Jamar J. Wilson (born February 22, 1984) is an American-Finnish 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 who last played for Boulazac Basket Dordogne of the

LNB Pro B The LNB Pro B, commonly known as Pro B, is the second-tier level men's professional basketball league in France. It is the second division of the Ligue Nationale de Basket (LNB), which has organized the league since the year 1987. The regular se ...

. He currently works as an assistant coach for I division A team

Tapiolan Honka Tapiolan Honka is a basketball club based in Espoo, Finland. Their men's team plays in top-tier Korisliiga, after they were promoted from Koripallon I-divisioona, I division A in 2024, and their women's team plays in Naisten Korisliiga. History ...

High school career

Wilson attended All Hallows High School in

Bronx, New York The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

for two years before transferring to Our Savior New American School in Centereach, New York. As a senior, he averaged 14.2 points, 5.1 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game as he led Pioneers to a 25–11 record and the 2002 NACA Division I Boys Basketball National Championship.

College career

Wilson 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 ...

at Albany from 2002 to 2007. He made an immediate impact, as he was named the

America East Conference The America East Conference (AmEast) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I whose members are located in the Northeastern United States. The conference is headquartered in Boston, Massachu ...

rookie of the year and second-team All-Conference as a freshman after averaging 18.9

points A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to: Mathematics * Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...

and 3.3 assists per game. After a medical redshirt in the 2003–04 season, Wilson came back to again make the All-Conference second team. For the next two seasons, Wilson took his game to another level and led the Great Danes to their first two NCAA Division I tournament appearances. Wilson was named first team All-Conference both years and was named America East Conference player of the year in each of his last two seasons. Wilson also raised his level of play in the America East tournament, earning tournament MVP honors both years. Wilson was also named an honorable mention

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

both seasons. Wilson scored 2,164 points in his Albany career – the most in school history. He also set school records in points in a season (620 his senior year), career

free throws In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the Key (basketball), restricted ...

(601), and finished second all-time in assists (488). He is the first player in school history to have his jersey retired.

Professional career

Belgium (2007–2010)

In August 2007, Wilson signed with VOO Wolves Verviers-Pepinster of Belgium for the 2007–08 season.Jamar Wilson , LinkedIn
/ref> In 27 games for Verviers-Pepinster, he averaged 17.6 points, 2.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game. In August 2008, Wilson signed with Belgacom Liège Basket for the 2008–09 season. In 30 league games for Liège, he averaged 9.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.0 steals per game. In September 2009, Wilson signed with Generali Okapi Aalstar for the 2009–10 season. In 28 league games for Aalstar, he averaged 12.3 points, 1.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game.

Finland (2010–2011)

In September 2010, Wilson signed with Honka Espoo Playboys of Finland's

Korisliiga The Korisliiga is the top-tier professional basketball league in Finland, comprising the top 12 teams of the country. In its current format, each team plays all other teams two times in the regular season, once at home and once away, for a total o ...

for the 2010–11 season. In a game against Namika Lahti in January 2011, Wilson scored 45 points, and two days later, scored 44 points against

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

. In 42 games for Honka, he averaged 21.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game.

Australia (2011–2015)

On August 5, 2011, Wilson signed with the

Cairns Taipans The Cairns Taipans are an Australian professional basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Taipans compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Cairns Convention Centre, known colloquially as "The S ...

for the 2011–12 NBL season. He was named player of the week twice and finished second in the MVP voting. On April 3, 2012, Wilson re-signed with the Taipans on a two-year deal. On March 1, 2014, Wilson recorded a career-high 33 points, along with 8 rebounds and 6 assists, in a 92–87 win over the

New Zealand Breakers The New Zealand Breakers (also known as the Bank of New Zealand, BNZ Breakers for sponsorship reasons) are a New Zealand professional basketball team based in Auckland. The Breakers are the only non-Australian side currently competing in Austral ...

. In April 2014, it was announced that Wilson would not re-sign with the Taipans for 2014–15. On July 8, 2014, Wilson signed a one-year deal with the Adelaide 36ers. On January 13, 2015, he was named Player of the Week for Round 14 after scoring an equal game-high 22 points against Melbourne United on January 10. He went on to win Round 17 Player of the Week honors as well after scoring a game-high 25 points against the

Townsville Crocodiles The Townsville Crocodiles were an Australian professional men's basketball team based in the North Queensland city of Townsville. They competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at the Townsville Entertain ...

on February 1. After earning All-NBL second team honors for the 2014–15 season, Wilson was named the recipient of the Mark Davis Trophy as the 2015 Adelaide 36ers club MVP. In 107 NBL games over four seasons, Wilson averaged 16.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.

Rouen Basket (2015)

On March 12, 2015, Wilson signed with French team SPO Rouen Basket for the rest of the 2014–15 LNB Pro A season. In eight games for Rouen, he averaged 9.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.

Partizan (2015–2016)

On November 7, 2015, Wilson signed with Serbian team Partizan Belgrade for the rest of the 2015–16 season.

Estudiantes (2016–2017)

On August 1, 2016, Wilson signed with Estudiantes of Spain for the 2016–17 ACB season.

Nanterre 92 (2017–2018)

On November 7, 2017, Wilson signed with

Nanterre 92 Nanterre 92 is a professional basketball club from the city of Nanterre (a western suburb of Paris), France. The club has played in French basketball league system, the top-tier level basketball league in France, the LNB Pro A, Pro A, since 2011. ...

for the 2017–18 season.

BC Lietkabelis (2018–2019)

On August 2, 2018, he signed with

BC Lietkabelis BC Lietkabelis (), commonly known as Lietkabelis Panevėžys, also known as 7bet-Lietkabelis for sponsorship reasons, is a Lithuanian professional basketball club based in Panevėžys, Lithuania, participating in the Lietuvos krepšinio lyga, Lit ...

of the

Lithuanian Basketball League Lithuanian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Lithuania, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe ** Lithuanian language ** Lithuanians, a Baltic ethnic group, native to Lithuania and the immediate geographical region ** L ...

JL Bourg (2019–2020)

On June 12, 2019, he has signed with JL Bourg of the

LNB Pro A LNB may refer to: Sport * Liga Nacional de Baloncesto, a professional basketball league in the Dominican Republic * Liga Nacional de Básquetbol, an Argentine basketball league * Liga Nacional de Básquetbol (Paraguay), Liga Nacional de Básquetb ...

Kataja BC (2020–2022)

On February 18, 2020, Wilson signed with Kataja BC of the Finnish league.

Boulazac Basket (2022–present)

On March 22, 2022, he has signed with Boulazac Basket Dordogne of the

National team career

Wilson never received an invitation to play for the United States national team. After having received Finnish citizenship, he immediately became a potential candidate to be a member of the Finnish national team. He made his international debut for Finland on August 1, 2015, in a friendly match against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Wilson was a member of the Finnish national team at EuroBasket 2015. On September 5, 2015, he debuted for the team in a 97–87 overtime loss to France in Round 1, scoring a team-high 21 points. In the fourth match of the group stage against

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

, Finland won 88–59 behind Wilson's team-high 16 points. Over five tournament games, Wilson averaged 12.0 points, 1.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.

Personal life

Wilson is the son of Bobby Livingston and Carolyn Wilson. His cousin, Dyree Wilson, was a two-time All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference selection at Iona College in 2000 and 2001, and his uncle, James "Pookie" Wilson, was a notable street baller in the Bronx.Take 40: Jamar Wilson
/ref> Wilson and his wife, former Finland national team player Laura Wilson (née Sario) have a daughter named Fiona. They had met earlier when the both were playing college basketball in the United States. Six months after passing the language test, Wilson received his Finnish passport in June 2015, about five years after his first public intentions to gain Finnish citizenship.Susijengin tähti oli heittämässä vapaaheittoa, kun vastustaja päästi suustaan hirveän sanan – ”Olin järkyttynyt”
Iltalehti, 14 June 2020

Career statistics

National team

References

External links