Jaleel Steven "J. J." O'Brien (born April 8, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for Tofaş of Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL). He played college basketball for San Diego State and the University of Utah.
 O'Brien with the San Diego State Aztecs in 2014 | |
| No. 22 – Tofaş | |
|---|---|
| Position | Small forward |
| League | Basketbol Süper Ligi |
| Personal information | |
| Born | April 8, 1992 San Diego, California, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) |
| Listed weight | 215 lb (98 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Alta Loma (Rancho Cucamonga, California) |
| College |
|
| NBA draft | 2015: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2015–present |
| Career history | |
| 2015–2017 | Idaho Stampede / Salt Lake City Stars |
| 2016 | Utah Jazz |
| 2017–2018 | Agua Caliente Clippers |
| 2018–2019 | Astana |
| 2019–2021 | Monaco |
| 2021–2022 | Nanterre 92 |
| 2022–2023 | Budućnost VOLI |
| 2023–present | Tofaş |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
High school career
editO'Brien attended the Alta Loma High School in Rancho Cucamonga, California. As a senior, he averaged 24 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.1 steals, earning a first-team all-league selection, being nominated for the McDonald's All-American and ended as Alta Loma's all-time leading scorer with 2,200 points.[1]
College career
editO'Brien began his basketball career with Utah. In his freshman season, he played in 22 games starting 21 averaging 6.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 27.7 minutes after missing 9 games due to a broken foot.[2]
The next year, O'Brien transferred to San Diego State and sat out that season. On his sophomore season, he played in all 34 games, starting 33 averaging 7.2 points on 52.6 percent shooting, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists. He scored in double figures in 10 of his final 16 outings, including six of his final 11 games, ending with 13 double-figures scoring. He was the Mountain West Player of the Week on January 28.[2]
As a junior, O'Brien played and started 35 of 36 games averaging a career-high 7.8 points and 4.7 rebounds also setting career highs in minutes played (27.9), free-throw percentage (.644) and three-point field-goal percentage (.278). All of this earned him an All-Mountain West Honorable Mention.[2]
As a senior with the Aztecs, O'Brien averaged 10.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists.[3]
Professional career
editAfter going undrafted in the 2015 NBA draft, O'Brien joined the Utah Jazz for the Utah Summer League, where he saw action in all three games, averaging 4.0 points and 2.3 rebounds in 13.0 minutes.[3] He also played with Utah at the Las Vegas Summer League, owning averages of 4.6 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 18.8 minutes.[3] On August 28, 2015, he signed with the Jazz,[3] but was later waived by the team on October 13 after appearing in one preseason game.[4] On November 1, 2015, he was acquired by the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Development League as an affiliate player of the Jazz.[5] On November 13, he made his professional debut in a 110–106 loss to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, recording 12 points, three rebounds, two steals and two blocks in 42 minutes.[6]
On January 16, 2016, O'Brien signed a 10-day contract with the Jazz.[7] Later that night, he made his NBA debut against the Los Angeles Lakers, recording one rebound and one steal in four minutes of action.[8] On January 26, he returned to Idaho after his contract with the Jazz expired. At the season's end, he earned NBA D-League All-Rookie Team honors.[8]
In July 2016, O'Brien re-joined the Utah Jazz for the Utah Summer League, and then played for the Brooklyn Nets at the Las Vegas Summer League. On September 8, 2016, he signed with the Milwaukee Bucks,[9] but was waived on October 22 after appearing in five preseason games.[10] On October 31, he was re-acquired by the now Salt Lake City Stars.[11]
On August 23, 2017, O'Brien was selected by the Agua Caliente Clippers in the NBA G League expansion draft. He averaged 15.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game with the Clippers.[12]
On August 7, 2018, O'Brien signed with BC Astana in Kazakhstan.[12]
He signed with Monaco of the LNB Pro A in 2019. O'Brien averaged 12.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game, shooting 52% from the field and 74% from the foul line. He re-signed with the team on July 16, 2020.[13]
On November 11, 2022, he signed with Nanterre 92 of the French Pro A.[14]
On July 4, 2023, he signed with Tofaş of Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL).[15]
Career statistics
edit| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015–16 | Utah | 2 | 0 | 3.1 | .000 | - | - | 0.5 | - | .5 | - | 0.0 |
Personal life
editO'Brien is the son of Catherine O'Brien, a middle school teacher who played college basketball at Notre Dame. He has two sisters, Noelle and Malika.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b "20 J.J. O'Brien". UtahUtes.com. Archived from the original on January 29, 2016. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
- ^ a b c "20 J.J. O'Brien". GoAztecs.com. Archived from the original on September 22, 2015. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
- ^ a b c d "Jazz Sign Free Agent J.J. O'Brien". NBA.com. August 28, 2015. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
- ^ "Jazz Waive Cooley and O'Brien". NBA.com. October 13, 2015. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
- ^ "Idaho Stampede Finalize 2015 Training Camp Roster". OurSportsCentral.com. November 1, 2015. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
- ^ "Walker Blocks Six Shots, McDaniels Scores 16 in Vipers' 110-106 Home Opener Win". NBA.com. November 13, 2015. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
- ^ "Jazz Sign JJ O'Brien to 10-Day Contract". NBA.com. January 16, 2016. Retrieved January 16, 2016.
- ^ "NBA Development League Announces 2015-16 All-NBA D-League Teams". NBA.com. April 29, 2016. Archived from the original on September 4, 2016. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
- ^ "BUCKS SIGN ORLANDO JOHNSON AND J.J. O'BRIEN". NBA.com. September 8, 2016. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
- ^ "Bucks waive Orlando Johnson, J.J. O'Brien and Jaleel Roberts". InsideHoops.com. October 22, 2016. Archived from the original on October 23, 2016. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
- ^ "Salt Lake City Stars roster and info after D-League Draft". SLCDunk.com. SB-Nation. October 31, 2016. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
- ^ a b "JJ O'Brien signs with PBC Astana". Sportando. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
- ^ Skerletic, Dario (July 16, 2020). "J.J. O'Brien re-signs with AS Monaco". Sportando. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
- ^ "Nanterre lands J.J. O'Brien". Eurobasket. November 11, 2022. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
- ^ "J. J. O'Brien Tofaş'ta". tofasspor.com (in Turkish). July 4, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
External links
edit- San Diego State bio
- Utah Utes bio Archived 2016-01-29 at the Wayback Machine