Nathan Solomon Kapahukula Knight (born September 20, 1997) 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

Zhejiang Lions The Zhejiang Guangsha Lions () are a Chinese professional basketball team based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, which plays in the North Division of the Chinese Basketball Association. Guangsha is the name of the club's corporate sponsor, but to prevent con ...

of the

Chinese Basketball Association The Chinese Basketball Association (), often abbreviated as the CBA, is the first-tier men's professional basketball league in China. The league is commonly known by fans as the CBA, and this acronym is even used in Chinese on a regular basis ...

(CBA). He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

William & Mary Tribe The William & Mary Tribe is a moniker for the College of William & Mary's athletic teams and the university's community more broadly. William & Mary has won two team national championships (both in men's tennis), the AIAW championships in wo ...

Early life

Knight grew up in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...

and attended

Nottingham High School Nottingham High School is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private fee-charging day school for boys and girls in Nottingham, England, with an infant and junior school (ages 4–11) and senior school (ages 11–18). There were 1177 stu ...

. As a freshman, he was a pitcher on the baseball team before deciding to focus on basketball after experiencing a growth spurt. As a senior, he averaged 14.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game and was named All-Central New York. Knight completed a

postgraduate year A postgraduate (PG) year is an extra year of secondary coursework at a boarding school following high school graduation, but before entering college. It is a gap year option intended for students who either have not applied or were not admitt ...

Kimball Union Academy Kimball Union Academy is a private boarding school located in New Hampshire. Founded in 1813, it is the 22nd oldest boarding school in the United States. It is located in the upper Connecticut River Valley village of Meriden, New Hampshire. Th ...

Meriden, New Hampshire Meriden is an unincorporated community in the eastern part of the town of Plainfield in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. It is the location of Kimball Union Academy, a private boarding school. New Hampshire Route 120 passes throu ...

. In AAU play, he competed for Gym Ratz, coached by Billy Edelin. On October 5, 2015, he committed to William & Mary over offers from

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

, Duquesne,

George Mason George Mason (October 7, 1792) was an American planter, politician, Founding Father, and delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, where he was one of three delegates who refused to sign the Constitution. His wr ...

, and

Canisius Canisius may refer to: People * Saint Peter Canisius (1521–1597), Dutch Jesuit Catholic priest * Theodorich Canisius (1532–1606), Jesuit academic, half-brother of St. Peter Canisius * Henricus Canisius (1562–1610), Dutch canonist and histor ...

among others. Knight appreciated the rich history of the college and felt at home on the campus, saying it was an easy decision to make.

College career

As a true freshman, Knight averaged 8.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in 31 games played (six starts). Coach Tony Shaver praised his work ethic for losing 45 pounds before his sophomore season. As a sophomore, he averaged 18.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and two blocks per game and was named second team All-

Colonial Athletic Association The Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), formerly the ECAC South Conference and the Colonial Athletic Association, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA' ...

(CAA). On February 9, 2019, Knight had a career-high 39 points to go with 14 rebounds at Hofstra. He followed that up with 35 points and 13 rebounds against Elon on February 16 and 30 points in a win over

College of Charleston The College of Charleston (CofC or Charleston) is a public university in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, it is the oldest university in South Carolina, the 13th-oldest institution of higher lea ...

on February 21. Knight was named first team All-CAA as a junior after averaging 21 points, 8.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.3 blocks per game. Knight became the first college basketball player since

Tim Duncan Timothy Theodore Duncan (born April 25, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, spent his entire 19-year career with the San Antonio Sp ...

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The R ...

in 1997 to average 20 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots per game, and his scoring average was the highest for a Tribe player since 1968. He also had 12 double-doubles. After entering the

2019 NBA draft The 2019 NBA draft was held on June 20, 2019. It took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible p ...

, Knight withdrew from the draft before the deadline and decided to return to William & Mary for his senior season. Coming into his senior season, coach Shaver was fired and replaced by Dane Fischer while four players transferred, though Knight decided to stay on the team. During his senior season, Knight put up 30-point games against Buffalo and

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

. On January 4, 2020, Knight hit a last-second shot in a 66–64 win against Northeastern and finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds. On February 8, 2020, Knight passed the 2,000 career point mark by scoring 16 points while also grabbing 13 rebounds. He became the fourth player in program history to reach the milestone. At the conclusion of the regular season, Knight was named CAA Player of the Year and CAA Defensive Player of the Year. He became just the second men's basketball player in CAA history to earn both awards in the same season, joining

George Evans George Evans may refer to: Arts and entertainment * George "Honey Boy" Evans (1870–1915), American songwriter and entertainer * George Evans (bandleader) (1915–1993), English jazz bandleader, arranger and tenor saxophonist * George Evans (sin ...

(1999, 2001). Knight finished the season averaging 20.7 points and 10.5 rebounds per game, the fourth CAA player to average 20 points and 10 rebounds in a season.

Professional career

Atlanta Hawks (2020–2021)

Knight was signed to a

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless o ...

by the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

on November 19, 2020. He played 33 games for the Hawks in the 2020–21 season, averaging 3.8 points and 2.2 rebounds per game. He did not appear for the Hawks'

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 ...

affiliate, the

College Park Skyhawks The College Park Skyhawks are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in College Park, Georgia, and are affiliated with the Atlanta Hawks. The Skyhawks play their home games at Gateway Center Arena at College Park af ...

, as the team sat out the season due to the COVID pandemic.

Minnesota Timberwolves (2021–2023)

For the 2021–22 season, Knight signed another two-way deal, this time with the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

and their G League affiliate, the

Iowa Wolves The Iowa Wolves are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Des Moines, Iowa, and are affiliated with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Wolves play their home games at the Wells Fargo Arena and compete in the Western ...

. In his first career NBA start on December 27, 2021, Knight recorded 20 points, 11 rebounds, one steal, and one block in a win against 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 Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

. He averaged 3.7 points and 2.3 rebounds in 37 appearances. On July 23, 2022, Knight re-signed with the Timberwolves, where he went on to average 3.7 points and 1.5 rebounds in 38 appearances.

Maine Celtics (2023)

On July 21, 2023, Knight signed a two-way contract with the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

, but was waived on October 19. Three days later, he signed a

with the

. On December 12, Boston waived Knight. He averaged 8.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks in 22.9 minutes in 12 games with the

Maine Celtics 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 ...

Motor City Cruise (2023–2024)

On December 17, 2023, Knight was acquired by the

Motor City Cruise The Motor City Cruise are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Detroit, and are affiliated with the Detroit Pistons. The Cruise play their home games at Wayne State Fieldhouse. The franchise began play as the Lon ...

after he had returned to Maine.

Zhejiang Lions (2024–present)

On August 3, 2024, Knight signed with the

of the

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

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Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, 37 , , 2 , , 7.2 , , .511 , , .308 , , .733 , , 2.3 , , .6 , , .2 , , .2 , , 3.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 38 , , 0 , , 7.7 , , .568 , , .364 , , .684 , , 1.5 , , .3 , , .3 , , .2 , , 3.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 108 , , 2 , , 7.8 , , .476 , , .265 , , .738 , , 2.0 , , .4 , , .2 , , .2 , , 3.7

Playoffs

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, 2 , , 0 , , 2.4 , , .250 , , .000 , , , , .5 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 8 , , 0 , , 2.3 , , .273 , , .000 , , .000 , , .9 , , .0 , , .0 , , .3 , , .8

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;", William & Mary , 31 , , 6 , , 17.2 , , .578 , , .167 , , .594 , , 4.4 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , 1.3 , , 8.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;", William & Mary , 31 , , 30 , , 28.7 , , .575 , , .306 , , .769 , , 7.3 , , 2.2 , , .6 , , 2.0 , , 18.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;", William & Mary , 31 , , 30 , , 30.6 , , .578 , , .244 , , .732 , , 8.6 , , 3.5 , , .4 , , 2.3 , , 21.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;", William & Mary , 32 , , 32 , , 29.6 , , .524 , , .305 , , .773 , , 10.5 , , 1.8 , , .8 , , 1.5 , , 20.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 125 , , 98 , , 26.6 , , .560 , , .283 , , .736 , , 7.7 , , 2.1 , , .5 , , 1.8 , , 17.1

Personal life

Knight is the youngest of four children. In December 2008, Knight's 18-year-old sister Yeisha Howard was stabbed to death in Syracuse. According to the prosecutor, it was part of a longstanding feud, and the perpetrator of the attack was sentenced to seven years in prison.

References

External links

William & Mary Tribe bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Nathan 1997 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen American expatriate basketball people in China American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players from Syracuse, New York Centers (basketball) Iowa Wolves players Maine Celtics players Minnesota Timberwolves players Motor City Cruise players Nottingham High School (New York) alumni Power forwards Undrafted NBA players William & Mary Tribe men's basketball players Zhejiang Lions players