Jean Claudio Montero Berroa (born 3 July 2003) is a Dominican 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

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

of the Spanish

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administered by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, w ...

. He has previously played for

CB Gran Canaria Club Baloncesto Gran Canaria – Claret, S.A.D., known as Dreamland Gran Canaria due to sponsorship, is a professional basketball club based in Las Palmas, Spain. The team plays in the Spanish Liga ACB and the Champions League. Their home venue ...

Early life and youth career

Born in

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

, Montero grew up playing basketball and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

and was introduced to basketball when he visited a court to entertain himself. He first played basketball with his cousin near his home, using the wheels of an old bicycle to make a rim. He started playing the sport seriously at the age of 10 or 11 through Club DOSA in the

Villa Juana Villa Juana is a sector or neighborhood in the city of Santo Domingo in the Distrito Nacional of the Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in ...

sector. Montero subsequently moved to Club Mauricio Báez, also based in Villa Juana. In 2018, Montero began attending

DME Academy DME Academy DME Academy is a private sports training and educational institution located in Daytona Beach, Florida. Established in 2015 by Mike and Dan Panaggio, the academy offers comprehensive programs for middle school, high school, and post- ...

Daytona Beach, Florida Daytona Beach is a coastal Resort town, resort city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. Located on the East Coast of the United States, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Deltona� ...

, where he averaged 20 points and eight rebounds per game. At the time, he also competed for NightRydas Elite at the

Nike Elite Youth Basketball League The Nike Elite Youth Basketball League, also known as Nike EYBL, or simply EYBL, is a basketball circuit for teams of players aged 17 and under. The circuit was founded in 2010 and is composed of AAU travel teams. Both boys and girls play in the ...

under-15 division. After having success at the

2019 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship The 2019 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship was the men's international basketball competition that was held in Belém, Brazil from 3 to 9 June 2019. The top four teams qualified for the 2020 FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup in Bulgaria. Qual ...

in June 2019, Montero received offers from clubs in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and high schools in the United States. He continued his career with the Spanish club

Gran Canaria Gran Canaria (, ; ), also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, a Spain, Spanish archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa. the island had a population of that constitut ...

. Later that month, Montero was named MVP of the

Basketball Without Borders Basketball Without Borders is a basketball instructional camp organized by the NBA in conjunction with FIBA. It presents itself as a “basketball development and community outreach program that unites young basketball players to promote the sport ...

Americas camp in

Medellín Medellín ( ; or ), officially the Special District of Science, Technology and Innovation of Medellín (), is the List of cities in Colombia, second-largest city in Colombia after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia Departme ...

, despite being a year younger than the other participants. In late December 2019, he averaged 21.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, four assists, and 1.8 steals for Gran Canaria's under-18 team at the Valencia Tournament, a qualifier for the Adidas Next Generation Tournament (ANGT). He earned MVP honors of the competition after posting 30 points, six rebounds and seven assists in an 88–72 win over

Unicaja Unicaja is a Spanish savings bank based in Málaga and chartered as a caja de ahorros providing retail banking services. The banks full name is ''Monte de Piedad y Caja de Ahorros de Ronda, Cádiz, Almería, Málaga y Antequera'' after the ...

's under-18 team in the title game.

Professional career

Gran Canaria (2019–2024)

In the 2019–20 season, Montero began playing for Gran Canaria B, the

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

club

, in the third-tier

LEB Plata The Segunda FEB, formerly known as LEB 2 and LEB Plata, is the third basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system and the second basketball division organized by the Spanish Basketball Federation. Since 2019, three teams are promote ...

. He immediately became a key player for his team. In his debut on 15 December 2019, Montero recorded 12 points, four assists, and six steals in an 84–65 win over

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from , later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Mallorca. Its capital is Maó, situated on the isl ...

. One week later, he scored a season-high 28 points in a 97–89 victory over

Benicarló Benicarló () is a city and municipality in the north of the province of Castelló, part of the Valencian Community, in the Mediterranean Coast of Spain, between the cities of Vinaròs and Peníscola, not too far south from the Ebre River. To ...

. On 18 January 2020, Montero collected 27 points with six three-pointers and six rebounds in a 98–82 win over Pardinyes. He finished the season averaging 15.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, and three assists per game, shooting 43.5 percent from three-point range. On 27 September 2020, Montero made his debut for Gran Canaria's senior team in the ACB, recording five points and three rebounds in 10 minutes in an 88–71 loss to

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

. On 5 December, he scored 33 points, a career-high in the LEB Plata, and six rebounds in a 95–86 loss to

Navarra Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

. On 17 March 2021, Montero posted 27 points, six rebounds, and six assists in an 82–54 win against Navarra, and was named MVP of Round 21 in the LEB Plata. In the

2020–21 LEB Plata season The 2020–21 LEB Plata season was the 21st season of the Spanish basketball third league. It started on 10 October 2020 with the first round of the regular season and ended on 29 May 2021 with the promotion playoffs. It was the following season a ...

, he averaged 18 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 2.5 steals per game. After his time with

Overtime Elite Overtime Elite is a basketball league for 16–20-year-olds, based in Atlanta, Georgia. The league is owned and operated by Overtime and was founded by Dan Porter and Zack Weiner. History Overtime launched the Overtime Elite basketball leagu ...

concluded, Montero would return with the Gran Canaria properly.

Overtime Elite (2021–2022)

On 4 June 2021, Montero was loaned to Team Overtime of

(OTE) for the league's inaugural season. Montero was projected as a potential lottery pick for the 2022 NBA draft . In 24 games, he averaged 16.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 3.4 steals per game, leading OTE in scoring. Montero went undrafted in the

2022 NBA draft The 2022 NBA draft (branded as the 2022 NBA Draft presented by State Farm for sponsorship reasons), the 76th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft, was held on June 23, 2022, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New ...

. He joined the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

for the

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 ...

Real Betis (2023)

In 2023, Montero would sign with

Real Betis Baloncesto Real Betis Baloncesto S.A.D., simply known as Real Betis, is a professional basketball team based in Seville, Spain. The team plays in the LEB Oro, the second basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system after the Liga ACB. It pl ...

in the Spanish

Andorra (2023–2024)

Following his brief time spent with Real Betis, Montero would sign with

BC Andorra Bàsquet Club Andorra SAOE, also known as MoraBanc Andorra for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball team that is based in Andorra la Vella, Andorra. Though based in Andorra, the club plays in the Spanish basketball league system. The ...

in the Spanish

Valencia Basket (2024–present)

On July 9, 2024, he signed with

of the Spanish

National team career

Junior national team

Shortly before turning 14 years old, Montero made his national team debut for the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

at the

2017 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship The 2017 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship was the men's international basketball competition that was held in Formosa, Argentina from 14–18 June 2017. The successfully defended their title against , 111–60, in the rematch of the Finals ...

Formosa, Argentina Formosa () is the capital city of the Argentine province of Formosa, on the banks of the Paraguay River, opposite the Paraguayan town of Alberdi, about north from Buenos Aires, on National Route 11. The city has a population of about 234, ...

. In five games, he averaged 9.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game, leading his team to fifth place and a spot in the 2018 FIBA Under-17 World Cup in Argentina. At the Under-17 World Cup, Montero was two years younger than most of his opponents but played well against the competition. In seven games, he averaged 15.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists, while leading the tournament in steals (4.1 per game). He helped the Dominican Republic to ninth place, one of its best finishes in a global tournament. In December 2018, at the

Centrobasket The Centrobasket is a FIBA-sponsored international basketball tournament where national teams from Central America and the Caribbean participate. These countries make up the Central American and Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CONCENCABA). Th ...

Under-15 Championship in

Hermosillo Hermosillo (), formerly called Pitic (as in ''Santísima Trinidad del Pitic'' and ''Presidio del Pitic''), is a city in the center of the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora. It is the municipal seat of the Hermosillo municipality, the state's ...

, Montero was named tournament MVP after averaging 25.8 points, eight rebounds and five assists and winning a gold medal. He helped his team win the bronze medal at the

Belém Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará), often called Belém of Pará, is the capital and largest city of the state of Pará in the north of B ...

. Montero led the tournament in points (30.3) and steals (3.3) per game while also averaging 9.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists. In the bronze medal game against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, he recorded 49 points, 12 rebounds and six steals. He was named to the all-tournament team. In July 2018, Montero led the Dominican Republic to fourth place at the Centrobasket Under-17 Championship in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

. He was the tournament's leading scorer (28.2 points per game) and averaged six rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 4.2 steals.

Senior national team

In August 2019, at age 16, Montero was one of 17 players to join the Dominican Republic senior national team for training camp in preparation for the

2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup The 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the 18th tournament of the FIBA Basketball World Cup for men's national basketball teams, held from 31 August to 15 September 2019. The tournament was hosted in China and was rescheduled from 2018 to 2019, b ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. He played three exhibition games for the team but did not compete in the World Cup. Montero played for the Dominican Republic during 2022 FIBA AmeriCup qualification.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montero, Jean 2003 births Living people 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup players 21st-century Dominican Republic sportsmen Basketball players at the 2023 Pan American Games Basketball players from Santo Domingo CB Gran Canaria players Dominican Republic expatriate basketball people in Spain Dominican Republic men's basketball players Liga ACB players Overtime Elite players Point guards Real Betis Baloncesto players Valencia Basket players