Joshua Evan Christopher (born December 8, 2001) 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 who last played for the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

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), on 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

Sioux Falls Skyforce The Sioux Falls Skyforce are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and are affiliated with the Miami Heat. The team has played its home games in the Sanford Pentagon since the 2013–14 ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

. 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

Arizona State Sun Devils The Arizona State Sun Devils are the sport, athletic teams that represent Arizona State University. ASU has nine men's and eleven women's Varsity team, varsity teams competing at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Divisi ...

. He is a ,

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game ...

Early life

Christopher grew up playing basketball with his older brother, Caleb, in elementary school, middle school and his first two years with

Mayfair High School Mayfair High School is a middle and high school in the Bellflower Unified School District in the city of Lakewood, California. The school first opened in 1959. The student population is approximately 2,500 in grades 7 through 12. Mayfair serve ...

Lakewood, California Lakewood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 82,496 at the 2020 census. It is bordered by Long Beach on the west, northwest and south, Bellflower on the north, Cerritos on the northeast, Cypress on t ...

, as well as on the

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...

(AAU) circuit. In his childhood, he often played against older opponents. As a sophomore at Mayfair, Christopher averaged 25.9 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4 steals, and 3.6 assists per game, leading his team to a 21–8 record. In his junior season, he averaged 25 points per game and won the Division 2AA championship. As a senior, Christopher was joined by Dior Johnson, one of the highest-rated sophomores in the country. He averaged 29.2 points, 8 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 3.1 steals per game, leading his team to the

CIF Southern Section The California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section (CIF-SS) is the governing body for high school athletics in most of Southern California and is the largest of the ten sections that comprise the California Interscholastic Federation (CI ...

Division 1 quarterfinals. Christopher was selected to play in the

McDonald's All-American Game The McDonald's All-American Game is an American all-star basketball game played each year for boys' and girls' high school basketball graduates. Consisting of the top players, each team plays a single exhibition game after the conclusion of the hi ...

Jordan Brand Classic The Jordan Brand Classic is a high school all star basketball game played annually in April. The game's rosters feature the best and most highly recruited high school boys and girls in the senior class. In 2015, a girl's game was introduced. Th ...

and

Nike Hoop Summit The Nike Hoop Summit is an international basketball all-star game sponsored by Nike, Inc., Nike, held once a year, which features the USA Basketball Men's Junior Select Team against a World Select Team of international players. The players demons ...

, but all three games were canceled due to the ongoing

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Christopher was a consensus five-star recruit and the number two

in the 2020 recruiting class. On April 13, 2020, he announced his commitment to

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is one of the largest ...

over

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

and

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

. His brother, Caleb, had served one year there as well. As such, Christopher became Arizona State's highest-ranked recruit in the modern recruiting era and the program's first five-star recruit since

James Harden James Edward Harden Jr. (born August 26, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is regarded by some as one of the greatest shooting guards in NBA hist ...

in 2007.

College career

On November 26, 2020, Christopher scored a career-high 28 points for Arizona State in an 83–74 loss to third-ranked Villanova. As a freshman, he was limited to 15 games due to injury, and averaged 14.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game. On March 31, 2021, Christopher declared for the

2021 NBA draft The 2021 NBA draft, the 75th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft, was held on July 29, 2021, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. The NBA draft returned to Brooklyn after 2020 NBA draft, the pre ...

Professional career

Houston Rockets (2021–2023)

Christopher was selected with the 24th pick of the

by the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

. On August 7, 2021, Christopher signed with the Rockets. He made his official NBA debut on October 20, coming off the bench with five points in eight minutes in a loss against the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

. On November 24, the Rockets assigned Christopher to the

Rio Grande Valley Vipers The Rio Grande Valley Vipers are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Edinburg, Texas, and are affiliated with the Houston Rockets. The Vipers play their home games at the Bert Ogden Arena. The Vipers have won f ...

. After averaging 20 points in three games with the Vipers, he was recalled by the Rockets. On December 8, Christopher logged 18 points in a 7-of-7 from the field with four three-pointers in a 104–114 win over the

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), ...

. On February 4, 2022, Christopher registered 23 points, four assists and five rebounds in a loss against 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 March 23, he scored 21 points in a 139–130 overtime win against the

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

. In April, he recorded his first 30-point effort by shooting 11-of-14 from the field, and 3-of-5 from beyond the arc, along with three assists and two steals in a home loss against the Timberwolves. Christopher fell out of the rotation in the 2022–2023 season, not coming off the bench in several games. His minutes and numbers decreased as the Rockets used

Daishen Nix Daishen Nix ( ; born February 13, 2002) is an American professional basketball player for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA G League. He was a consensus five-star recruit and one of the best point guards in the 2020 class. A former UCLA si ...

as the point guard for the second unit. On July 8, 2023, the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division of the ...

acquired Christopher from the Houston Rockets for

Dillon Brooks Dillon Brooks ( ; born January 22, 1996) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Oregon Ducks, where he was named a consensus second- ...

(via sign-and-trade) in a five-team deal. However, he was waived on September 30.

Salt Lake City Stars (2023–2024)

On October 13, 2023, Christopher signed a two-way contract with 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 ...

, but was waived on January 9, 2024, without playing for the team. However, he made 22 appearances with the Jazz's

G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

affiliate, the

Salt Lake City Stars The Salt Lake City Stars are an American minor-league professional basketball team. They are a member of the NBA G League, based in the Salt Lake City suburb of West Valley City, Utah, and are affiliated with the Utah Jazz. Before the 2016–17 ...

Miami Heat / Sioux Falls Skyforce (2024–2025)

On January 14, 2024, Christopher joined the

and on July 25, he signed a

with the

Career statistics

NBA

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Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

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, 64 , , 2 , , 12.3 , , .465 , , .236 , , .750 , , 1.1 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , .2 , , 5.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, 14 , , 0 , , 4.9 , , .355 , , .183 , , .667 , , .6 , , .6 , , .4 , , .2 , , 2.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 152 , , 4 , , 14.4 , , .451 , , .273 , , .737 , , 1.8 , , 1.5 , , .7 , , .2 , , 6.5

College

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2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

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

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Personal life

Christopher is the youngest of four siblings, all of whom have played basketball. His brother,

Patrick Patrick may refer to: *Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name * Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People *Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint * Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick ...

, played professionally, including a brief stint with the

of the NBA. Patrick's godbrother is former NBA player

Tayshaun Prince Tayshaun Durell Prince (born February 28, 1980) is an American professional basketball executive and former player for the National Basketball Association (NBA). The small forward graduated from Dominguez High School before playing college bas ...

. Christopher's sister, Paris, played college basketball for Saint Mary's but suffered a career-ending injury as a freshman. His brother, Caleb, was a player for both Arizona State University and

Tennessee Tech Tennessee Technological University (commonly referred to as Tennessee Tech) is a public research university in Cookeville, Tennessee. It was formerly known as Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, and before that as University of Dixie, the name unde ...

, ending his career at NAIA Hope International University. Christopher's father, Laron, is a musician. His parents are devout

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

. Christopher is often known as "Jaygup," a nickname created in his childhood.

References

External links

Arizona State Sun Devils bioUSA Basketball bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christopher, Josh 2001 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen American men's basketball players Arizona State Sun Devils men's basketball players Houston Rockets draft picks Houston Rockets players McDonald's High School All-Americans Rio Grande Valley Vipers players Salt Lake City Stars players Shooting guards Sioux Falls Skyforce players Basketball players from Lakewood, California