Joshua Malik Childress (born June 20, 1983) 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. An All-EuroLeague Second Team member in 2010, he played 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 ...

, Phoenix Suns,

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), ...

, and

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Confere ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA), and Olympiacos Piraeus of the

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

and EuroLeague.

Early life

Childress grew up in

Compton, California Compton is a city located in the Gateway Cities region of southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county, and on May 11, 1888, was the eighth ci ...

where he and his brother, Chris, played basketball and did their best to stay out of trouble. The neighborhood they lived in was very tight and supportive, but they lived under constant threat of gangsters in the area. Childress attended Mayfair High School in nearby Lakewood, overlapping with MLB All-Star Justin Turner. Besides playing basketball in high school and being named a McDonald's High School All-American, he also played

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

during his senior year. He led his high school volleyball team, the Monsoons, to an undefeated record and he was voted to the All-League volleyball team. Josh has his #22 jersey retired at Mayfair.

College career

Childress played three seasons of

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 ...

with Stanford, where he was named an AP first team All-American, an All-American Consensus second team honoree, the Pac-10 Conference Player of the Year and the Pac-10 Conference tournament MVP as a junior in 2004. He then declared for the 2004 NBA draft where he was selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the sixth overall pick, becoming the highest Stanford player to be drafted in the NBA.

Professional career

Atlanta Hawks (2004–2008)

Childress was selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2004 NBA draft by the

. During his rookie season in 2004–05, Childress emerged as one of two promising rookie talents for the Hawks, along with Josh Smith; as the season went on, the two showed improved play, minutes and production. Childress ranked third among rookies in double-doubles in the 2004–05 season, behind only Emeka Okafor and Dwight Howard. He was also voted to the NBA All-Rookie second team. Over the next three seasons, Childress played a sixth man role for the Hawks, and in four total seasons for the franchise, he averaged 11.1 points and 5.6 rebounds in 285 games with 67 starts.

Olympiacos (2008–2010)

In July 2008, Childress signed a three-year, $20 million contract with the Greek team Olympiacos Piraeus. Because of tax breaks from playing overseas, however, his $20 million contract was equivalent to $32.5 million with an NBA team. Childress also had the option to opt out of the contract after each year. Childress also received a Greek Nike shoe contract after signing with Olympiacos, a Nike sponsorship club. He had been offered a five-year, $33 million deal by the

, but he turned it down because it was significantly less money than what Olympiacos offered him. During the

2008–09 EuroLeague The 2008–09 Euroleague was the 9th season of the professional basketball competition for elite clubs throughout Europe, organised by Euroleague Basketball Company, and it was the 52nd season of the premier competition for European men's clubs ...

season, he averaged 8.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game. During the 2009–10 EuroLeague season, he averaged 15.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game. In June 2010, Childress parted ways with Olympiacos.

Phoenix Suns (2010–2012)

On July 13, 2010, Childress' rights were acquired by the Phoenix Suns in a trade that also sent a 2012 second-round draft pick to the Atlanta Hawks. Childress then signed a five-year, $34 million deal with the Suns. On July 15, 2012, after the Suns acquired the amnestied rights of

Luis Scola Luis Alberto Scola Balvoa (born 30 April 1980) is an Argentine former basketball player and the chief executive officer for the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) team Pallacanestro Varese. A three-time All-EuroLeague Team, All-EuroLeague selecti ...

, Childress was released by the Suns via the amnesty clause.

Brooklyn Nets (2012)

On September 13, 2012, Childress signed with the

. On December 29, 2012, he was waived by the Nets.

New Orleans Pelicans (2013)

On September 27, 2013, Childress signed with the Washington Wizards. However, he was later waived by the Wizards on October 24, 2013. On November 12, 2013, he signed with the

. Childress' final NBA game was played on December 6, 2013, in a 109-95 loss to the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Confer ...

. Childress only played for a little over 2 minutes (being subbed in at the end of the 4th quarter for Eric Gordon) and recorded only 1 rebound and 1 assist. On December 13, 2013, he was waived by the Pelicans.

Sydney Kings (2014–2016)

2014–15 season

On August 12, 2014, Childress signed with the Sydney Kings for the 2014–15 NBL season. On October 28, he was handed a one-game suspension and a $7,500 fine for unduly rough play and bringing the game into disrepute. The charges were laid over his strike to Perth Wildcats' forward Jesse Wagstaff on October 24; Childress was ejected from the game following the incident. He went on to earn Player of the Week honors for Round 5 after scoring 18 points against the Wollongong Hawks on November 7, and 36 points against the Adelaide 36ers on November 9. On December 5, he was named the NBL Player of the Month for November. On January 28, 2015, Childress was ruled out for the rest of the season after scans revealed he required surgery for a torn pectoral muscle. In 18 games for the Kings in 2014–15, he averaged 21.1 points, 9.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.1 blocks per game.

2015–16 season

On July 2, 2015, Childress re-signed with the Kings for the 2015–16 NBL season. After missing the first four games of the season with a foot injury, Childress returned to the court on October 23 against the Adelaide 36ers. However, in his return game, he sustained another injury, this time breaking his right hand. He played through the Kings' 91–80 loss to the 36ers with the break and still managed to score 23 points, but following the game, he was ruled out for a further four to six games with a boxer's fracture. He was subsequently replaced in the line-up by fellow former NBA player Al Harrington. On November 10, he was suspended for two games for demonstrating unsportsmanlike behaviour on the sidelines during the Kings' loss to the Adelaide 36ers three days prior. Not playing in the game due to his hand injury, Childress verbally abused the referees in the tunnel of Titanium Security Arena following the conclusion of the match, further tarnishing his reputation in the NBL. A third injury to Childress, this time a fractured left hand, was sustained on December 4 against the Cairns Taipans, just two games back after recovering from his previous injury. He was subsequently ruled out for another two to four weeks. He was reactivated once again on December 29 and played out the rest of the season. In 13 games for the last-placed Kings in 2015–16, Childress averaged 21.0 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.7 blocks per game.

Texas Legends (2016)

On March 8, 2016, Childress was acquired by the Texas Legends of the NBA Development League. Three days later, he made his debut for the Legends in a 115–113 loss to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, recording 17 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in 29 minutes off the bench. In eight games for the Legends, he averaged 12.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 steals per game.

San-en NeoPhoenix (2016–2017)

In November 2016, Childress signed with San-en NeoPhoenix of the Japanese B.League. In 40 games, he averaged 18.9 points, 9.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.2 blocks per game.

Adelaide 36ers (2017–2018)

After spending preseason with 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 ...

, Childress signed with the Adelaide 36ers for the rest of the 2017–18 NBL season on October 21, 2017, returning to the NBL for a second stint. He helped the 36ers reach the 2018 NBL Grand Final series, where in Game 2, he suffered a shoulder injury that ruled him out for the rest of the series. The 36ers went on to lose the grand final series 3–2. In 27 games, he averaged 12.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game.

Return to the NeoPhoenix (2018–2019)

On December 13, 2018, Childress was reported to have signed with San-en NeoPhoenix of the Japanese B.League.

Career statistics

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2001–02 , style="text-align:left;", Stanford , 30 , , 6 , , 21.5 , , .402 , , .275 , , .694 , , 4.8 , , .8 , , .6 , , .4 , , 7.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2002–03 , style="text-align:left;", Stanford , 33 , , 33 , , 34.2 , , .427 , , .333 , , .719 , , 8.1 , , 2.1 , , 1.2 , , 1.4 , , 14.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2003–04 , style="text-align:left;", Stanford , 23 , , 18 , , 29.8 , , .488 , , .395 , , .821 , , 7.5 , , 2.7 , , .9 , , 1.6 , , 15.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 86 , , 57 , , 28.6 , , .438 , , .335 , , .755 , , 6.8 , , 1.8 , , .9 , , 1.1 , , 12.3

NBA

Regular season

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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 ...

, 80 , , 44 , , 29.7 , , .470 , , .232 , , .823 , , 6.0 , , 1.9 , , .9 , , .4 , , 10.1 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 74 , , 10 , , 30.4 , , .552 , , .492 , , .766 , , 5.2 , , 1.8 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , 10.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 55 , , 13 , , 36.8 , , .504 , , .338 , , .795 , , 6.2 , , 2.3 , , 1.0 , , .7 , , 13.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 76 , , 0 , , 29.9 , , .571 , , .367 , , .807 , , 4.9 , , 1.5 , , .9 , , .6 , , 11.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Phoenix , 54 , , 3 , , 16.6 , , .565 , , .063 , , .492 , , 2.9 , , .8 , , .6 , , .4 , , 5.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Phoenix , 34 , , 0 , , 14.4 , , .485 , , .167 , , .000 , , 2.8 , , 1.0 , , .4 , , .2 , , 2.9 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, 14 , , 0 , , 7.1 , , .286 , , .333 , , .500 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , .1 , , .1 , , 1.0 , - , 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 ...

, 4 , , 0 , , 6.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , .8 , , .5 , , .3, , .0 , , .0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 391 , , 70 , , 26.7 , , .522 , , .329 , , .779 , , 4.7 , , 1.6 , , .9 , , .5 , , 9.1

Playoffs

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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 ...

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, 7 , , 0 , , 29.3 , , .524 , , .000 , , .500 , , 5.7 , , 1.6 , , .1 , , .7 , , 7.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 7 , , 0 , , 29.3 , , .524 , , .000 , , .500 , , 5.7 , , 1.6 , , .1 , , .7 , , 7.1

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2008–09 , style="text-align:left;", Olympiacos , 16 , , 15 , , 24.3 , , .470 , , .158 , , .636 , , 4.6 , , 1.1 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , 8.8 , , 10.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2009–10 , style="text-align:left;", Olympiacos , 20 , , 20 , , 32.3 , , .523 , , .328 , , .647 , , 4.8 , , 1.9 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , 15.2 , , 15.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 36 , , 35 , , 28.7 , , .504 , , .286 , , .643 , , 4.7 , , 1.5 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , 12.4 , , 13.1

International career

In 2000, Childress earned a silver medal as a member of the 2000 USA Basketball Men's Youth Development Festival West Team. He also played at the 2003 Pan American Games.

Personal

Childress is featured on the box cover of '' ESPN College Hoops 2K5'' for the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...

, published by

Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...

. Childress had a high school GPA of 3.5 and scored 1110 on the SAT. After being waived by the Nets, Childress enrolled back in Stanford and graduated with a degree in

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

in August 2013.