Dante Exum

Dante Exum

No. 11 – Utah Jazz
Position	Point guard
League	NBA
Personal information
Born	(1995-07-13) 13 July 1995 Melbourne, Victoria
Nationality	Australian
Listed height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight	190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High school	Thomas Carr College (Melbourne, Victoria) Lake Ginninderra (Canberra, ACT)
NBA draft	2014 / Round: 1 / Pick: 5th overall
Selected by the Utah Jazz
Playing career	2014–present
Career history
2014–present	Utah Jazz
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals Men's basketball Representing Australia FIBA Oceania Championship 2013 Australia/New Zealand Team FIBA Oceania Youth Tournament 2010 New Caledonia Team

Dante Exum (born 13 July 1995) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was considered one of the best prospects for the 2014 NBA draft prior to graduating from high school in 2013.^[1] He chose to bypass college and was ultimately selected by the Utah Jazz with the fifth overall pick in the 2014 draft.

Early life and junior career

Exum was born in the Melbourne suburb of East Melbourne to American parents. He played for the Keilor Basketball Association as a junior^[2] and attended Lake Ginninderra Secondary College in Canberra where, in conjunction with, also attended the Australian Institute of Sport. Along with basketball, he grew up playing Australian rules football but gave it up to focus on basketball.^[3]

In April 2013, Exum participated in the Nike Hoop Summit for the World Select Team, where he recorded 16 points, three rebounds and two assists in a 112–98 win over the USA Junior Select Team.^[4] In October 2013, he graduated from Lake Ginninderra and had the option to enroll in college and play college basketball during the 2013–14 season, but he decided against it.^[5]

Exum competed for Lake Ginninderra in the Australian National High School Basketball Championships in December 2013,^[6][7] and helped them win the eventual title.^[8]

On 28 January 2014, it was announced that Exum signed with agents from Landmark Sports and that he would declare for the 2014 NBA draft.^[9][10]

Professional career

Utah Jazz (2014–present)

On 26 June 2014, Exum was selected by the Utah Jazz with the fifth overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft.^[11] On 11 July 2014, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Jazz.^[12] The following day marked the start of the Utah Jazz Summer League, and over five games in the tournament, Exum averaged 7.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.4 steals in 26.7 minutes per game.^[13] He made his NBA debut in the Jazz's season opener on 29 October 2014, recording five points, one assist and one steal in 9½ minutes of action in a 104–93 loss to the Houston Rockets.^[14] Three days later, he scored 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc in a 118–91 win over the Phoenix Suns.^[15] On 22 January 2015, he had a season-best game with 15 points and five assists in a 101–99 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.^[16] On 1 April 2015, he had a career-high 12 assists in a 98–84 win over the Denver Nuggets.^[17] He appeared in all 82 games (41 starts) as a rookie and averaged 4.8 points, 1.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 22.2 minutes. Exum became only the 10th rookie in Jazz history to play in all 82 games, scoring in double figures in 13 games and leading the team in assists 11 times. He helped the Jazz to a 24–17 record as a starter and was selected to compete in the 2015 Rising Stars Challenge during the NBA's All-Star Weekend in New York.^[18]

Exum appeared in one game for the Jazz during the 2015 NBA Summer League before departing the team in order to join the Australian national team for their European tour. On 4 August 2015, Exum sustained a severe knee injury while playing for Australia.^[19] Two days later, an MRI determined Exum had sustained a tear of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee.^[20] He underwent successful surgery to reconstruct the torn ligament on 3 September 2015, ruling him out of the entire 2015–16 season.^[21]

Due to the injury, Exum sat out the 2016 NBA Summer League and the Australian national team's Rio Olympics campaign. After playing in six preseason games for the Jazz, Exum came off the bench in the team's 2016–17 regular season opener against the Portland Trail Blazers on 25 October 2016. In eight minutes of action, he recorded five points and two rebounds in a 113–104 loss.^[22] On 17 November 2016, he scored a season-high 14 points in an 85–77 loss to the Chicago Bulls.^[23]

NBA career statistics

Regular season

National team career

Exum played for Australia in the 2012 FIBA Under-17 World Championship and the 2013 FIBA Under-19 World Championship.^[24] Exum averaged 18.2 points and 3.8 assists over nine games at the 2013 FIBA U19 tournament, subsequently being named to the All-Tournament team. He was also selected by the Australian Boomers for the 2013 FIBA Oceania Championship, where he played sparingly in both games against New Zealand. In 2014, he competed for the Boomers in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, where he averaged 2.7 points, 1.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists in six games.^[25]

Personal life

Exum has a twin sister, Tierra, who is an international elite gymnast.^[26] His father, Cecil, played college basketball at the University of North Carolina and won an NCAA championship in 1982, a team which featured Michael Jordan and James Worthy. His mother also attended North Carolina. Cecil was drafted in 1984 by the Denver Nuggets, and later settled in Australia where he played in the National Basketball League for the North Melbourne Giants, Melbourne Tigers and Geelong Supercats.^[27] Exum is a passionate Essendon supporter.^[28]

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from NBA.com, or Basketball-Reference.com
• Dante Exum at fiba.com