Marqus Austin Blakely (born October 22, 1988) 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 for

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

College career

Blakely gained a reputation at

by winning the Kevin Roberson

America East Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year The America East Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year, known also as the Kevin Roberson America East Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year, is an award given to the America East Conference's most outstanding player. The award was ...

twice and the America East Defensive Player of the Year Award three times. He earned national recognition by winning the 2010

State Farm State Farm Insurance is a group of mutual insurance companies throughout the United States with corporate headquarters in Bloomington, Illinois. Founded in 1922, it is the largest property and casualty insurance, property, casualty and auto i ...

Division I College Basketball

Slam Dunk Contest The NBA Slam Dunk Contest (officially known as the AT&T Slam Dunk) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) competition held during the NBA All-Star Weekend. The contest was conceived of and started by the American Basketball Associat ...

. He performed a dunk invented by then teammate Evan Fjeld that had never been done before. The dunk is now widely known as the "Double Dunk" where Fjeld dunked the ball from the right side and Blakely caught the ball out of the bottom of the net and dunked it back in mid-air. He also performed three dunks that appeared on

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 ...

SportsCenter ''SportsCenter'' (SC) is an American television sports news broadcasting show broadcast by ESPN. Originally anchored by Chris Berman, George Grande, Greg Gumbel, Lee Leonard, Bob Ley, Sal Marchiano and Lou Palmer, it premiered on Septem ...

's Top Plays. He finished his senior season at Vermont by leading the

America East The America East Conference (AmEast) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I whose members are located in the Northeastern United States. The conference is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1979, t ...

in steals (2.6 pg) and blocks (1.9 pg), finishing second in points (17.4 pg), rebounds (9.1 pg) and field goal percentage (54.1%), and came in fourth in assists (3.7 pg). He finished his career with the Catamounts ranked fifth all-time in scoring (1,875), second in rebounding (1,044) and steals (226), third in blocks (254), and 10th in assists (304). He helped lead Vermont to a 25–10 record as a senior and a trip to the NCAA tournament. Following the season Blakely was also one of only 64 seniors in the nation to take part in the

Portsmouth Invitational Tournament The Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, (PIT), is the only postseason camp restricted to college basketball seniors. The Portsmouth Invitational is the first of two NBA pre-Draft (sports), draft camps, the other being the Orlando pre-Draft (sport ...

, helping lead his team to a championship.

Professional career

After going undrafted in the

2010 NBA draft The 2010 NBA draft was held on June 24, 2010, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The draft, which started at 7:00 pm Eastern Time Zone, Eastern Daylight Time (2300 Coordinated Universal Time, UTC), was broadcast in the ...

, Blakely joined 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 ...

for the 2010

NBA Summer League The NBA Summer League, also known as the Las Vegas Summer League, is an off-season basketball competition organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA). NBA teams come together to try out different summer rosters instead of their regula ...

. On July 26, 2010, he signed with Clippers on a reported two-year partially guaranteed contract worth $473,604 per year. He was later waived by the Clippers on October 25, 2010.

Bakersfield Jam (2010–2011)

After his release from the Clippers, Blakely was acquired by the Bakersfield Jam with the 12th overall pick in the 2010 NBA D-League Draft. He appeared in 25 games for the Jam, before a mid-season trade with the Iowa Energy.

Iowa Energy (2011)

In January 2011, Blakely was traded to the

Iowa Energy Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

. Blakely averaged 17.2 points per game and 6.6 rebounds per game for the Energy.

Houston Rockets (2011)

On April 13, 2011, Blakely signed with the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

. He suited up for the Rockets in their final game of the regular season, but did not play. Blakely entered training camp with the Rockets following the resolution of the NBA Lockout for the 2011–12 preseason, but was released on December 19, 2011.

Returned to Iowa Energy (2011–2012) / Sioux Falls Skyforce (2012)

On December 27, 2011, Blakely was re-acquired by the

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, ...

, appearing in 14 games before being traded to the

Sioux Falls Skyforce The Sioux Falls Skyforce are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and are affiliated with the Miami Heat. The team has played its home games in the Sanford Pentagon since the 2013–14 ...

in February 2012, where he averaged 16 points per game and 7 rebounds per contest while also being named an

All-Star.

B-Meg Llamados (2012)

After the

season was completed, Blakely signed as an import player for the

B-Meg Llamados San Miguel Corporation (), abbreviated as SMC, is a Philippine multinational conglomerate with headquarters in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila. The company is one of the largest and most diversified conglomerates in the Philippines. Originally fou ...

of the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines, composed of twelve company-branded Franchising, franchise teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia ...

(PBA) for the 2012 PBA Governors' Cup. While with B-Meg, Blakely averaged a double-double (22.3 points per game and 13.3 rebounds per game), guiding the team to the Governors' Cup final, falling 4–3 in a seven-game series.

Los Angeles Clippers (2012)

In September 2012, Blakely signed with Los Angeles Clippers. He appeared in three preseason games, but failed to score a point. On October 27, 2012, Blakely was waived by the Clippers.

Telekom Baskets Bonn (2012)

On December 26, 2012, Blakely signed with

Telekom Baskets Bonn Telekom Baskets Bonn is a German professional basketball club that is based in Bonn, Germany. The club plays in the Basketball Bundesliga, which is German basketball league system, the highest level pro basketball league in Germany. The club's s ...

of the

Basketball Bundesliga The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the German basketball league system, highest level Sports league, league of professional club basketball in German ...

. After failing some medical tests, he was waived on January 1, 2013.

Neckar Riesen Ludwigsburg (2013)

In January 2013, he signed with Neckar Riesen Ludwigsburg of Germany.

San Mig Coffee Mixers / Purefoods Star Hotshots (2013–2015)

After his season in Germany ended, Blakely signed to play as an import in his return to B-Meg (this time renamed as 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 ...

). Blakely helped the San Mig Coffee Mixers defeat

Petron Blaze Boosters The San Miguel Beermen are a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). It is one of three PBA clubs owned by the San Miguel Corporation group of companies along with Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and Magnolia ...

in the 2013 Governor's Cup

finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

. However, the finals were tainted by monkey chants shouted against him from Petron fans. He was expected to return the following year as the import for the Mixers. Blakely signed again as San Mig's import, now renamed as the San Mig Super Coffee Mixers for the third time. He led the Mixers to clinch a historic Grand Slam. It was also San Mig Coffee's fourth consecutive championship. Along with the Mixers' "Big 3" of

James Yap James Carlos Agravante Yap Sr. (born February 15, 1982) is a Filipino professional basketball player who last played for the Blackwater Bossing of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Known by his nickname Big Game James, he is widel ...

Marc Pingris Jean Marc Prado Pingris Jr. (born October 16, 1981) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Biñan Tatak Gel of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) and the Pilipinas Super League (PSL). Regarded as an all-time grea ...

and PJ Simon, they defeated the

Rain or Shine Elasto Painters The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters are a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association owned by Asian Coatings Philippines, Inc. It debuted in the league in the 2006–07 PBA season after acquiring the franchise righ ...

on a do or die game at a best-of-5 championship series of the

2014 PBA Governors' Cup The 2014 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors' Cup, also known as the 2014 PLDT Home TelPad-PBA Governors' Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the third and last conference of the 2013–14 PBA season. The conference began on May 18 a ...

. He came back again as the team's import for the fourth time for the franchise, this time again renamed as the

Purefoods Star Hotshots 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, Inc., a subsidiary of San Migu ...

for the

2015 PBA Commissioner's Cup The 2015 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner's Cup, also known as the 2015 PLDT Home TelPad-PBA Commissioner's Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the second conference of the 2014–15 PBA season. The tournament began on January 2 ...

, serving as their temporary import while Purefoods Star could find a suitable fit for the team. However, Blakely still stayed with the team as a practice player when the team was able to find a suitable replacement for the team and played as the team's regular import in the following conference, the 2015 Governors' Cup.

Busan KT Sonicboom (2015–2016)

Blakely was signed by Busan KT Sonicboom of the

Korean Basketball League The Korean Basketball League () or simply KBL is a professional men's basketball league in South Korea which was established in 1997. The league consists of ten teams and each team plays a total of 54 games (27 home and 27 away) in the regular s ...

Star Hotshots (2016)

Blakely returned to the Philippines, this time playing again for the renamed-again

Star Hotshots 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 ...

as the team's import for 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 ...

. It was Blakely's sixth conference playing in the PBA and for the team. On August 6, 2016, Blakely was released by the team due to the team's disappointing performance with him. He was replaced by Joel Wright.

TNT KaTropa (2018)

In 2018, he signed with

TNT KaTropa The TNT Tropang 5G is a professional basketball team currently owned by Smart Communications, a subsidiary of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) since 1990. The fran ...

. In his debut with the Katropa, Blakely almost recorded a triple-double after posting 26 points, 14 rebounds and 8 assists in a 110–104 win over the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.

Japan (2018–2019)

After his stint with the

TNT Katropa The TNT Tropang 5G is a professional basketball team currently owned by Smart Communications, a subsidiary of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) since 1990. The fran ...

, he signed a deal with the Japanese team Shiga Lakestars. However, he left the team after just appearing for them for 13 games. After leaving, he signed a contract with another Japanese team, Fukuoka Zephyr. In his second game with Fukuoka, he recorded a triple-double of 37 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high 12 assists in a 105–108 loss to the Kawasaki Brave Thunders.

Blackwater Elite (2019)

During the Governors Cup back in 2019, he signed with the Blackwater Elite. He scored a conference-high 37 points to go along with 17 rebounds and 6 assists in a 117–120 loss to the Phoenix Fuel Masters.

Kumamoto Volters (2020)

After his stint with the Blackwater Elite, he signed with the Japanese team, Kumamoto Volters of the Japanese Basketball League. On January 29, 2020, Blakely recorded a triple-double of 24 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists against

Fukuoka is the List of Japanese cities by population, sixth-largest city in Japan and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancient times. ...

Player profile

With the height of 6'5, Blakely can play either the position of

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 ...

or the

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 ...

. He is known to be a versatile player, as he could score, rebound and create opportunities for his teammates. He is an exceptional rebounder for his size as he could overpower his opponents, hence he averaged 9.5 rebounds per game for his career. As a testimony of his all-around play, Blakely recorded 4 triple-doubles throughout his entire career.

Professional career statistics

, - , align="left" , 2010–11 , align="left" , Bakersfield Jam/

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, 49 , , 25.2 , , .625 , , .167 , , .636 , , 6.4 , , 1.2 , , 1.5 , , .8 , , 15.0 , - , align="left" , 2011–12 , align="left" ,

Sioux Falls Sioux Falls ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 117th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into northern Lincoln County. The population was 192 ...

, 35 , , 31.1 , , .522 , , .231 , , .566 , , 6.4 , , 2.7 , , 1.8 , , 1.3 , , 15.1 , - , align="left" , 2011–12 , align="left" , B-Meg , PBA , 22 , , 41.0 , , .437 , , .362 , , .641 , , 13.4 , , 3.3 , , 2.7 , , 2.6 , , 22.4 , - , align="left" , 2012–13 , align="left" , San Mig Coffee , PBA , 21 , , 42.8 , , .488 , , .239 , , .459 , , 15.5 , , 4.5 , , 2.1 , , 2.2 , , 23.9 , - , align="left" , 2012–13 , align="left" ,

MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg BG Ludwigsburg, for sponsorship reasons MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg (), is a professional basketball club that is based in Ludwigsburg, Germany. The club currently plays in the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), the first tier of basketball in Germany. Fo ...

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

, 11 , , 23.6 , , .516 , , .429 , , .544 , , 6.5 , , 2.2 , , .7 , , 1.2 , , 11.5 , - , align="left" , 2013–14 , align="left" , San Mig Coffee , PBA , 20 , , 39.4 , , .483 , , .008 , , .547 , , 15.7 , , 3.9 , , 1.8 , , 2.4 , , 19.2 , - , align="left" , 2014–15 , align="left" ,

, PBA , 19 , , 38.5 , , .543 , , .143 , , .635 , , 12.7 , , 4.3 , , 2.9 , , 2.7 , , 21.9 , - , align="left" , 2015–16 , align="left" , Busan KT Sonicboom , KBL , 53 , , 20.9 , , .540 , , .172 , , .589 , , 6.9 , , 3.0 , , 1.5 , , 1.1 , , 13.8 , - , align="left" , 2015–16 , align="left" ,

, PBA , 4 , , 41.0 , , .482 , , .000 , , .529 , , 17.5 , , 4.5 , , 2.5 , , 1.8 , , 18.0 , - , align="left" , 2016–17 , align="left" , Hyundai Mobis Phoebus , KBL , 11 , , 26.2 , , .525 , , .200 , , .510 , , 9.8 , , 5.4 , , 1.3 , , 1.5 , , 18.0 , - , align="left" , 2017–18 , align="left" ,

, PBA , 5 , , 41.0 , , .575 , , .364 , , .614 , , 15.2 , , 6.6 , , 2.2 , , 1.2 , , 23.0 , - , align="left" , 2017–18 , align="left" , Hyundai Mobis Phoebus , KBL , 58 , , 25.8 , , .571 , , .235 , , .562 , , 8.5 , , 3.3 , , 1.2 , , .8 , , 14.4 , - , align="left" , 2018–19 , align="left" ,

Blackwater Elite 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 ...

, PBA , 10 , , 36.7 , , .504 , , .400 , , .632 , , 13.1 , , 5.6 , , 3.5 , , 2.9 , , 18.0 , - , align="left" , 2018–19 , align="left" ,

Shiga is a landlocked prefecture of Japan in the Kansai region of Honshu. Shiga Prefecture has a population of 1,398,972 as of 1 February 2025 and has a geographic area of . Shiga Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the north, Gifu Prefecture to t ...

, B.League , 25 , , 35.2 , , .426 , , .333 , , .610 , , 9.6 , , 5.8 , , 2.3 , , .5 , , 17.3 , - , align="left" , 2019–20 , align="left" , Kumamoto Volters , B.League , 14 , , 35.6 , , .554 , , .290 , , .612 , , 9.4 , , 5.4 , , 2.4 , , 1.8 , , 21.4 , - , -class=sortbottom , align="center" colspan=2 , Career , All Leagues , 357 , , 30.6 , , .524 , , .270 , , .575 , , 9.5 , , 3.5 , , 1.8 , , 1.4 , , 16.9

References

External links

NBA.com ProfileYahoo! Sports ProfileESPN.com ProfilePBA Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blakely, Marqus 1988 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Japan American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines American expatriate basketball people in South Korea American men's basketball players Bakersfield Jam players Basketball players from Middlesex County, New Jersey Blackwater Bossing players Suwon KT Sonicboom players Iowa Energy players Kumamoto Volters players Magnolia Hotshots players Metuchen High School alumni Riesen Ludwigsburg players People from Metuchen, New Jersey Philippine Basketball Association imports Rizing Zephyr Fukuoka players Sioux Falls Skyforce players Shiga Lakes players Shooting guards Small forwards TNT Tropang 5G players Vermont Catamounts men's basketball players