Michael Rashad Qualls (born January 20, 1994) 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 Borneo Hornbills of the

Indonesian Basketball League The Indonesia Basketball League (IBL; ) is the preeminent men's professional basketball league in Indonesia, founded by Indonesian Basketball Association (Perbasi) in 2003. From 2010 to 2015 it was known as the National Basketball League (NBL) ...

(IBL). He played college basketball for the

Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fayetteville. The University of Arkans ...

and is most notably remembered for his go-ahead

slam dunk A slam dunk, also simply known as a dunk, is a type of basketball shot that is performed when a player jumps in the air, controls the ball above the horizontal plane of the rim, and scores by shoving the ball directly through the basket with on ...

with 0.2 seconds left in overtime 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 ...

in 2014.

High school career

Qualls attended Huntington High School where he led them to four district championships, including a senior season in which he averaged 17.8 points per game, guiding Huntington to 33 wins, making him the third-ranked player in the state of Louisiana in the class of 2012, with an ESPN.com scout grade of 89.

College career

After graduating high school, Qualls attended

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, where he appeared in 100 games (56 starts) and averaged 11.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 23.8 minutes per game. Conference, SEC after averaging 15.9 points per game. He decided to forgo his final year of college eligibility and declared for the

2015 NBA draft The 2015 NBA draft was held on June 25, 2015, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. It was televised nationally in the U.S. by ESPN. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eli ...

. Qualls is perhaps best known for his slam dunk at the buzzer to beat Kentucky 87–85 in overtime at

Bud Walton Arena Bud Walton Arena (also known as the Basketball Palace of Mid-America) is the home to the Arkansas Razorbacks basketball, men's and Arkansas Razorbacks women's basketball, women's basketball teams of the University of Arkansas, known as the Arka ...

on January 14, 2014. It was the #1 play on the

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 ...

Top 10 plays of the day, and is considered one of the greatest moments in Razorbacks basketball history.

Professional career

During a workout with the

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

prior to the 2015 draft, Qualls tore his ACL and was ruled out for six to 12 months. Despite the injury, Qualls managed to land an NBA training camp deal, signing 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 Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Confer ...

on September 29, 2015. He was later waived by the Thunder on October 22 prior to the start of the regular season. On November 3, he was acquired by the

Oklahoma City Blue The Oklahoma City Blue are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City and are affiliated with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Blue compete in the NBA G League as members of the Western Conference. The Blue play their home games ...

as an affiliate player from the Thunder. On November 11, he was waived by the Blue. On August 7, 2016, Qualls signed with

Hapoel Gilboa Galil Hapoel Gilboa Galil () is a professional basketball club that is based in north-east Israel. The club plays its home game in the Israeli Basketball Premier League (the top tier of Israeli basketball) in a 2,250-seat arena in Gan Ner. History T ...

of the Israeli League. On October 10, 2016, he made his professional debut in a 77–61 loss to

Hapoel Holon Hapoel Holon Basketball Club (), is a professional basketball club based in Holon, Israel. The team plays in the Israeli Basketball Premier League (the top tier of Israeli basketball), and internationally in the Basketball Champions League. The ...

, recording 15 points, five rebounds and one assist in 25 minutes off the bench. On September 23, 2017, Qualls signed with the Italian team

Pallacanestro Cantù Pallacanestro Cantù, known for sponsorship reasons as Acqua S.Bernardo Cantù, is an Italian professional basketball club that is based in Cantù, Lombardy. On the European-wide club competition scene, Cantù is second to Real Madrid – agai ...

for the 2017–18 season. On October 25, 2017, he parted ways with Cantù after appearing in two games. On December 13, 2017, he was acquired by the

Salt Lake City Stars The Salt Lake City Stars are an American minor-league professional basketball team. They are a member of the NBA G League, based in the Salt Lake City suburb of West Valley City, Utah, and are affiliated with the Utah Jazz. Before the 2016–17 ...

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 ...

. On March 5, 2018, he was waived by the Stars after averaging 8.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 19.4 minutes in 18 games. Three days later, he was acquired by the

Texas Legends The Texas Legends are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Frisco, Texas, and are affiliated with the Dallas Mavericks. The Legends play their home games at the Comerica Center. The team began as the Colorado 14 ...

. Qualls was drafted in the fourth round of the 2018 NBA G League draft by 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 ...

. In October 2019, he signed with the

NorthPort Batang Pier The NorthPort Batang Pier is a Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) team that first played in the 2012–13 PBA season. The team took over the franchise of the Powerade Tigers in 2012 after it was sold to Sultan 900 Capital, Inc. Besides Nor ...

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) to replace Mychal Ammons as the team's import for the 2019 PBA Governors' Cup. On February 23, 2020, Qualls signed with

Al-Fateh ''Al-Fateh'' (, "The Conqueror") was an online children's magazine in Arabic. It began publication in September 2002, and its 108th issue was released in mid-September 2007. The magazine featured stories, poems, riddles, and puzzles. Criticism ...

of the

Saudi Basketball League The Saudi Basketball League (SBL) is the highest tier of men's and women's basketball in Saudi Arabia. Current clubs Men's league Women's League Former teams Champions of the Saudi Premier League The elite Championship Cup P ...

. On August 18, 2021, Qualls signed with SCM U Craiova of the Liga Națională. In August 2022, Qualls joined the Al Riyadi of the

Lebanese Basketball League The Lebanese Basketball League is recognized as the top-tier professional men's basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Lebanon. It is organized annually as a national championship with playoffs and a national cup by the Lebanese Basketb ...

. On December 22, 2022, Qualls returned to the Philippines as he signed with 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 ...

of the

(PBA) as the team's import for the 2023 PBA Governors' Cup. On March 3, 2023, Qualls signed with TaiwanBeer HeroBears of the

T1 League The T1 League ( zh, T1聯盟) was a professional basketball league in Taiwan. It was the third Taiwanese professional basketball league after the now-defunct Chinese Basketball Alliance (CBA; 1994–1999) and P. League+ (PLG; founded in 2020). ...

. On May 18, 2023, Qualls signed with the

Metros de Santiago Metros de Santiago is a professional basketball team based in Santiago de los Caballeros, Santiago, Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in ...

of the

Liga Nacional de Baloncesto The Liga Nacional de Baloncesto (LNB) is the top men's professional basketball league in the Dominican Republic. Established in 2005, six teams compete annually between September and October. History The league was founded on September 6, 2004 ...

(LNB). In February 2024, Qualls joined the Borneo Hornbills of the

(IBL) to replace Travion Leonard. In December 2024, he returned to the Borneo Hornbills for the 2025 IBL season.

The Basketball Tournament

Michael Qualls played for Team Arkansas in the 2018 edition of

The Basketball Tournament The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is an open-invitation, single-elimination tournament, single-elimination tournament played each summer in the United States, with the stakes being a cash prize (the most recent tournament in The Basketball Tournam ...

. In 2 games, he averaged 22.5 points, 6 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game. Team Arkansas reached the second round before falling to the Talladega Knights.

Personal life

The son of Anthony and grandson of Vera Thrash, Qualls has a son named Michael Jr. He majored in recreation and sports management.

References

External links

NBADraft.net profile76ers draft profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Qualls, Michael 1994 births Living people Al Riyadi Club Beirut basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Lebanon American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines American expatriate basketball people in Indonesia American men's basketball players Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball players Basketball players from Shreveport, Louisiana Hapoel Gilboa Galil players Lega Basket Serie A players NorthPort Batang Pier players Pallacanestro Cantù players Rain or Shine Elasto Painters players Philippine Basketball Association imports Salt Lake City Stars players Shooting guards Texas Legends players Wisconsin Herd players TaiwanBeer HeroBears players T1 League imports American expatriate basketball people in the Dominican Republic Metros de Santiago players Borneo Hornbills players Al-Fateh basketball players 21st-century American sportsmen