Julian Emil-Jamaal Wright (born May 20, 1987) 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. 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

Kansas Jayhawks The Kansas Jayhawks, commonly referred to as simply KU or Kansas, are the athletic teams that represent the University of Kansas. KU is one of three schools List of college athletic programs in Kansas, in the state of Kansas that participate in ...

. In 2014–15, he was the top rebounder in the Israel Basketball Premier League.

High school career

Julian Wright played competitive basketball at

Homewood-Flossmoor High School Homewood-Flossmoor High School (H-F) is a comprehensive public high school in Flossmoor, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. The school serves an area of nearly , drawing students from Homewood, Flossmoor, and parts of Chicago Heights, Glenwoo ...

Flossmoor, Illinois Flossmoor () is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 9,704 at the 2020 census. Flossmoor is approximately south of the Chicago Loop. It is closely tied to neighboring Homewood, Illinois, Homewood, sharing a high ...

. There he led the Vikings to second place in the IHSA state AA tournament his junior year, losing to Peoria Central in the championship game, who were led by future NBA player

Shaun Livingston Shaun Patrick Livingston (born September 11, 1985) is an American professional basketball executive and former player. He entered the league directly out of high school and was selected fourth by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2004 NBA draft. ...

. In 2005, he was selected to the McDonald's All-American team, and he was rated among the top ten basketball players in his class by several recruiting services) due to his talent and versatility. At 6'8" and , Wright combines good size with excellent athleticism and skills, which allowed him to play numerous positions in high school, including

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 ...

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three, is one of the five Basketball position, positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than Power forward (basketball), power forwards and Cent ...

, and

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

College career

Wright entered the 2005–06 season for the

as the pre-season freshman of the year in the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida ...

. Though he did not start at the beginning of the season, he quickly played his way into the starting power forward slot. His superior athleticism often allowed him to score baskets simply by virtue of his beating the defense down the court. A highlight of his freshman campaign may have been against the

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and ...

in the Big 12 Tournament Championship game when he put an exclamation mark on KU's win with two magnificent breakaway slam dunks in the closing minutes of the game. During his freshman season, Wright averaged 8.5 points per game, but he was praised more for his ability to help his team without scoring. He was named to the All- Big 12 tournament Team and the All-Big 12 Freshman Team along with fellow Kansas freshmen

Brandon Rush Brandon Leray Rush (born July 7, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. He was drafted in the first round of the 2008 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers, before being traded to the Indiana Pacers on draft day, after play ...

and

Mario Chalmers Almario Vernard Chalmers (born May 19, 1986) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Zamboanga Valientes of the Asian Tournament (TAT). He was selected as the 34th overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft by the Minnesota ...

. During the 2007 tournament, he was again placed on the All-Tournament Team. Wright garnered national attention for a 33-point performance against the

Missouri Tigers The Missouri Tigers intercollegiate athletics programs represent the University of Missouri, located in Columbia. The name comes from a band of armed Union Home Guards called the "Fighting Tigers of Columbia" who, in 1864, protected Columbia ...

. For his play during the 2006–07 season, Wright was named a third-team

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

National Association of Basketball Coaches The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, is an American organization of men's college basketball coaches. It was founded in 1927 by Phog Allen, the men's basketball head coach for the Univ ...

. Despite statements to the contrary, on Monday, April 9, 2007, Wright announced that he was making himself eligible for the NBA draft. He hired an agent, making him ineligible to return to school prior to the draft.

Professional career

Wright was selected as the 13th overall selection in the

2007 NBA draft The 2007 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2007, at the WaMu Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It was broadcast on television in 115 countries. In this draft, National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amate ...

by the

New Orleans Hornets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

. In his rookie season in the NBA, Wright averaged 3.9 points per game and 2.1 rebounds per game. On October 26, 2009, the Hornets picked up the option on Wright's contract for the 2010–11 season. On August 11, 2010, Wright was traded to the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...

for

Marco Belinelli Marco Stefano Belinelli (; born 25 March 1986) is an Italian professional basketball player and the captain (sports), team captain for Virtus Bologna of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and the EuroLeague. He was selected 18th overall in the 2007 NB ...

. Wright signed with the

Austin Toros Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

of the

NBA D-League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

in February 2012. In October 2012, Wright signed with

Maccabi Rishon LeZion Maccabi Rishon LeZion is a sport club in Rishon LeZion, Israel. The professional teams associated with it include: *Maccabi Rishon LeZion (basketball) *Maccabi Rishon LeZion (handball) * Maccabi Rishon LeZion (badminton) There was also a footb ...

of Israel. In September 2013, he signed with Krasnye Krylia of the

VTB United League The VTB United League () is an international professional men's club basketball league that was founded in 2009. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus and Kazakhstan. Since 2013, it is the first tier of Russian ...

. On October 16, 2014, he signed with Panathinaikos of the Greek League. On December 31, 2014, Panathinaikos decided to terminate his contract. On January 9, 2015, he signed with

Bnei Herzliya Bnei Herzliya Basket (, lit. ''Sons of Herzliya''), is a professional basketball club that is based in Herzliya, in central Israel. The club plays in the Israeli Basketball Premier League, the top division of Israeli basketball. History The club w ...

of the

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League (, Ligat HaAl, ) is a professional association football league in Israel and the highest level of the Israeli football league system. The league is contested by 14 clubs, and operates on a system of promotion and rele ...

for the rest of the season. In 2014–15, he was the top rebounder in the Israel Basketball Premier League. On June 8, he signed with Cangrejeros de Santurce of Puerto Rico for the rest of the 2015 BSN season. On August 4, 2015, Wright joined Italian

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

side

Dolomiti Energia Trento Aquila Basket Trento, also known for sponsorship reasons as Dolomiti Energia Trento, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Trent, Trentino. It was founded in 1995 as an amalgamation of two local clubs, going from the amateur divisi ...

for the 2015–16 season. On July 17, 2016, Wright signed with Turkish club

Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional sports club located in the city of Trabzon, located in Black Sea region, northeastern Turkey. Established in 1967 through the merger of several local clubs, Trabzonspor is one of the most prominent A ...

. On May 1, 2017, he parted ways with Trabzonspor after averaging 13.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. Three days later, he signed with Italian club

Pallacanestro Reggiana Pallacanestro Reggiana, also simply known as Reggiana or Reggio Emilia, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Unahotels Reggio Emilia, is an Italian professional basketball team based in Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna. It plays in the LBA as ...

for the rest of the 2016–17 Lega Basket Serie A season. On September 21, 2017, Pallacanestro Reggiana announced the return of Wright. On August 30, 2018, Wright signed with

Levallois Metropolitans Metropolitans 92 is a French professional basketball club that is based in Levallois-Perret, in the Paris metropolitan area. The club currently plays in the LNB Pro A, the highest-tier level in French basketball. The club was established in 2007 ...

in France. However, in February 2019, Wright left Levallois after a dispute with the team. He later posted a video on Linkedin explaining the situation. On September 29, 2020, Wright signed with the

Hsinchu Lioneers Hsinchu Toplus Lioneers ( zh, 新竹御嵿攻城獅) are a Taiwanese professional basketball team based in Hsinchu County. They have competed in the Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL) and play their home games at the Hsinchu County Stadi ...

of the P.League. On December 21, 2021, Wright signed with the

Taichung Wagor Suns The Taichung Suns ( zh, 臺中太陽) were a Taiwanese professional basketball team based in Taichung City. They had competed in the T1 League and played their home games at the National Taiwan University of Sport Gymnasium. The Suns became one o ...

of the

T1 League The T1 League ( zh, T1聯盟) was a professional basketball league in Taiwan. It was the third Taiwanese professional basketball league after the now-defunct Chinese Basketball Alliance (CBA; 1994–1999) and P. League+ (PLG; founded in 2020). ...

. One May 25, 2022, Wright was drafted by

3's Company 3's Company is an American men's 3-on-3 basketball team that plays in the BIG3 Big3 (stylized BIG3) is a 3x3 basketball, 3-on-3 basketball league founded by the hip-hop musician and actor Ice Cube and entertainment executive Jeff Kwatinetz. ...

as the fifth overall pick in the 2022

BIG3 Big3 (stylized BIG3) is a 3x3 basketball, 3-on-3 basketball league founded by the hip-hop musician and actor Ice Cube and entertainment executive Jeff Kwatinetz. The league consists of 12 teams whose rosters include both former National Basketb ...

draft.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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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 ...

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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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Personal life

His hometown is

Chicago Heights, Illinois Chicago Heights is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 27,480 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A south suburb of Chicago, it is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. Its nicknames include "The Cro ...

and he attended

class of 2005. Wright is a

bowling Bowling is a Throwing sports#Target sports, target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a bowling ball, ball toward Bowling pin, pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). Most references to ''bowling'' are ...

hobbyist, and was described by the

Kansas City Star ''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and a ...

as having bowled at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

's Jay Bowl "at least one night a week". He owns both a bowling ball and bowling shoes, the latter of which are KU's blue and crimson colors.

Awards and highlights

High School *

McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American multinational fast food chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese chain Mixue Ice Cream & Tea. Brothers ...

(

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

) *

Illinois Mr. Basketball The Illinois Mr. Basketball award is given to the person chosen as the best high school boys basketball player in the U.S. state of Illinois. Most of the award winners have gone on to play at the highest levels of college basketball, and many h ...

(

) NBA * Led

2008 NBA Playoffs The 2008 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2007–08 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Conference champion Los Angeles ...

in Steal Pct.

References

External links

*
eurobasket.com profileKansas Jayhawks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Julian 1987 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportsmen All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Canada American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Russia American expatriate basketball people in Taiwan American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's 3x3 basketball players American men's basketball players Aquila Basket Trento players Austin Toros players Basketball players from Chicago BC Krasnye Krylia players Big3 players Cangrejeros de Santurce basketball players Homewood-Flossmoor High School alumni Hsinchu Lioneers players Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball players Maccabi Rishon LeZion basketball players McDonald's High School All-Americans Metropolitans 92 players New Orleans Hornets draft picks New Orleans Hornets players Pallacanestro Reggiana players Panathinaikos B.C. players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Plateros de Fresnillo players P. League+ imports Power forwards Small forwards Sportspeople from Chicago Heights, Illinois T1 League imports Taichung Suns players Toronto Raptors players Trabzonspor B.K. players