Morris Almond (born February 2, 1985) 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. Almond is the founder of Almond Athletics. His last professional appearance would be for the

Los Angeles D-Fenders The South Bay Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, that competes in the NBA G League. Founded in 2006 as the Los Angeles D-Fenders, the team is owned by the Los Angeles Lakers, who were the first ...

of the

NBA Development 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, ...

(D-League).

High school

Almond was born in

Dalton, Georgia Dalton is a city and the county seat of Whitfield County, Georgia, Whitfield County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. It is also the principal city of the Dalton metropolitan area, Dalton Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encomp ...

and attended McEachern High School in

Powder Springs, Georgia Powder Springs is a city in Cobb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 13,940 at the 2010 census, with an estimated population for 2019 of 15,758. The 12,000-capacity Walter H. Cantrell Stadium is located in Powder Springs. It is ...

, where he was a teammate of fellow professional basketball player

Josh Smith Joshua Smith (born December 5, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player who played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Entering the NBA straight out of high school, Smith played nine seasons with the Atlant ...

. Almond was the first basketball player in McEachern school history to have his #22 jersey retired.

College career

Almond played college basketball at

Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...

, where he was a member of Martel residential college. During his junior season, Almond's scoring average jumped to 21.9 points per game (up from 7.2 points per game as a sophomore). His scoring average led all players in

Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...

. During his senior year, Almond's scoring average increased to 26.4 points per game, ranking third in the nation. He was named Conference USA Player of the Year and was named AP All-America Honorable Mention. Almond finished his career at Rice with 121 games played and a scoring average of 15.1 points per game. He was also the first Rice basketball player to appear on the cover of a national publication. After graduation, he was selected by the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

in the first round (25th pick) in the

2007 NBA draft The 2007 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2007, at the WaMu Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It was broadcast on television in 115 countries. In this draft, National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amate ...

Professional career

Almond played in 9 games during his rookie season with the Jazz, averaging 4.3 minutes. His NBA career high is currently 12 points, at

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

on December 2, 2008. He scored his first NBA points on January 8, 2008, against 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 Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

, with 2 points on 1-of-5 shooting. However, he spent most of the season with the team's D-League affiliate, the

Utah Flash Orem, Utah Orem Orem, Utah Orem is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States, in the northern part of the state. It is adjacent to Provo, Utah, Provo, Lindon, Utah, Lindon, and Vineyard, Utah, Vineyard and is approximately south of Salt Lake ...

, to whom he was assigned. He led the D-League in scoring during the season, averaging 25.6 points per game. In just his fifth game with the team on December 21, 2007, he tied a league record with 51 points in a 118–116 victory over the

Austin Toros Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

. Later in the season, he broke the record with a 53-point performance against the Bakersfield Jam in a 102–87 win. The record was tied by Will Conroy in 2009 and surpassed by Pierre Jackson in 2014 (58). On September 18, 2009, Morris Almond signed with the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

. He was waived on October 21, 2009. Almond later played for the

Maine Red Claws The Maine Celtics 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 Building. The Boston Celtics pu ...

and

Springfield Armor Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queen ...

of the NBA Development League. He then signed with

Real Madrid Baloncesto Real Madrid Baloncesto (English: Royal Madrid Basketball) is a Spanish professional basketball club that was founded in 1931, as a division of Real Madrid CF. They play domestically in the Liga ACB, and internationally in the EuroLeague. They a ...

of the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

ACB. In July 2010 he left Real Madrid and joined the Italian club Scavolini Pesaro. In January 2012, Almond returned to the United States and signed with the Maine Red Claws for the second time. On the 16th of April 2012, the Washington Wizards announced they would be signing Almond to contract for the rest of the 2011–12 season. At the end of the 2011–2012 season he was selected to the All NBA D-League Third Team after averaging 23.4 points and 6.0 rebounds per game for the Red Claws. Almond briefly played for

Crvena zvezda Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club), commonly referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...

during the 2012–13 season. He then returned to the Maine Red Claws, who traded him 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 ...

. On January 30, 2013, he and Mike Taylor were traded to the

in exchange for Jarrid Famous.

Post-professional career

Almond has since retired from professional basketball. He formed Almond Athletics, a non-profit organization, in 2013.About Us , Almond Athletics
. Retrieved on March 4, 2024.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

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Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

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Notes

External links

*
Official Rice bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Almond, Morris 1985 births Living people ABA League players American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Serbia American expatriate basketball people in Spain American expatriate basketball people in Ukraine American men's basketball players Basketball players from Georgia (U.S. state) BC Cherkaski Mavpy players Iowa Energy players KK Crvena zvezda players Liga ACB players Los Angeles D-Fenders players Maine Red Claws players People from Dalton, Georgia Real Madrid Baloncesto players Rice Owls men's basketball players Shooting guards Springfield Armor players Utah Flash players Utah Jazz draft picks Utah Jazz players Victoria Libertas Pallacanestro players Washington Wizards players