Mario Deantwan Little (born December 29, 1987) 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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for

Levski Sofia Levski Sofia ( bg, Левски София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which competes in the First League, the top division of the Bulgarian football league system. The club was founded on 24 May 1914 ...

of the Bulgarian National Basketball League (NBL). He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for

Chipola College Chipola College is a public college in Marianna, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System. History The school was founded in 1947 as Chipola Junior College; its name was changed in 2003 after the college developed several bachelor ...

and

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to ...

before beginning his professional career in Ukraine. After three years in the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

, Little began an overseas career that spanned Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and South America.

High school career

Little attended George Washington High School in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, where as a senior in 2005–06, he averaged 22 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists, three steals and three blocks per game.

College career

Little played his first two college seasons at

, where he was named Sixth Man of the Year as a freshman, before being named both Player of the Year in the Panhandle Conference and an

NJCAA The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...

All-American as a sophomore. In 2008, Little joined 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 in the state of Kansas that participate in NCAA Division I. The Jayhawks are also a mem ...

. However, his first season as a Jayhawk resulted in him playing just 23 games due to injury.Mario Little Stats
/ref> Little decided to redshirt the 2009–10 season in order to give his surgically repaired lower left leg time to heal. As a senior in 2010–11, Little served suspension between December 16 and January 12 after he was arrested on charges of battery, criminal damage and criminal trespassing following a pre-dawn fight with his girlfriend and others. In 32 games as a senior, he averaged 5.1 points and 2.9 rebounds in 13.7 minutes per game.

Professional career

Little's professional career began in December 2011 with Ukrainian team Dnipro-Azot Dniprodzerzhynsk. In 20 games for Dnipro, he averaged 11.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. For the 2012–13 season, Little joined the Tulsa 66ers of the

. He saw limited action during the 2012–13 season, an experience he described as humbling.Mario Little shows big improvement for Tulsa 66ers
/ref> He returned to Tulsa for the 2013–14 season and was one of the top scorers on the team. After a Summer League stint with 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 league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...

, Little returned to the Tulsa 66ers for the 2014–15 season, with the franchise now known as the

Oklahoma City Blue The Oklahoma City Blue are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and are affiliated with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Blue play their home games at Paycom Center. The franchise began as ...

. However, his third season was cut short after being released in January 2015. In March 2015, Little had a four-game stint in Spain with

Bàsquet Manresa 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 Basketball Champions League. Their home arena is the Pavelló Nou Congos ...

, before an injury saw him be replaced in the line-up by D. J. Seeley. For the 2015–16 season, Little played in South Korea for

Anyang KGC The Anyang Korea Ginseng Corporation ( ko, 안양 KGC인삼공사), or Anyang KGC, is a professional basketball club in the Korean Basketball League, based at Anyang Arena in the city of Anyang. The club has won three KBL championship titles, in ...

. He remained in the area during the off-season, as he had a four-game stint with Filipino team TNT KaTropa during the

2016 PBA Governors' Cup The 2016 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors' Cup, also known as the 2016 Oppo-PBA Governors' Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the third and last conference of the 2015–16 PBA season. Due to the preparations of the Philippines me ...

. He then returned to Korea for the 2016–17 season, beginning with Changwon LG Sakers, then having a seven-game stint with

Seoul SK Knights The Seoul SK Knights ( ko, 서울 SK 나이츠) is a professional basketball club in the Korean Basketball League. The club was originally founded by Jinro Group in 1997 as Cheongju Jinro McCass. Before the official launch of the basketball clu ...

in December, and then returning to LG Sakers for the rest of the season. In March 2017, Little moved to Israel and joined Maccabi Ashdod. In September 2017, Little played for Venezuelan team

Guaros de Lara Guaros de Lara is a Venezuelan professional basketball club, that is based in Barquisimeto, Lara, Venezuela. Guaros de Lara BBC has existed as a club in various different forms since 1983. It has existed in its current form since 2003. The c ...

in the

FIBA Intercontinental Cup The FIBA Intercontinental Cup, also commonly referred to as the FIBA World Cup for Champion Clubs, or the FIBA Club World Cup, is a professional basketball clubs competition that is endorsed by FIBA and the NBA. Historically, its purpose has be ...

, a game Guaros de Lara lost 76–71 to

Iberostar Tenerife Club Cantera Base 1939 Canarias S.A.D., also known as Lenovo Tenerife for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball team that is based in San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain. Domestically, the team plays in the top level leagu ...

. For the 2017–18 season, Little played in Italy for

VL Pesaro Victoria Libertas (also known as "VL" or in Italian ''Vuelle''), full name Unione Sportiva Victoria Libertas Pallacanestro, is a professional basketball team that is based in Pesaro, Italy. The club competes in the top level Italian professiona ...

, but he only managed eight games after missing a large chuck of the season with an injury. Between March and July 2018, Little played for Guaros de Lara in the Liga Americas and the LPB. On August 3, 2018, Little signed with Croatian team KK Zadar. On August 15, 2019, Little signed with Ifaistos Limnou of the

Greek Basket League The Greek Basket League (GBL), often also referred to as the Greek A1 Basketball League, or Greek Basketball Championship (originally called Panhellenic Basketball Championship), and also known as the Stoiximan Basket League for sponsorship reaso ...

. He left the team in January 2020 after averaging 9.9 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 14 games. On October 11, 2020, Little signed with

Aris Thessaloniki Athlitikos Syllogos Aris Thessalonikis, means Athletic Club Aris Thessaloniki
...

. For the 2021–22 season, Little joined

of the Bulgarian National Basketball League (NBL).

NBA D-League career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 2012–13 , align="left" , Tulsa 66ers , 15 , , 1 , , 12.4 , , .375 , , .167 , , 1.000 , , 2.1 , , .9 , , .4 , , .3 , , 3.9 , - , align="left" , 2013–14 , align="left" , Tulsa 66ers , 50 , , 47 , , 36.2 , , .417 , , .366 , , .849 , , 4.2 , , 2.6 , , 1.1 , , .2 , , 18.8 , - , align="left" , 2014–15 , align="left" ,

, 22 , , 19 , , 31.8 , , .410 , , .375 , , .846 , , 3.8 , , 3.0 , , .9 , , .2 , , 13.4 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , , 87 , , 67 , , 31.0 , , .413 , , .356 , , .852 , , 3.7 , , 2.4 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , 14.9

Playoffs

, - , align="left" , 2012–13 , align="left" , Tulsa 66ers , 3 , , 1 , , 21.5 , , .500 , , .286 , , .333 , , 2.0 , , .7 , , .7 , , .0 , , 7.0 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , , 3 , , 1 , , 21.5 , , .500 , , .286 , , .333 , , 2.0 , , .7 , , .7 , , .0 , , 7.0