Alex Ducas

Last updated

Alex Ducas
Free agent
Position Shooting guard / small forward
Personal information
Born (2000-12-11) 11 December 2000 (age 24)
Geraldton, Western Australia, Australia
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school
College Saint Mary's (2019–2024)
NBA draft 2024: undrafted
Playing career2016–present
Career history
2016–2019 Geraldton Buccaneers
2017–2019 BA Centre of Excellence
2024–2025 Oklahoma City Thunder
2024–2025 Oklahoma City Blue
Career highlights
Stats at NBA.com  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Stats at Basketball Reference   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
FIBA Asia Cup
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2022 Jakarta

Alexander Ducas (born 11 December 2000) is an Australian professional basketball player who last played for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA G League. He began his career in the Australian state leagues before moving to the United States in 2019 to play college basketball for the Saint Mary's Gaels. He played five seasons for the Gaels and earned second-team All-WCC in 2022 and 2024.

Contents

Early life and career

Ducas was born and raised in Geraldton, Western Australia, [1] [2] where he attended Nagle Catholic College. [3]

In 2016, Ducas debuted for the Geraldton Buccaneers in the State Basketball League (SBL), averaging 2.27 points in 22 games. [4] In 2017, he played 13 games for the Buccaneers, averaging 5.67 points and 1.47 rebounds per game. [5] He also played five games for the BA Centre of Excellence in the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL), averaging 2.4 points and 1.2 rebounds per game. [6] In 2018, he averaged nine points in three SBL games for the Buccaneers [7] before returning to the Centre of Excellence and averaging 12.2 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 14 SEABL games. [8]

In 2019, Ducas played nine games for the Centre of Excellence of the NBL1 in the league's inaugural season, averaging 21.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.0 steals per game. [9] He was named the NBL1 Youth Player of the Year. [10] He finished the year with the Buccaneers and helped them win the SBL championship for the 2019 SBL season. [11] In 13 games for the Buccaneers, he averaged 15.54 points, 3.92 rebounds and 3.08 assists per game. [12]

While in Canberra at the Centre of Excellence, Ducas attended Lake Ginninderra College. [13] [14]

College career

On 5 November 2019, Ducas made his debut for Saint Mary's, recording 3 points and 2 rebounds against Wisconsin. [15] As a freshman, Ducas appeared in 33 games, starting in 11 games – which was more games as a true freshman than any Gael since Matthew Dellavedova. [16] In his sophomore season, Ducas suffered an ankle injury, causing him to appear in only 14 games. Prior to his injury, Ducas averaged 11.3 points on 35.7% from three. [16] He posted 10.3 points per game as a junior. [17] As a senior, Ducas averaged 12.5 points per game shooting 41.4% from beyond the arc. [18]

In his final season with Saint Mary's, Ducas started every single game for the third consecutive season, shooting a career-best 43.8% from three, making 81 – which was the ninth most in team history and second most in the WCC. [16] Against Davidson, Ducas registered a season-high 23 points on 7 made threes. [19] With Saint Mary's, Ducas won the 2024 WCC tournament and was named a second team All-WCC honoree for the second time. [20] Ducas averaged 9.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. [18]

As a fifth year guard, Ducas finished his collegiate career playing in a program-record 150 games and finished second all-time in program history with 278 threes. [21]

Professional career

Oklahoma City Thunder (2024–2025)

After going undrafted in the 2024 NBA draft, [22] Ducas joined the Oklahoma City Thunder for the 2024 NBA Summer League. [23] On 16 July 2024, he signed a two-way contract with the Thunder. [24] [21] He scored his first NBA points in January 2025 after a back injury sidelined him for nearly two months. [25] He featured in 21 NBA games during the regular season, averaging 1.7 points and 1.2 rebounds per game. [26] He also played in six games for the Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA G League during the 2024–25 season. [27] Although Ducas did not play for the Thunder during their playoff run, he was part of the squad that won the NBA championship in the 2025 NBA Finals, making him the ninth Australian-born player to earn an NBA title. [26]

Career statistics

Legend
  GPGames 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
  Won an NBA championship

NBA

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
2024–25 Oklahoma City 2106.0.400.4761.0001.2.2.2.01.7
Career2106.0.400.4761.0001.2.2.2.01.7

College

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
2019–20 Saint Mary's 331115.1.478.414.7502.20.40.30.03.6
2020–21 Saint Mary's 14922.0.413.328.8424.40.50.50.17.9
2021–22 Saint Mary's 343429.8.409.387.8203.70.90.90.210.3
2022–23 Saint Mary's 353531.3.433.414.8684.31.00.90.412.5
2023–24 Saint Mary's 343428.1.453.438.7745.61.90.70.29.9
Career15012325.8.433.406.8284.01.00.7.29.0

Personal life

As of 2024, Ducas' father, Aaron, is an assistant coach for the Geraldton Buccaneers in the NBL1 West. [28]

References

  1. Badkin, Liam (13 October 2023). "NCAA Aussie Player Focus – Alex Ducas". central.rookieme.com. Archived from the original on 29 June 2024.
  2. O'Donoghue, Craig; Santa Maria, Jake (17 February 2023). "Alex Ducas remains strong prospect for Wildcats as they look to build defence". Geraldton Guardian . Archived from the original on 29 June 2024.
  3. "NCC basketball stars compete in national championship". CEWA Stories. 3 May 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  4. "Player statistics for Alex Ducas – 2016". WA State Basketball League. Archived from the original on 29 June 2024.
  5. "Player statistics for Alex Ducas – 2017". WA State Basketball League. Archived from the original on 29 June 2024.
  6. "Player statistics for Alex Ducas – 2017". SEABL. Archived from the original on 29 June 2024.
  7. "Player statistics for Alex Ducas – 2018". WA State Basketball League. Archived from the original on 29 June 2024.
  8. "Player statistics for Alex Ducas – 2018". SEABL. Archived from the original on 29 June 2024.
  9. "Alex Ducas" . usbasket.com. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  10. "Gatlin And Wilson Crowned NBL1 MVPs". NBL1.com.au. 18 August 2019. Archived from the original on 14 January 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  11. Harradine, Natasha (27 June 2020). "Aspiring Australian basketballer Alex Ducas leaves WA after COVID-19 repatriation". Australian Broadcasting Corporation . Archived from the original on 29 June 2024.
  12. "Player statistics for Alex Ducas – 2019". WA State Basketball League. Archived from the original on 29 June 2024.
  13. "Lake News May 2018" (PDF). Lake Ginninderra College . Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  14. "Lake News #1 2024" (PDF). Lake Ginninderra College . Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  15. "Saint Mary's Gaels vs Wisconsin Badgers - Boxscore". ESPN.com. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  16. 1 2 3 "Santa Mary's Gaels: Alex Ducas's Bio". SMCGaels.com. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  17. Kroner, Steve (11 April 2023). "St. Mary's forward Alex Ducas returning for a 5th season". San Francisco Chronicle . Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  18. 1 2 Sweet, Randall (30 June 2024). "Why Two-Way Signee Alex Ducas Could be More Than a Summer League Star for OKC Thunder". Sports Illustrated . Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  19. "Saint Mary's Gaels vs Davidson Wildcats - Boxscore". ESPN.com. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  20. "WCC Announces 2023-24 Men's Basketball All-Conference Awards". WCCSports.com. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  21. 1 2 "MBB: Ducas Signs Two Way Deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder". SMCGaels.com. 27 June 2024. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  22. Paddick, Matthew (28 June 2024). "Geraldton's Alex Ducas set to sign with Oklahoma City Thunder in NBA following five years in US college system". Geraldton Guardian . Archived from the original on 30 June 2024.
  23. "Thunder Announces 2024 Summer League Roster". NBA.com. 7 July 2024. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  24. "Thunder Signs Alex Ducas to Two-Way Contract". NBA.com. 16 July 2024. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  25. O'Donoghue, Craig (15 January 2025). "Ducas on the board with first points in NBA". The West Australian. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  26. 1 2 Robinson, Chris (23 June 2025). "Alex Ducas: Geraldton product becomes ninth Australian to earn NBA championship ring as Oklahoma City triumph". PerthNow. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  27. "Alex Ducas G-League Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  28. "Former country WA basketballer Alex Ducas lands NBA deal". ABC News. 28 June 2024. Retrieved 2 September 2024.