Rakeem Christmas
 Christmas with Syracuse in 2013 | |
| No. 25 – Fort Wayne Mad Ants | |
|---|---|
| Position | Power forward / Center |
| League | NBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born |
December 1, 1991 Irvington, New Jersey |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
| Listed weight | 250 lb (113 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school |
Academy of the New Church (Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania) |
| College | Syracuse (2011–2015) |
| NBA draft | 2015 / Round: 2 / Pick: 36th overall |
| Selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves | |
| Playing career | 2015–present |
| Career history | |
| 2015–present | Indiana Pacers |
| 2015–present | →Fort Wayne Mad Ants |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Rakeem Maleek Christmas (born December 1, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA Development League, on assignment from the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played for the Syracuse Orange.
High school career
Christmas attended Northeast Catholic High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between 2007 and 2009, before his junior year he transferred to Academy of the New Church in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania. As a junior he averaged 13.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game, during his senior season he averaged 11.0 points, 9.6 rebounds and 3.9 blocks per game.
He was rated as the #21 player in the class of 2011 by Scout.com.[1] He was rated as the #27 player by Rivals.com.[2] He was named to the Class A first team as a junior.[3]
College career
Christmas committed to Syracuse basketball on August 6, 2010[4] after his junior season in high school. He started playing for Syracuse in the 2011–12 season.[5]
College statistics
| Year | GP-GS | MPG | PPG | FG% | RPG | APG | TPG | SPG | BPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–12 | 37-35 | 11.5 | 2.8 | 57.3% | 2.9 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.8 |
| 2012–13 | 40-40 | 20.8 | 5.1 | 53.0% | 4.6 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 1.8 |
| 2013–14 | 34-34 | 23.6 | 5.8 | 61.3% | 5.1 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 1.9 |
| 2014–15 | 31-31 | 34.3 | 17.5 | 55.2% | 9.1 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 0.9 | 2.5 |
College career highs
- Blocks: 6 against Loyola (11/25/14)
- Rebounds: 16 against Hampton (11/16/14)
- Points: 35 against Wake Forest (01/13/15)
Professional career
Indiana Pacers (2015–present)
On June 25, 2015, Christmas was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the 36th overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft. His rights were then traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers along with those of Cedi Osman and a future second round pick in exchange for the rights of Tyus Jones.[6] He later joined the Cavaliers for the 2015 NBA Summer League, where he averaged 8.0 points and 4.5 rebounds in four games. On July 23, his rights were traded again, this time to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for a 2019 second-round pick.[7] Four days later, he signed with the Pacers.[8] On November 14, he made his professional debut in the Mad Ants' 83–80 win over Raptors 905, recording 24 points, seven rebounds, one steal and one block in 32 minutes.[9] On January 29, he was named in the East All-Star team for the 2016 NBA D-League All-Star Game.[10] In the Pacers' 2015–16 regular season finale, Christmas made his NBA debut, scoring four points and making both his field-goal tries off the bench in a 97–92 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.[11]
During his rookie and sophomore seasons, he has had multiple assignments with Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA Development League.[12][13]
NBA career statistics
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015–16 | Indiana | 1 | 0 | 6.0 | 1.000 | .000 | .000 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 4.0 |
| Career | 1 | 0 | 6.0 | 1.000 | .000 | .000 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 4.0 | |
Personal life
Christmas and his mother Landra Hamid moved to St. Croix when he was 2 years old. While he lived in the Virgin Islands, his mother died due to renal failure at the age of 28. After his mother died, he remained in St. Croix and was raised there by his grandmother, Evelyn Hamid. When he was 13 years old he moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to live with his aunt, Amira Hamid, who became his legal guardian.[14]
Christmas was initiated as an honorary member of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity during his sophomore year at Syracuse University.[15] Christmas is thought to be the first player in Syracuse men's basketball history to finish his undergraduate degree in 3 years.[16]
References
- ↑ "Scout.com: Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scouthoops.scout.comaccessdate=August 26, 2010.
- ↑ "Yahoo Sports: Rivals.com Ranking - Rivals150 for the class of 2011". Rivals.yahoo.com. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
- ↑ "Liberty High School's Darrun Hilliard named first team all-state; Chad Landis is Class AAAA co-coach of the year". The Express-Times. April 7, 2010. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
- ↑ "Rakeem Christmas commits to Syracuse - ESPN". Sports.espn.go.com. August 6, 2010. Retrieved August 6, 2010.
- ↑ "Syracuse University Athletics – Rakeem Christmas". Cuse.com. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
- ↑ "Cavaliers Acquire Draft Rights to Cedi Osman and Rakeem Christmas from Minnesota". NBA.com. June 25, 2015. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
- ↑ "Pacers Acquire Rakeem Christmas From Cleveland in Exchange for Draft Pick". NBA.com. July 23, 2015. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
- ↑ "Pacers Re-Sign Whittington and Sign Christmas and Robinson". NBA.com. July 27, 2015. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
- ↑ "Thames' Buzzer-Beater Spoils Raptors 905's First-Ever Game". NBA.com. November 14, 2015. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
- ↑ "Sixteen NBA Veterans Headline Rosters for NBA Development League All-Star Game Presented By Kumho Tire". NBA.com. January 29, 2016. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
- ↑ "Solomon Hill scores 25, Pacers beat Bucks 97-92". NBA.com. April 13, 2016. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
- ↑ "All-Time NBA Assignments". NBA.com. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
- ↑ "2016-17 NBA Assignments". NBA.com. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
- ↑ "Christmas Comes Early At North Catholic". Phillyhoops.wordpress.com. December 15, 2008. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
- ↑ "Rakeem Christmas Joins Syracuse AEPi". barstoolsports.com. Retrieved April 8, 2013.
- ↑ "Rakeem Christmas Earns Degree in Just Three Years". bleacherreport.com. May 8, 2014. Retrieved May 9, 2014.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from NBA.com, or Basketball-Reference.com
- Rakeem Christmas at cuse.com
- Rakeem Christmas at nbadraft.net