Matthew Lawrence Janning (born June 22, 1988) is an American-born naturalized Georgian 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 Kawasaki Brave Thunders of the B.League. He is a tall shooting guard that played college basketball for

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU) is a private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in Charlotte, North C ...

High school career

combo guard A combo guard is a basketball player who combines the attributes of a point guard (1) and shooting guard (2), but does not necessarily fit the standard description of either position. In men's basketball, such guards are usually within the 6' ...

, Janning attended Watertown-Mayer High School, where he averaged a Metro-high 31.8 points per game and 8.4 rebounds, earning All-Conference honors three times, a two-time All-Area award and was a two-time team MVP.

College career

After high school, Janning 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 ...

with the

Northeastern University Huskies The Northeastern Huskies are the athletic teams representing Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. They compete in thirteen varsity team sports: men's and women's hockey (in Hockey East); men's baseball, men's and women's basketball, ...

. He was proclaimed as one of

's most prolific scorers of the program after ending as the program's fourth all-time leading scorer with 1,836 points. He was a three-time All-CAA performer, including first-team honors in 2009 and 2010.

Professional career

After going

undrafted In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in the

2010 NBA draft The 2010 NBA draft was held on June 24, 2010, at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The draft, which started at 7:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (2300 UTC), was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, Nationa ...

, Janning played with the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of ...

in the

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures r ...

Summer League and later for the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Pacific Division (NBA), P ...

in the Las Vegas Summer League. On August 4, 2010, he signed a multi-year contract with the

. On November 16, he was released by the Phoenix Suns before appearing in a game for them. On December 1, he was signed by the

Maine Red Claws The Maine Celtics (formerly the Maine Red Claws) are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Portland, Maine, and are affiliated with the Boston Celtics. The Maine Celtics play their home games at the Portland Expo B ...

, after they released Jordan Eglseder, due to injury. On January 20, he was traded to the

Rio Grande Valley Vipers The Rio Grande Valley Vipers are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Edinburg, Texas, and are affiliated with the Houston Rockets. The Vipers play their home games at the Bert Ogden Arena. The Vipers have won fo ...

, in exchange for Antonio Anderson. He led the

to the NBDL Finals, averaging 11 points per game. On July 16, he signed a 1-year contract for $120,000 with Novipiù Casale Monferrato of the

Lega Basket Serie A The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club basketball league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP). It is the highest-tie ...

. In his first Italian League season, he averaged 12.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game, while shooting 41% from 2-point range, 38% from 3-point range, and 70% from the free throw stripe. Janning then played with 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 league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first est ...

in the Orlando Summer League, and later for the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

, in the Las Vegas Summer League, during the 2012 summer. Janning then signed with the reigning Italian League champions, Montepaschi Siena, in August 2012. He made the

BEKO All-Star team. In his 2nd Italian League season he is averaging 7.1 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game, while shooting 48% from 2-point range, 31% from 3-point range, and 87% from the free throw stripe. On August 4, 2013, it was announced that Janning signed for Croatian champions Cibona Zagreb. He was released in December 2013, due to financial problems of the club. On January 3, 2014, he signed with his former club Montepaschi Siena for the rest of the season. On July 10, 2014, he signed a 1+1 contract with the Turkish team Anadolu Efes. On September 28, 2015, Janning signed with 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 league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

. However, he was later waived by the Nuggets on October 15 in order for him to sign with Hapoel Jerusalem of the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional competition in Israeli club basketball, making it Israel's primary basketball ...

. On February 7, 2016, he parted ways with Hapoel Jerusalem. Two days later, he signed a deal with Lokomotiv Kuban until the end of the 2016–17 season. On September 15, 2017, Janning signed a two-month deal with

Baskonia Club Deportivo Saski-Baskonia, S.A.D., commonly known as Saski Baskonia (), also known as Cazoo Baskonia for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball team that is based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and the ...

of the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague to replace the injured Jordan McRae. He finally extended his contract for the whole season on November 17. On July 6, 2018, Janning re-signed a one-year deal with

of the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. On July 7, 2020, Janning was officially released from the Spanish club. On December 23, 2020, he has signed with

Baxi Manresa Baxi is part of BDR Thermea, one of Europe's largest manufacturers and distributors of domestic and commercial water and space heating systems. Baxi employs 6,400 people throughout Europe, with a turnover exceeding €1.2 billion. The gr ...

of the Liga ACB. On June 30, 2021, Janning with Kawasaki Brave Thunders of the B.League for the 2021–22 season.

Georgia national team

On September 4, 2018, Janning got a Georgian passport, becoming a member of the

Georgia national basketball team The Georgia men's national basketball team ( ka, საქართველოს ეროვნული საკალათბურთო ნაკრები) represents the country of Georgia in international basketball matches, and is ...

for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification games. On September 13, 2018, he made his first appearance for the Georgian team in an 85–80 win over

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, recording 15 points, three rebounds and three assists.

Career statistics

College

, - , align="left" , 2006–07 , align="left" , Northeastern , 32 , , 31 , , 35.4 , , .414 , , .353 , , .724 , , 4.5 , , 2.8 , , 0.9 , , 0.2 , , 11.6 , - , align="left" , 2007–08 , align="left" , Northeastern , 31 , , 31 , , 36.3 , , .447 , , .376 , , .812 , , 3.5 , , 2.4 , , 1.3 , , 0.2 , , 16.1 , - , align="left" , 2008–09 , align="left" , Northeastern , 32 , , 32 , , 36.0 , , .406 , , .323 , , .742 , , 4.7 , , 2.7 , , 1.5 , , 0.2 , , 14.3 , - , align="left" , 2009–10 , align="left" , Northeastern , 33 , , 33 , , 36.1 , , .412 , , .329 , , .752 , , 4.0 , , 3.1 , , 1.5 , , 0.2 , , 15.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:left;", CareerMatt Janning
sports-reference.com, accessed 25 October 2010. , style="text-align:left;", , 128 , , 127 , , 35.9 , , .419 , , .345 , , .757 , , 4.2 , , 2.8 , , 1.3 , , 0.2 , , 14.3

EuroLeague

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

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

, style="text-align:left;", Montepaschi , 21 , , 14 , , 19.7 , , .464 , , .476 , , .643 , , 1.7 , , 1.6 , , .6 , , .1 , , 8.4 , , 6.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;", Anadolu Efes , 27 , , 22 , , 21.6 , , .384 , , .336 , , .650 , , 1.9 , , 1.4 , , .7 , , .04 , , 6.9 , , 4.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;", Lokomotiv Kuban , 14 , , 0 , , 21.9 , , .443 , , .393 , , 1.000 , , 1.8 , , 1.4 , , .4 , , .1 , , 8.6 , , 7.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

, 34 , , 15 , , 22.4 , , .431 , , .388 , , .905 , , 1.7 , , 1.5 , , .6 , , .2 , , 8.3 , , 6.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

, 28 , , 17 , , 25.0 , , .413 , , .377 , , .795 , , 2.1 , , 1.8 , , .8 , , .1 , , 10.1 , , 8.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;",

, 28 , , 13 , , 22.7 , , .303 , , .285 , , .909 , , 2.0 , , 1.5 , , .8 , , .04 , , 6.0 , , 6.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", , 152 , , 81 , , 22.2 , , .402 , , .370 , , .809 , , 2.1 , , 1.7 , , .7 , , .1 , , 8.0 , , 6.9