Kenneth Lamont Bazemore Jr. (born July 1, 1989) 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 for the

Capital City Go-Go The Capital City Go-Go are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Washington, D.C., and are affiliated with the Washington Wizards. The Go-Go play their home games at the CareFirst Arena. The team is owned by Monum ...

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 ...

. As a junior at

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (ODU) is a Public university, public research university in Norfolk, Virginia, United States. Established in 1930 as the two-year Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary, it began by educating people with fewer ...

in 2010–11, Bazemore won the

Lefty Driesell Award The Lefty Driesell Defensive Player of the Year Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding men's college basketball defender in NCAA Division I competition. The award was established in 2010 and is named after head coach Lefty Dries ...

, an award given to the best defensive player in college basketball.

College career

Bazemore, a 6'5"

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 ...

from

Kelford, North Carolina Kelford is a town in Bertie County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 251 at the 2010 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all land. Demographics 2020 census 2000 ...

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

the 2007–08 season. As a freshman in 2008–09, Bazemore was a key rotation player for the Monarchs, averaging 4.5 points and 3.1 rebounds per game as ODU won the 2009 CollegeInsider.com Tournament. As a sophomore, he moved into the starting lineup and was a driving force for the

Colonial Athletic Association The Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), formerly the ECAC South Conference and the Colonial Athletic Association, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA' ...

regular-season and tournament champions. Bazemore averaged 8.4 points, 3.4 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game. He was named to the CAA All-Defensive team that season. As a junior, Old Dominion repeated as tournament champions and made the 2011 NCAA tournament, losing to eventual national runner-up

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...

60–58. Bazemore averaged career highs of 12.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game and was named the CAA Defensive player of the year and second team All-Conference. He also gained national recognition, receiving the Lefty Driesell Award given to the nation's top defensive player. Prior to the 2011–12 season Bazemore was named the CAA preseason player of the year. He was also named a preseason Mid-Major All-American by collegeinsider.com. In his final season at ODU, Bazemore averaged 15.4 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. At halftime of a game against state rival VCU on December 10, 2016, Old Dominion retired Bazemore's #24 Monarchs jersey and inducted him into the school's athletic Ring of Honor. Bazemore earned two college degrees from Old Dominion, in Human Services and Criminal Justice.

Professional career

Golden State Warriors (2012–2014)

After going undrafted in the

2012 NBA draft The 2012 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2012, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The draft started at 7:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (2300 UTC), and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National Basketball A ...

, Bazemore joined 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 ...

for the Orlando Summer League and the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

for the Las Vegas Summer League. On July 26, he signed with Golden State. During his rookie season, he was assigned multiple times to the

Santa Cruz Warriors The Santa Cruz Warriors are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Santa Cruz, California, and are affiliated with the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors play their home games at Kaiser Permanente Arena. Prior to ...

of the

NBA Development 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, ...

. On March 15, 2013, he scored a season-high 14 points in a loss to the Chicago Bulls. In July 2013, Bazemore re-joined Golden State for the

2013 NBA Summer League The 2013 NBA Summer League is a pro basketball league run by the NBA just after the 2013 NBA draft. It gives newly drafted players a chance to test their skills against each other, and to give them a feel for professional basketball. All 30 NBA ...

, where he was named a Summer League All-Tournament Team Recipient. The Warriors won the Summer League championship. On February 1, 2014, he was reassigned to the Santa Cruz Warriors. He was recalled by Golden State on February 2, reassigned on February 11, and recalled again February 12.

Los Angeles Lakers (2014)

On February 19, 2014, Bazemore was traded, along with

MarShon Brooks MarShon Scitif Brooks (born January 26, 1989) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Guangdong Southern Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). Standing at , he plays at shooting guard and small forward ...

, to 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 exchange for

Steve Blake Steven Hanson Blake (born February 26, 1980) is an American professional basketball coach and former player. After winning the 2002 NCAA Championship with Maryland, Blake was selected by the Washington Wizards with the 38th overall pick in the ...

. On March 4, he tied his then career high of 23 points in a loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. On April 7, he was ruled out of the rest of the season after suffering a torn tendon in his right foot.

Atlanta Hawks (2014–2019)

On September 23, 2014, Bazemore 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 ...

. On March 28, 2015, he scored a season-high 20 points in a 115–100 loss to the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

. On November 7, 2015, Bazemore scored a career-high 25 points in a 114–99 win over the

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

. On December 14, 2015, he set a new career high with 28 points in a 100–88 loss to 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 ...

. On July 7, 2016, Bazemore re-signed with the Hawks. On November 8, 2016, he scored a season-high 25 points against the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

. On January 23, 2017, he scored 25 points for a second time against the

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

. On March 2, 2018, Bazemore scored a then career-high 29 points in a 114–109 loss to the

. On October 24, 2018, Bazemore scored a career-high 32 points in a 111–104 win over the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

. On December 26, 2018, he tied a career high with 32 points in a 129–121 loss to the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

. On April 12, 2019, Bazemore exercised his $19.2 million player option for the 2019–20 season.

Portland Trail Blazers (2019–2020)

On June 24, 2019, Bazemore was traded to the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

in exchange for

Evan Turner Evan Marcel Turner (born October 27, 1988) is an American professional basketball coach and former player. He was most recently an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted second overall ...

. He made his debut for the team on October 23, logging four points and five steals in a 100–108 loss to 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 ...

Sacramento Kings (2020)

On January 20, 2020, Bazemore was traded, alongside Anthony Tolliver and two future second-round picks, to the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

in exchange for

Trevor Ariza Trevor Anthony Ariza (born June 30, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player who spent 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A small forward, Ariza played college basketball for one season with the UCLA Bruins ...

Wenyen Gabriel Wenyen Gabriel (born March 26, 1997) is a South Sudanese-American professional basketball player who last played for Panathinaikos of the Greek Basketball League (GBL) and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats, a ...

and Caleb Swanigan. Bazemore made his debut for the team two days later, scoring seven points in a 106–127 loss to 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 ...

Return to Golden State (2020–2021)

On December 1, 2020, Bazemore signed a one-year contract with the

to join the team for a second stint. He made his debut for the team on December 22, logging two points, two rebounds and two assists in a 99–125 loss to 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 17, 2021, Bazemore scored a season-high 26 points, alongside eight rebounds, three assists and three steals, in a 120–112 overtime win over the

Return to the Lakers (2021–2022)

On August 6, 2021, Bazemore signed with the

. On January 28, 2022, he scored a season-high 13 points in a 114–117 loss to the

. On September 21, 2022, Bazemore signed with the

, but was waived on October 13. On August 8, 2023, the

held a free agent workout with Bazemore.

Greensboro Swarm (2024)

On January 28, 2024, Bazemore joined the

Greensboro Swarm The Greensboro Swarm are an American basketball team of the NBA G League based in Greensboro, North Carolina, and are affiliated with the Charlotte Hornets. The Swarm play their home games at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex. The team became the ...

. However, he was waived on November 19.

Capital City Go-Go (2025—present)

On March 24, 2025, the

announced that they had acquired Bazemore.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 61 , , 0 , , 4.4 , , .371 , , .294 , , .614 , , .4 , , .4 , , .3 , , .1 , , 2.0 , - , rowspan=2 style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 44 , , 0 , , 6.1 , , .371 , , .256 , , .528 , , .9 , , .5 , , .3 , , .1 , , 2.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 23 , , 15 , , 28.0 , , .451 , , .371 , , .644 , , 3.3 , , 3.1 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , 13.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

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 ...

, 75 , , 10 , , 17.7 , , .426 , , .364 , , .600 , , 3.0 , , 1.0 , , .7 , , .4 , , 5.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 75 , , 68 , , 27.8 , , .441 , , .357 , , .815 , , 5.1 , , 2.3 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , 11.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 73 , , 64 , , 26.9 , , .409 , , .346 , , .708 , , 3.2 , , 2.4 , , 1.3 , , .7 , , 11.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 65 , , 65 , , 27.5 , , .420 , , .394 , , .796 , , 3.8 , , 3.5 , , 1.5 , , .7 , , 12.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 67 , , 35 , , 24.5 , , .402 , , .320 , , .726 , , 3.9 , , 2.3 , , 1.3 , , .6 , , 11.6 , - , rowspan=2 style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

, 43 , , 21 , , 25.8 , , .347 , , .327 , , .806 , , 4.0 , , 2.3 , , 1.4 , , .7 , , 7.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

, 25 , , 0 , , 23.1 , , .418 , , .384 , , .733 , , 4.9 , , 1.3 , , 1.2 , , .4 , , 10.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 67 , , 18 , , 19.9 , , .449 , , .408 , , .692 , , 3.4 , , 1.6 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , 7.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 39 , , 14 , , 14.0 , , .324 , , .363 , , .765 , , 1.8 , , .9 , , .6 , , .2 , , 3.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 657 , , 310 , , 20.6 , , .413 , , .356 , , .724 , , 3.2 , , 1.8 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , 8.2

Playoffs

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

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 9 , , 0 , , 1.8 , , .125 , , .000 , , .000 , , .6 , , .2 , , .1 , , .0 , , .2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

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

, 16 , , 2 , , 18.9 , , .423 , , .214 , , .677 , , 3.3 , , .8 , , .7 , , .6 , , 5.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

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

, 10 , , 10 , , 32.5 , , .364 , , .262 , , .682 , , 6.6 , , 1.9 , , 1.4 , , .6 , , 11.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

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

, 6 , , 0 , , 25.0 , , .396 , , .292 , , .714 , , 3.8 , , 3.3 , , .7 , , .8 , , 9.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 41 , , 12 , , 19.4 , , .379 , , .254 , , .648 , , 3.6 , , 1.3 , , .8 , , .5 , , 6.5

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2008–09 , style="text-align:left;", Old Dominion , 35 , , 9 , , 16.3 , , .433 , , .265 , , .429 , , 3.1 , , 1.5 , , .9 , , .2 , , 4.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2009–10 , style="text-align:left;", Old Dominion , 36 , , 29 , , 26.7 , , .486 , , .300 , , .486 , , 4.2 , , 3.4 , , 1.9 , , .5 , , 8.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, style="text-align:left;", Old Dominion , 34 , , 33 , , 30.7 , , .481 , , .408 , , .662 , , 5.1 , , 2.9 , , 2.2 , , .9 , , 12.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2011–12 , style="text-align:left;", Old Dominion , 35 , , 32 , , 31.5 , , .407 , , .321 , , .632 , , 6.1 , , 3.1 , , 2.1 , , .3 , , 15.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 140 , , 103 , , 26.3 , , .447 , , .334 , , .581 , , 4.6 , , 2.7 , , 1.8 , , .5 , , 10.1

Personal life

Bazemore is a member of the

Pi Kappa Alpha Pi Kappa Alpha (), commonly known as Pike is a college fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1868. The fraternity has over 225 chapters and provisional chapters across the United States and abroad with over 15,500 undergraduate mem ...

fraternity. While with the Warriors, Bazemore was noted for his celebrations while on the team's bench, which became a fixture on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

and were included in the

NBA 2K14 ''NBA 2K14'' is a 2013 basketball video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K. The fifteenth installment in the series, it was released on October 1, 2013, for Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360, and the PlayStation 4 and the X ...

video game. Kent married Samantha Serpe in Asheville, North Carolina in 2017; they were divorced in 2024.

Role in Stephen Curry endorsement contract

In March 2016,

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

writer Ethan Sherwood Strauss published a story about how

Under Armour Under Armour, Inc. is an American sportswear company that manufactures footwear and clothing, apparel headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. History 20th century Under Armour was founded on September 25, 1996, by Kevin Plank, a ...

successfully signed away

Stephen Curry Wardell Stephen Curry II ( ; born March 14, 1988) is an American professional basketball player and point guard for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Chef Curry", he is widely regarded as the ...

from

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

in the 2013 offseason, and revealed that Bazemore played a significant role in the signing. During the 2012 offseason, when Bazemore was an undrafted rookie trying to make the Warriors roster, his agent contacted Under Armour and convinced the company to take a chance on Bazemore as an endorser, noting that rising Warriors stars Curry and

Klay Thompson Klay Alexander Thompson (born February 8, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played his first 13 seasons with the Golden State Warriors, where Thompson ...

had endorsement deals set to expire in the near future. Under Armour signed Bazemore to a deal, mainly providing massive amounts of branded merchandise—enough to allow Bazemore to provide clothing to several Warriors staff members. Once Bazemore made the team, he and his fellow North Carolinian Curry bonded over their common origins and shared work ethic. Bazemore then sold Curry on signing with Under Armour, which he did following several missteps by Nike. According to Strauss, "UA owes him azemorenow. Big time." As a result, Bazemore has a six-figure deal with the company, an unusually high amount for a player of his stature in the league. The company also recognized Bazemore's role in luring Curry by signing an apparel deal with Old Dominion for seven times the amount that the school had previously received from Nike. His deal with Under Armour enabled him to provide most of the funding for ODU's new basketball practice facility.

References

External links

Official website

Old Dominion Monarchs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bazemore, Kent 1989 births Living people American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players from North Carolina Golden State Warriors players Greensboro Swarm players Los Angeles Lakers players Old Dominion Monarchs men's basketball players People from Bertie County, North Carolina Portland Trail Blazers players Sacramento Kings players Santa Cruz Warriors players Shooting guards Small forwards Undrafted NBA players