Johnathan Hamilton (born February 3, 1994) is a Trinidadian 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 Força Lleida of the

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 began his college career at

Jacksonville College Jacksonville College is a private Christian junior college in Jacksonville, Texas. It is the only accredited junior college in Texas that is privately owned and operated, owned by the Baptist Missionary Association of America. The college i ...

, before moving to

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

program

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

and playing his final season for

UT Arlington The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA or UT Arlington) is a public research university in Arlington, Texas, United States. It is the second oldest university in the University of Texas System and was founded in 1895. It was in the Texas A&M ...

. Standing , he plays the

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

position.

Early life

Hamilton was born in the rural town of

Rio Claro, Trinidad and Tobago Rio Claro is the largest town in southeastern Trinidad, in Trinidad and Tobago. Rio Claro lies east of Princes Town, west of Mayaro and northwest of Guayaguayare. It serves as the major commercial centre for southeastern Trinidad. It lies in a p ...

to Princess and Tony Hamilton. He has six siblings, named Joshua, Jesse, Jason, Anthony, Liz and Tia. His father played for a basketball club in Trinidad and Tobago. Hamilton played

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

in his childhood but switched to basketball at age 16 after growing too tall for the former sport. He has stated that he transferred his footwork skills from soccer to help him in basketball. While growing up, Hamilton also played

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

with his friends and swam in a river for fun. He began his basketball career with his local team, the Warriors, before joining the NBS Ambassadors in the Mayaro Basketball League.

College career

Hamilton was encouraged to play

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 ...

in the United States by a

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 ...

from

Jacksonville, Texas Jacksonville is a city located in Cherokee County, Texas, United States. The population was 13,997 at the 2020 U.S. census. It is the principal city of the Jacksonville micropolitan statistical area, which includes all of Cherokee County. Ja ...

who visited Trinidad and Tobago annually. As a result, he spent his freshman and sophomore seasons of college at

in the pastor's hometown. In 26 games in his second year, he averaged 9 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 4.3 blocks per game, shooting .617 from the field and ranking among the top shot-blockers in the

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

(NJCAA). On April 22, 2015, Hamilton signed a

letter of intent A letter of intent (LOI or LoI, or Letter of Intent) is a document outlining the understanding between two or more parties which they intend to formalize in a legally binding agreement. The concept is similar to a heads of agreement, term she ...

to play for

in the

. In December 2015, he was suspended by head coach

Buzz Williams Brent Langdon "Buzz" Williams (born September 1, 1972) is an American basketball coach who is the head coach at the University of Maryland. He previously served as head coach at Texas A&M from 2019 to 2025, Virginia Tech from 2014 to 2019, Marq ...

due to poor academic performance. Hamilton finished his junior season having played 17 games, averaging 1.8 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 0.9 blocks per game. Three games into his senior campaign for Virginia Tech, he suffered a season-ending

thumb The thumb is the first digit of the hand, next to the index finger. When a person is standing in the medical anatomical position (where the palm is facing to the front), the thumb is the outermost digit. The Medical Latin English noun for thumb ...

injury, after a

tendon rupture Tendon rupture is a condition in which a tendon separates in whole or in part from tissue to which it is attached, or is itself torn or otherwise divided in whole or in part. Examples include: * Achilles tendon rupture * Biceps tendon rupture * A ...

was discovered in his left thumb. He was averaging 3.7 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 0.3 blocks per game. Despite graduating from

with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

criminology Criminology (from Latin , 'accusation', and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'', 'word, reason') is the interdisciplinary study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is a multidisciplinary field in both the behaviou ...

, Hamilton chose to attend the

University of Texas at Arlington The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA or UT Arlington) is a public research university in Arlington, Texas, United States. It is the second oldest university in the University of Texas System and was founded in 1895. It was in the Texas A& ...

for

graduate school Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachel ...

, with the goal of becoming a

police commissioner A police commissioner is the head of a police department, responsible for overseeing its operations and ensuring the effective enforcement of laws and maintenance of public order. They develop and implement policies, manage budgets, and coordinate ...

in Trinidad and Tobago. In his final year of college basketball eligibility, he played for the

UT Arlington Mavericks The UT Arlington Mavericks (abbreviated UT Arlington, UTA, and Mavs) are the athletic teams that represent the University of Texas at Arlington in Arlington, Texas. The Mavericks currently compete in the NCAA Division I Western Athletic Conferenc ...

, being drawn to the program by associate head coach Greg Young, who had helped recruit him to Jacksonville College. Hamilton averaged 11.2 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks, starting in 31 of 34 games. He recorded 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 ...

of 23 points and 14 rebounds in a championship game loss at the 2018 Sun Belt Conference tournament, earning all-tournament team honors.

Professional career

Grand Rapids Drive (2018–2019)

After going undrafted in the

2018 NBA draft The 2018 NBA Draft was held on June 21, 2018, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, including internationa ...

, Hamilton played for 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 ...

at the

2018 NBA Summer League The 2018 NBA Summer League consisted of three pro basketball leagues organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA): the Sacramento Kings's California Classic Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas Summer League. The Sacr ...

. Through 3 games, he averaged 4 points, 4 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks in 12.7 minutes per game. Hamilton signed with the

to a training camp contract but was waived on October 12, 2018.

Darüşşafaka (2019–2020)

On July 13, 2019, Hamilton signed with Darüşşafaka 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 ...

. He averaged 9.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks for Darussafaka, over 40 games between BSL and EuroCup.

Fenerbahçe (2020–2021)

On July 10, 2020, Hamilton signed with Fenerbahçe Beko of the

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 ...

. On June 17, 2021, Hamilton was officially released from his contract with the Turkish club, following his loan spell.

Loan to Mornar Bar (2021)

On January 24, 2021, Hamilton was loaned to Mornar Bar of the

ABA League The ABA League, renamed the ABA League First Division in 2017, is the top-tier regional men's professional basketball league that originally featured clubs from former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedoni ...

and the Montenegrin League. On September 22, 2021, Hamilton signed with 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 ...

, but was waived on October 15.

College Park Skyhawks (2021–2022)

In October 2021, Hamilton signed with the

College Park Skyhawks The College Park Skyhawks are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in College Park, Georgia, and are affiliated with the Atlanta Hawks. The Skyhawks play their home games at Gateway Center Arena at College Park af ...

. He averaged 6.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game.

Afyon Belediye (2022)

On January 15, 2022, Hamilton signed with HDI Sigorta Afyon Belediye of the

Basketbol Süper Ligi The Basketball Super League (; TBSL), also known as the Türkiye Sigorta Basketbol Süper Ligi for sponsorship reasons, is the top men's professional basketball division of the Turkish basketball league system. It replaced the former Turkish Bas ...

Merkezefendi Bld. Denizli Basket (2022–2023)

On November 9, 2022, he signed with Merkezefendi Bld. Denizli Basket of the

(BSL).

Bursaspor (2023–present)

On July 27, 2023, he signed with

Bursaspor Bursaspor Kulübü Derneği, commonly known as Bursaspor, is a Turkey, Turkish professional sports club based in the city of Bursa. Founded in 1963, the club is best known for its football team, which has a rich history in Football in Turkey, Turk ...

of the Turkish

(BSL).

References

External links

UT Arlington Mavericks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Johnny 1994 births Living people Afyon Belediye S.K. players Bursaspor Basketbol players Centers (basketball) College Park Skyhawks players Darüşşafaka Basketbol players Expatriate basketball people in Turkey Fenerbahçe men's basketball players Força Lleida CE players Grand Rapids Drive players Junior college men's basketball players in the United States Merkezefendi Belediyesi Denizli Basket players People from Mayaro–Rio Claro Trinidad and Tobago expatriate basketball people in the United States Trinidad and Tobago men's basketball players UT Arlington Mavericks men's basketball players Virginia Tech Hokies men's basketball players Beirut Club players Shahrdari Gorgan players