Luke David Maye (born March 7, 1997) 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

Nagoya Diamond Dolphins The are a professional basketball team that competes in the first division of the Japanese B.League. Prior to their entry into the B.League in September 2016, the club was the corporate team of Mitsubishi Electric. In 2020, the Diamond Dolphi ...

of the Japan Professional Basketball League (B.League). He played college basketball for the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels (also Carolina Tar Heels) are the college sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to ...

, winning the 2017 national championship.

Early life

Maye was born in

Cary, North Carolina Cary is a town in Wake County, North Carolina, Wake, Chatham County, North Carolina, Chatham, and Durham County, North Carolina, Durham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina and is part of the Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh-Cary, NC M ...

, the son of Amie and Mark Maye, a former quarterback for the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

. Maye played high school basketball at William A. Hough High School in

Cornelius, North Carolina Cornelius is a suburban town located along Lake Norman in northern Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, United States. It is a major suburb of Charlotte and part of its metropolitan area. The population was 31,412 at the 2020 census, up from 24, ...

where he made the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

' All-State team twice. Maye also played high school baseball for four years.

College career

Freshman season (2015–2016)

Maye committed to the University of North Carolina without knowing if he would receive a scholarship. Before he enrolled, he was informed by head coach Roy Williams that he would be on full scholarship. He was seldom used as a freshman.

Sophomore season (2016–2017)

In Maye's sophomore season, he recorded his first 10-point game coming off the bench against Davidson in December. Despite only having three 10-point games during the regular season, Maye had three more 10-point games during the NCAA Tournament. In the Elite Eight game against

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, Maye hit the game-winning jump shot with 0.3 seconds left in the game, shortly after

Malik Monk Malik Ahmad Monk (born February 4, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one season of college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats, earning consensus ...

hit a three to tie the game at 73 with 7.2 seconds left. He also had a then career-high 17 points in this game. For his performance in the South Regional, he was named to the South Regional all-tournament team and won the regional's Most Outstanding Player award. In addition, a clip of him attending his 8:00 am class the following day would end up going viral. North Carolina went on to beat

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

and Gonzaga to win the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship. He finished the season averaging 5.5 points per game.

Junior season (2017–2018)

Maye had a breakout season as a junior in the 2017–18 season. In his first nine games, he averaged 20.8 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. This was the best start by a Tar Heel since

Tyler Hansbrough Andrew Tyler Hansbrough (born November 3, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for seven seasons, as well as internationally. In college, Hansbrough was a star with t ...

's senior year in 2008–09. He ended up averaging 16.9 points per game and leading the team with 10.1 rebounds per game. On April 23, 2018, Maye declared for the NBA draft without hiring an agent. On May 24, Maye announced his intention to return to UNC for his senior season.

Senior season (2018–2019)

Coming into the season Maye was nominated for many preseason awards including preseason ACC player of the year. On February 5, Maye tallied 31 points and 12 rebounds in a 113–96 win against

NC State North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina sy ...

. On February 21, Maye scored 30 points and 15 rebounds in a 88–72 victory over rival

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

. He averaged 14.9 points and 10.5 rebounds per game as a senior.

Professional career

On June 21, 2019, the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

signed Maye to their Summer League team. On October 14, 2019, Maye was waived by the Bucks, but was assigned to the Bucks'

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 ...

affiliate, the

Wisconsin Herd The Wisconsin Herd are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and are affiliated with the Milwaukee Bucks. The Herd play their home games at Oshkosh Arena. History On June 29, 2016, it was anno ...

. Maye was sidelined with an injury from December 16, 2019, to January 14, 2020. On March 7, Maye posted 25 points, nine rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal in a 136–122 win over 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 ...

. Maye signed with

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 ...

of the Italian

Lega Basket Serie A The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club (sport), club basketball list of basketball leagues, league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball ...

on July 18, 2020. On July 23, 2021, he signed a two-year deal with Baxi Manresa of the

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administered by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, w ...

. On July 31, 2022, Maye signed with Covirán Granada of the Spanish

LEB Oro The Primera FEB, formerly known as LEB or LEB Oro, is the second basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system after the Liga ACB. It is run by the Spanish Basketball Federation, FEB. The FEB leagues are divided into three categorie ...

. On July 12, 2023, he signed with

Tofaş TOFAŞ Türk Otomobil Fabrikası A.Ş (acronym for ''Türk Otomobil Fabrikası Anonim Şirketi''; ''Turkish Automobile Factory Joint-Stock Company'' pronounced ) is a Turkish automobile manufacturer which was established in 1968 by Vehbi Koç, ...

Basketbol Süper Ligi The Basketball Super League (; TBSL), also known as the Türkiye Sigorta Basketbol Süper Ligi for sponsorship reasons, is the top men's professional basketball division of the Turkish basketball league system. It replaced the former Turkish Bas ...

(BSL).

Career statistics

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, 33 , , 0 , , 5.4 , , .390 , , .286 , , .429 , , 1.7 , , .2 , , .1 , , .1 , , 1.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

, 35 , , 1 , , 14.1 , , .479 , , .400 , , .579 , , 3.9 , , 1.2 , , .4 , , .2 , , 5.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

, 37 , , 37 , , 32.2 , , .486 , , .431 , , .624 , , 10.1 , , 2.4 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , 16.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

, 36 , , 36 , , 30.9 , , .430 , , .288 , , .774 , , 10.4 , , 2.3 , , .6 , , .6 , , 14.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 141 , , 74 , , 21.1 , , .460 , , .361 , , .675 , , 6.7 , , 1.6 , , .5 , , .5 , , 9.9

Professional career statistics

, - , align=center , 2019–20 , align=left ,

, NBA G-League , 34 , , 23.1 , , .426 , , .354 , , .921 , , 7.4 , , 1.8 , , .6 , , .5 , , 10.7 , - , align=center , 2020–21 , align=left ,

, LBA , 41 , , 25.2 , , .419 , , .348 , , .805 , , 6 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , .4 , , 11.6 , - , align=center , 2021–22 , align=left ,

Bàsquet Manresa Club Bàsquet Manresa S.A.D., also known as Baxi Manresa for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in Manresa, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and the Champions League. It home arena is the Pavelló Nou Congost. In ...

, ACB , 51 , , 17.3 , , .407 , , .341 , , .789 , , 3.8 , , .6 , , .4 , , .3 , , 8.9 , -

Personal life

Maye has three younger brothers, Cole,

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

and Beau. Cole won a national championship as a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

for the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

, Drake played

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

at UNC and was selected third overall by the New England Patriots in the 2024 NFL Draft, and Beau is also a walk-on of the varsity basketball team at Carolina. Maye grew up family friends with NFL quarterback Mason Rudolph, as their fathers played together at North Carolina.

References

External links

North Carolina Tar Heels bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maye, Luke 1997 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Japan American expatriate basketball people in Spain American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's basketball players Aquila Basket Trento players Basketball players from North Carolina Bàsquet Manresa players Fundación CB Granada players Ibaraki Robots players Lega Basket Serie A players Liga ACB players North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball players Power forwards Sportspeople from Cary, North Carolina Tofaş S.K. players Wisconsin Herd players Nagoya Diamond Dolphins players