Justin Brian Melton (born April 7, 1987), popularly known as QuickMelt, Mouse, The Flying Minion, and Minion, is a Filipino-American former professional basketball player. He was drafted 13th overall by the

San Mig Coffee Mixers The Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots, or simply known as the Magnolia Hotshots, are a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association. The team is owned by San Miguel Food and Beverage, San Miguel Food and Beverage, I ...

in the

2013 PBA draft The 2013 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Rookie Draft was an event, which allows teams to draft players from the amateur ranks. The event was held at Midtown Atrium, Robinson Place Manila on November 3, 2013. Draft lottery The lottery ...

Early career

Justin Melton played high school basketball at Tabb High School in Yorktown,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. After playing one year of junior varsity basketball, Melton played three years of varsity basketball, capturing Bay Rivers District 1st Team Honors in his junior and senior seasons. In his senior season, he was awarded Bay Rivers District "Player of the Year," along with 1st Team All-Region and All-State honors. Melton also excelled in track and field, placing 2nd in the Virginia High School AA State Track Meet in the triple jump event with a distance of 45 feet 6 inches. Melton studied and played basketball on a full scholarship at

Mount Olive College The University of Mount Olive (UMO or Mount Olive) is a private university in Mount Olive, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1951, the university is sponsored by the Original Free Will Baptist Convention and accredited by the Southern ...

, in

Mount Olive, North Carolina Mount Olive is a town in Duplin and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. At the 2020 census, the population was 4,198. It is included in the Goldsboro, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town is home to the M ...

where he was very successful. Justin was a very tough player in college and was the leader and motor of the team for the last 3 seasons. He is extremely athletic can finish strong at the rim. He shot over 40 percent from the 3-point line in his senior year. Melton possessed above-average athleticism for a person of his size and was very quick. He is also featured on his college's official website because of being featured on a

Yahoo! Sports Yahoo! Sports is a sports news website launched by Yahoo! on December 8, 1997. It receives a majority of its information from Stats Perform. It employs numerous writers, and has team pages for teams in almost every North American major sport. ...

article. He played more than 20 minutes a game in his college years.

Professional career

Artur Nogueira – SP (Clinesp Artur Nogueira)

He played in Brazil for the AABI CLineSP Artur Nogueira, made great games being fundamental for the conquest of the Paulista championship, but the team went bankrupt and he was waived.

ABL

He played for Malaysia in the ASEAN Basketball League, as an import.

PBA

Melton was picked 13th overall by the Mixers in the

. Melton was noticed as one of the most athletic players in his draft class, and he showcased that athleticism very fast with his teammates. Though measured at just 5-foot-9 in socks, Melton finished with several rim-rattling slams during practice. His energy was also on display on defense. Melton struggled in his first conference, the

2013–14 PBA Philippine Cup The 2013–14 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup, also known as the 2013–14 PLDT Home DSL/myDSL-PBA Philippine Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the first conference of the 2013–14 PBA season. The tournament started on ...

, due to injuries on the finger, but bounced back and even won the Best Player of the Game honors. He shocked the whole PBA, by winning the

2014 PBA All-Star Weekend The 2014 PBA All-Star Weekend was the annual all-star weekend of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA)'s 2013–14 season. The events were held at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.pba.inquirer.net Friday events Obstacle Challenge Time in ...

Slam Dunk Contest held in the

Mall of Asia Arena The SM Mall of Asia Arena, also known as the Mall of Asia Arena or the MoA Arena, is an indoor arena within the SM Mall of Asia complex, in Bay City, Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines. It has a seating capacity of 15,000 for sporting events and ...

. He and

Rey Guevarra Rey Francis J. Guevarra (born November 24, 1986) is a Filipino former professional basketball player in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Guevarra was selected by the Air21 Express third overall in the 2010 PBA draft. He is known for ...

had a head-to-head matchup on that battle, they have been tied for three rounds on the championship round, at last, they have been declared co-champions, because the process is going on and on. He has a high vertical leap, which allows him to jump very high despite his 5'9" height. Melton is also a decent outside shooter, who shot at 67% in his first season. On November 25, 2021, Melton, along with Kyle Pascual, was traded to the

Terrafirma Dyip The Terrafirma Dyip is a professional basketball team playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The team is owned by Terrafirma Realty Development Corporation and originally played under its affiliate company Columbian Autocar Cor ...

for James Laput. On December 24, 2021, after only playing three games for the Dyip, Melton was traded to the

Blackwater Bossing The Blackwater Bossing is a professional basketball team owned by Ever Bilena, Inc. that is playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) beginning in the 2014–2015 season. The franchise started as one of the founding teams in the ...

for

Ed Daquioag Eduardo Damo Daquioag Jr. (born August 18, 1991) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Parañaque Patriots of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). He was picked by the Meralco Bolts in the special draft of the 201 ...

. Melton became an unrestricted free agent on February 1, 2023. Shortly after, he retired from professional basketball.

PBA career statistics

Real GM

Season-by-season averages

, - , align=left , , align=left , 2013–14 San Mig Super Coffee Mixers season, San Mig Super Coffee , 59 , , 14.9 , , .384 , , .306 , , .820 , , 2.1 , , 1.3 , , .8 , , .2 , , 4.1 , - , align=left , , align=left , Purefoods / Star , 41 , , 15.6 , , .396 , , .308 , , .650 , , 2.9 , , 1.5 , , .7 , , .2 , , 4.4 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

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, 33 , , 21.2 , , .319 , , .263 , , .730 , , 2.8 , , 2.4 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , 5.7 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 49 , , 21.2 , , .370 , , .371 , , .750 , , 2.5 , , 1.9 , , .9 , , .2 , , 5.1 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

Magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendr ...

, 44 , , 20.6 , , .376 , , .352 , , .667 , , 3.5 , , 2.2 , , 1.2 , , .1 , , 5.5 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 52 , , 20.6 , , .288 , , .277 , , .625 , , 3.0 , , 1.6 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 3.8 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 12 , , 15.3 , , .367 , , .360 , , .000 , , 1.3 , , .8 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 2.6 , - , align=left rowspan=3, , align=left ,

, rowspan=3, 20 , , rowspan=3, 11.0 , , rowspan=3, .233 , , rowspan=3, .212 , , rowspan=3, — , , rowspan=3, 1.3 , , rowspan=3, 1.0 , , rowspan=3, .7 , , rowspan=3, .0 , , rowspan=3, 1.4 , - , align=left , Terrafirma , - , align=left , Blackwater , - , align=left , , align=left , Blackwater , 18 , , 16.4 , , .278 , , .242 , , — , , 2.3 , , 1.8 , , 1.1 , , .0 , , 2.1 , -class=sortbottom , align=center colspan=2 , Career , 328 , , 18.1 , , .347 , , .310 , , .713 , , 2.6 , , 1.7 , , .9 , , .1 , , 4.2

Personal life

Melton is the son of Donnie Melton, an American, and Cecilia Fortes, a Filipino. After retirement, he moved to

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

, Turkey.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Melton, Justin 1987 births Living people American men's basketball players Basketball players from Pampanga Blackwater Bossing players Filipino expatriate basketball people in Malaysia Filipino men's basketball players Filipino people of African-American descent Kuala Lumpur Dragons players Magnolia Hotshots draft picks Magnolia Hotshots players Mount Olive Trojans men's basketball players Philippine Basketball Association All-Stars Point guards Sportspeople from Angeles City Tabb High School alumni Terrafirma Dyip players 21st-century Filipino sportsmen