Tag: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson

Ex-NBA player Rondae Hollis-Jefferson re-emerged as a Kobe Bryant clone at the FIBA World Cup

Rondae “Kobe” Hollis-Jefferson!

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson drew comparisons to the late, great Kobe Bryant during the 2023 FIBA World Cup in the Philippines.

The former first-round draft pick came into the tournament as one of the more notable U.S.-born players with NBA experience who is not playing for Team USA during the international competition. He is a starting forward for Jordan.

Hollis-Jefferson hasn’t played in the NBA since 2021, but he drew attention during his first game of the tournament for resembling a left-handed Kobe Bryant. Not only did he wear 24, like Bryant, but he also physically looked like the five-time champion as well.

With a midrange-oriented game, there were even similarities with the way that he played on the court. The two players are both 6-foot-6 and even have similar haircuts.

Hollis-Jefferson emphasized that while he appreciated receiving this unique comparison, he is his own player (via ABC-CBN):

“It’s an honor for people to say that (being compared to Kobe), but at the end of the day, Kobe is Kobe, and I’m Rondae. I definitely watch a lot of film [of him], [and we have] similar size and athletic abilities,” he said.

He showcased those athletic abilities during his second game of the tournament, facing off against New Zealand, when he threw down a mesmerizing dunk:

Hollis-Jefferson said that during his interaction with the late Bryant, he was told to focus on his jump shot:

“He told me one day, 2016 I believe, I was able to give him the farewell gift, and I was just like: ‘Hey, do you have any advice for me?’ He told me to fall in love with the elbow [jumper], and ever since then, I’ve been working on my midrange and get better.”

The forward clearly took that advice and applied it on the international stage:

Later in the game, during the fourth quarter, Hollis-Jefferson drew contact from his defender and somehow connected on an and-one 3-pointer.

The improbable four-point play helped send the game into overtime for Jordan. Even the fans in the arena reportedly chanted “Kobe” after this shot.

Hollis-Jefferson finished with a tournament-high 39 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists during the loss.

After the game, he told reporters that he felt like Bryant was with him during the four-point play.

Hollis-Jefferson says that ex-NBA guard Shabazz Napier has encouraged the forward to get a DNA test to find out if he is actually cousins with Bryant.

Related or not, unfortunately for Hollis-Jefferson, the Jordan national team will not advance to the next stage of the tournament after coming up short in the game against New Zealand.

Hollis-Jefferson, however, will have more eyes on him once again when Jordan plays against the United States during their final game of group play on Aug. 30 at 4:40 AM EST.

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Report: Warriors working out multiple veteran free agents before training camp

The Warriors are reportedly working out multiple veteran free agents before training camp.

With the offseason winding down and training camp quickly approaching, the Golden State Warriors are still keeping an eye on different free-agent options to fill their roster. 

According to Anthony Slater and Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Warriors are bringing in four different veterans for a workout before training camp. Golden State is bringing in four notable players with NBA experience, Ben McLemore, Elfrid Payton, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Kenneth Faried. 

Via @TheAthletic on Twitter: 

McLemore is coming off a season with the Portland Trailblazers, averaging 10.2 points on 40.1% shooting from the floor and 36.2% shooting from long distance in 20.1 minutes per contest. McLemore had stops in Sacramento, Memphis, Houston and Los Angeles before playing with the Trail Blazers in 2021-22.

Payton spent the 2021-22 season with the Phoenix Suns, averaging three points on 38.3% shooting from the floor with two assists and 1.8 rebounds in 11 minutes per contest. Along with the Suns, Payton has also played for the Orlando Magic, New Orleans Pelicans and New York Knicks. 

Since being selected in the first round of the NBA Draft in 2015, Hollis-Jefferson has made appearances for the Brooklyn Nets, Toronto Raptors and Portland Trail Blazers. In his last NBA appearance in 2020-21, the 26-year-old played 11 games with the Trail Blazers, averaging 2.5 points on 50% shooting from the field with 2.4 rebounds per contest. 

Before playing overseas, Faried last played in the NBA with the Houston Rockets in 2018-19. During his eight-year NBA career, Faried averaged 11.4 points on 54.6% shooting from the floor with 8.1 rebounds. Faried had a stint in the G League in 2021-22 with the Grand Rapids Gold. 

Along with McLemore, Payton, Hollis-Jefferson and Faried, the Warriors are also working out players Miye Oni, Ty-Shon Alexander, Wesley Saunders and Icelandic product Jon Axel Gudmundsson, per Charania and Slater. The Athletic also reported that veterans Shabazz Muhammad, Solomon Hill, Tyler Cook and Kelan Martin have also had workouts with Golden State. 

The Warriors are set to open training camp on Sep. 24 in the Bay Area. The Warriors will then play a five-game preseason slate before ring night in San Francisco to start the season on Oct. 18 against the Los Angeles Lakers.

This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! 

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Who are the best overseas players the Boston Celtics could sign to their roster?

These are some of the better overseas options the Celtics could consider.

The Boston Celtics have signed two players to get their roster to the league-required 14-man minimum, but both are on 10-day contracts and may not stick. Add in that the Celtics have an additional regular and also a two way roster slot open, and it is quite likely Boston will be looking to add another player if not several.

There are plenty of potential targets for the Celtics to sign who still need to be bought out before the March 1 deadline, but if Boston isn’t up to wait that process out, they can look to domestically available players who aren’t on a contract, or snap up one of the better players overseas.

Overseas players may of course need to get permission (or be bought out) if under contract with their current club, but there are several the Celtics ought to be considering should they be able to find their way to the NBA — let’s take a look at seven such players.

WATCH: Xavier Tillman throws down one-handed dunk over Rondae Hollis-Jefferson

Xavier Tillman had his first big NBA poster dunk for the Memphis Grizzlies with a big slam over Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.

Xavier Tillman has been one of the most surprising rookies in the NBA this year, at least for people who didn’t watch him play for Michigan State.

Tillman has been the second Spartan to join the Memphis Grizzlies front court, following his old pal Jaren Jackson Jr., and he has been showing out all season. On Sunday, he showed off something he hasn’t done too much of though when he went over the top and dunked on Trail Blazers forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.

Watch the highlight slam below:

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Five most likely candidates to sign with Nets after James Harden trade

The Brooklyn Nets made a huge splash trading for James Harden, though their roster is now very thin so more moves are assuredly coming soon.

The Brooklyn Nets made a huge splash trading for James Harden, but their roster is now very thin so more moves are assuredly coming soon.

After losing Jarrett Allen, Brooklyn especially needs more depth in their frontcourt. The Nets have three available roster spots, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks, and still have their mid-level exception available to sign a free agent for up to $5.7 million. They can also sign any player for the league veteran minimum.

The front office may leave an empty roster spot for the buyout market later this season since, as legitimate title contenders, Brooklyn is now one of the more attractive destinations. Our own Yossi Gozlan predicts that they will use their $5.7 million designated player to trade for frontcourt depth.

Otherwise, in the immediate future, fans can expect one of the players we have listed below to sign with the Nets as they aim to restructure their roster on the fly.

Raptors’ roster holds the lowest-average draft position among NBA teams

The Toronto Raptors head into the resumption of play for the NBA season re-start with the second-best record in the Eastern Conference.

When the Raptors won the title in 2019, it was the only time that the NBA champions did not have a lottery pick on their roster since the league changed to a weighted lotto system in 1990.

In fact, the 2019 Raptors had the lowest drafted players among NBA champions since the Houston Rockets in 1993-94. (Although those numbers were a bit impacted by the fact that Mario Elie was selected at No. 160 overall, fully one hundred spots later than the final selection eligible in the modern draft).

This year, the only Toronto player selected in the lottery was Stanley Johnson. The former University of Arizona forward was picked at No. 8 overall in 2015. But he averaged just 4.8 minutes per game in 2019-20, making zero appearances in the starting lineup.

The only first-rounders on the team are OG Anunoby (No. 23 overall), Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (No. 23 overall), Kyle Lowry (No. 24 overall), Serge Ibaka (No. 24 overall) and Pascal Siakam (No. 27 overall). All of these players were taken in the second half of the first round.

Among NBA teams, the Raptors currently have the roster with the lowest average draft positions.

© Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

One interesting observation: the rosters with higher draft positions are not doing that well. The six NBA teams that have the lowest draft position all have winning records this season. Meanwhile, 10 of the eleven teams with the highest-drafted players have losing records.

HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report

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Today in Nets history: D’Angelo Russell leads Nets in epic comeback vs. Kings

D’Angelo Russell and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson led the Brooklyn Nets to a big comeback win against the Sacramento Kings on March 19 last year.

With the NBA going on hiatus — which NBA commissioner Adam Silver set as at least 30 days on Thursday — and New York’s governor, Andrew Cuomo, placing a ban on gatherings of more than 500 people for the foreseeable future due to the coronavirus outbreak in the United States, no Brooklyn Nets games will be played for the time being.

For the Nets, as much as any team, this comes at an odd time — Brooklyn was battling the Orlando Magic for the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference standings. At the stoppage of play, the Nets had a half-game advantage over the Magic.

Since there aren’t any games, each day Nets Wire will highlight major individual performances and key developments throughout Nets history:

Nets fans don’t have to look far back in the franchise’s history to find an impressive performance that took place on March 19. Just last season, D’Angelo Russell went off for 44 points to help lead Brooklyn to a 123-121 win over the Sacramento Kings, after the Nets fell behind by 28 points.

Brooklyn scored 45 points in the final quarter, 27 of which D-Lo was responsible for. Ten of his 17 made field goals came in the fourth, four of which were from beyond the arc. Russell also had four of his 12 assists in the last quarter, as well as two of his four steals.

As for the game-winning shot, that fell on Rondae Hollis-Jefferson’ shoulders.

Hollis-Jefferson scored 12 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter — leaving room for Jared Dudley to pitch in the remaining six of the Nets’ 45 total fourth quarter points.

Jarrett Allen scored 13 points for the Nets and Spencer Dinwiddie chipped in 10 off the bench.

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson out for revenge vs. Nets

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson didn’t want to leave the Brooklyn Nets. He has a chance to hand them a loss as a member of the Toronto Raptors.

In the course of revamping the roster, the Brooklyn Nets had to part ways with a few pieces from the 2018-19 team over the summer. Of course, D’Angelo Russell was most notable among the players who found a new place to play.

Another who had to find a new team was Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. Now in his fifth year in the league, Hollis-Jefferson was traded to Brooklyn the same night he was selected No. 23 overall in the 2015 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers.

In his four seasons with the Nets, Hollis-Jefferson appeared in 234 games, while averaging 9.8 points a night on 44.9% shooting, to go with his 5.8 rebounds per game.

Though he seems to be doing well with his new team, the Toronto Raptors, Hollis-Jefferson didn’t want to leave Brooklyn — which he expressed to reporters leading up to Saturday’s matchup with his old team, per Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet:

Man, it was like I grew up there. Coming into the league at 19, 20, in New York in particular, Brooklyn — it’s definitely a gritty place. A loving atmosphere. But they want you to play hard every night in ways like Toronto. They want you to go out and get after it. Just being there, seeing that culture, letting the fanbase grow on me, my family — it was definitely tough.

Hollis-Jefferson continued:

When you’re coming into the league, when you see guys like Kobe [Bryant] play his whole career on one team, Dirk Nowitzki, you kind of want to be the next guy to do something like that. Things don’t work out. Of course, it’s a business. I definitely was a little bit hurt. But it’s part of the game.

As to whether or not this is a revenge game for the wing, Hollis-Jefferson said:

I’m a competitor, so I look forward to every matchup. But this one in particular.

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