. Wainwright previously operated under a two-way contract and was nearing the 50-game limit. On March 5 against the

, coach

Monty Williams Tavares Montgomery Williams (born October 8, 1971) is an American professional basketball coach, executive, and former player of the National Basketball Association (NBA) who is the head coach of the TMI Episcopal’s boys basketball team. He pre ...

made a decision late in the third quarter to substitute starter Josh Okogie, who had missed all of his eight three-point attempts, with Wainright. Although he had not played in the game up until that point, Wainwright made a significant impact, hitting four of his five three-point attempts, helping the Suns secure a 130–126 victory. On October 19, 2023, Wainwright was waived shortly before the 2023–24 season.

Portland Trail Blazers (2023–2024)

On October 21, 2023, Wainwright was claimed off waivers by the

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 ...

. Wainright made his debut with the Trail Blazers on November 14 in a loss to the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

during the

2023 NBA In-Season Tournament The 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament was a multi-stage basketball tournament that played during the 2023–24 NBA season. It was the first edition of the NBA Cup, then under the working name ''NBA In-Season Tournament''. All 30 teams participated ...

. On January 6, 2024, after playing seven games with the team, he was waived by Portland.

Return to Phoenix (2024)

On March 4, 2024, Wainwright returned to the

on a

. In his third season with the Suns, he only played four total games with the team due to him being a late return for the franchise.

Hapoel Tel Aviv (2024–present)

On July 10, 2024, Wainright signed with the

of the Ligat HaAl. On April 11, 2025, he won the EuroCup title and helped the team qualify to the

National team career

Wainright plays for the Uganda men's national basketball team. As an American born in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

, he was convinced by Uganda coaches George Galanopoulous and Mike Schmitz to become a

naturalized Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

Ugandan to help build the team and increase employment opportunities. Wainright scored 36 points and collected 13 rebounds in his national team debut in a win over in November 2020. He was on the roster during

AfroBasket 2021 FIBA AfroBasket 2021 was the 30th edition of the FIBA AfroBasket, a men's basketball continental championship of Africa. The tournament was hosted by Rwanda for the first time. It was originally scheduled to take place between 17 and 29 August 20 ...

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 45 , , 0 , , 8.0 , , .394 , , .322 , , .583 , , 1.2 , , .3 , , .4 , , .1 , , 2.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 60 , , 2 , , 15.3 , , .370 , , .329 , , .839 , , 2.3 , , .9 , , .6 , , .4 , , 4.2 , - , rowspan=2 style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

, 7 , , 0 , , 6.6 , , .333 , , .375 , , 1.000 , , 1.3 , , .0 , , .3 , , .1 , , 2.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 4 , , 0 , , 4.1 , , .167 , , .250 , , , , 1.3 , , .3 , , .5 , , .0 , , .8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 116 , , 2 , , 11.5 , , .372 , , .329 , , .778 , , 1.8 , , .6 , , .5 , , .3 , , 3.3

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 7 , , 0 , , 3.8 , , .417 , , .500 , , — , , 1.6 , , .1 , , .1 , , .1 , , 1.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 6 , , 0 , , 3.5 , , .250 , , .250 , , — , , .2 , , .0 , , .0 , , .2 , , .5 , - class="sortbottom" , colspan=2 style="text-align:center", Career , 13 , , 0 , , 3.6 , , .375 , , .400 , , — , , .9 , , .1 , , .1 , , .2 , , 1.2

Personal life

Wainright's father, Calvin Wainright, was raised by his mother Marvine Wainright and stepfather Alvin Joe; his biological father was former NBA player Maurice King. Calvin was a pastor and youth basketball coach in

, until his death on October 31, 2022. In 2020, Calvin received the Kansas City People's Choice Awards Humanitarian Award for his work in the city. Wainright was told about his grandfather by his mother's side of the family while he was playing for Baylor. He honored King during a match against

Kansas University The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

by using the name Ishmail King-Wainright throughout the game. Wainright also has a younger brother named Amaad that also previously played college basketball. Amaad played basketball collegiately at

Trinity Valley Community College Trinity Valley Community College (TVCC) is a public community college based in Athens, Texas. It has six campuses serving five counties across the southeast and eastern parts of the state. History TVCC was founded in 1946 as Henderson County Jun ...

in the

NJCAA The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) is the governing association of community college, State college (disambiguation), state college, and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 sepa ...

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant coll ...

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. ...

, and

Louisiana State University Shreveport Louisiana State University Shreveport (LSU Shreveport or LSUS) is a public university in Shreveport, Louisiana. It is part of the Louisiana State University System. Initially, a two-year college, LSUS has expanded into a university with 25 u ...

in the NAIA. During his only season in Kansas State, Amaad and the

Wildcats The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while th ...

made it to the 2018 NCAA tournament, going as far as the Elite 8 in their tournament run that season. Wainright is also the cousin of current

Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a mile (). The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon Nati ...

basketball player Tyon Grant-Foster, who went to

Grand Canyon University Grand Canyon University (GCU) is a Private university, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit Christian university in Phoenix, Arizona. The university offers degrees in over 200 areas of study and is administrativel ...

after a recommendation from Wainright and a relationship from Baylor with Grand Canyon's coach,

Bryce Drew Bryce Homer Drew (born September 21, 1974) is an American college basketball coach and former player who is the head coach at Grand Canyon University. Previously, he served as the head coach at Vanderbilt and in the same capacity at his alma ma ...

. Grant-Foster previously played for

Indian Hills Community College Indian Hills Community College (IHCC) is a public community college in Iowa with campuses in Ottumwa and Centerville. IHCC serves both traditional residential students and commuter students, primarily from a ten-county area in southeast Iowa as ...

in the NJCAA, the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

, and

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from ...

before a health scare in a season opener during his only game with DePaul against

Coppin State University Coppin State University (Coppin) is a public historically black university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It is part of the University System of Maryland and a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. History Coppin State Univer ...

had him risk not playing basketball altogether at one point. During his only season at Grand Canyon, Grant-Foster would win the WAC Player of the Year award and reach the All-WAC First Team in 2024, as well as lead the university to their first ever victory in the NCAA tournament by defeating St. Mary's College.

References

External links

*
Baylor Bears bioFrom Josh Allen to Chris Paul: Ish Wainright's winding journey to the NBA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wainright, Ish 1994 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Israel American football tight ends American men's basketball players Basketball players from Kansas City, Missouri Baylor Bears football players Baylor Bears men's basketball players Hapoel Tel Aviv B.C. players Naturalised basketball players Nürnberg Falcons BC players Phoenix Suns players Portland Trail Blazers players Power forwards Rip City Remix players SC Rasta Vechta players SIG Strasbourg players Small forwards Ugandan men's basketball players Undrafted NBA players

High school career

College career

Professional career

Nürnberg Falcons (2018–2019)

Rasta Vechta (2019–2020)

SIG Strasbourg (2020–2021)

Phoenix Suns (2021–2023)

Portland Trail Blazers (2023–2024)

Return to Phoenix (2024)

Hapoel Tel Aviv (2024–present)

National team career

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

Playoffs

Personal life

See also

References

External links