Byron Mullens

Last updated

Byron Mullens
Byron Mullens Clippers.jpg
Mullens with the Clippers
No. 5New Taipei Kings
Position Power forward / center
League P. League+
Personal information
Born (1989-02-14) February 14, 1989 (age 35)
Canal Winchester, Ohio
NationalityAmerican / British
Listed height7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight270 lb (122 kg)
Career information
High school Canal Winchester
(Canal Winchester, Ohio)
College Ohio State (2008–2009)
NBA draft 2009: 1st round, 24th overall pick
Selected by the Dallas Mavericks
Playing career2009–present
Career history
20092011 Oklahoma City Thunder
2009–2011 Tulsa 66ers
2011 Panionios
20112013 Charlotte Bobcats
2013–2014 Los Angeles Clippers
2014 Philadelphia 76ers
2014 Shaanxi Wolves
2015–2016 Sioux Falls Skyforce
2016 Torku Konyaspor
2016–2017Al Wasl Dubai
2017–2018 Sanat Naft Abadan
2018 Lakeland Magic
2018 Guangxi Rhinos
2018–2019 Levanga Hokkaido
2019–2020 Busan KT Sonicboom
2020 Movistar Estudiantes
2020–2021 London Lions
2022–present New Taipei Kings
Career highlights and awards
Stats   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg at NBA.com
Stats   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg at Basketball-Reference.com

Byron James "B. J." Mullens (born February 14, 1989) [1] is a British-American professional basketball player for the New Taipei Kings of P. League+. He also holds British nationality due to his English mother. [2] He was drafted 24th overall by the Dallas Mavericks and immediately traded to the Thunder in the 2009 NBA draft.

Contents

High school career

Mullens played competitively at Canal Winchester High School and was ranked as one of the top college recruits in the nation from the class of 2008. He was ranked No. 1 in the nation by Rivals.com and No. 3 by Scout.com. [3]

Mullens was offered and accepted a scholarship to Ohio State by the Buckeyes' head basketball coach, Thad Matta, in 2004, which was the summer between Mullens' 8th and 9th grade year. [4]

In his senior year of high school, he averaged 26 points and 15 rebounds, [5] including 29 points and 18 rebounds in his final high school game. [6]

He was a member of the 2008 McDonald's All-American Team and he was a part of the 2008 Jordan Brand Classic at Madison Square Garden, where he had 12 points.

College career

In November 2007, Mullens signed a letter of intent to play basketball at Ohio State University. Mullens averaged 8.8 points a game at a 64.2 shooting percentage during his freshman year with Ohio State. [7] Mullens was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team and earned the Big Ten's Sixth Man of the Year award. [8] Mullens only played one year for the Buckeyes before declaring eligibility for the NBA draft.

College statistics

SeasonTeamGamesMinutesPointsFG %ReboundsBlocksFouls
2008–09 Ohio State Buckeyes 3320.38.864.24.71.12.1

Professional career

Coming out of Ohio State, Yahoo! Sports' Rivals 150 projected Mullens to be a clear first pick in the draft, "Size, athleticism and skill are the big three that separate Mullens from the rest of this class." [9]

Mullens was drafted 24th overall by the Dallas Mavericks in the 2009 NBA draft. His draft rights were traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Rodrigue Beaubois, the 25th overall pick, and a future 2nd-round draft pick. In mid-2009, Mullens requested that all media personnel refer to him as "Byron" rather than by his prior nickname "B. J." [10]

During the 2011 NBA lockout, Mullens signed with Panionios B.C. [11] However, he left the team after a month in Greece, saying that he wanted to join his Oklahoma City teammates for their voluntary practice sessions. [12]

On December 19, 2011, Mullens was traded to the Charlotte Bobcats for a 2013 second-round draft pick. [13] In his first game as a Bobcat, Mullens set a new career high with 10 points against the Milwaukee Bucks on December 26, 2011.

Mullens had what appeared to be a breakthrough game against the Atlanta Hawks on January 6, 2012, when he scored 17 points on 8–13 from the floor (.615 FG%), collected five rebounds and had one blocked shot in 24 minutes off the bench.

He made his first career start on January 12, 2012 against the Atlanta Hawks. He played in a career-high 33 minutes, going 8–16 from the floor scoring 21 points and collecting 4 rebounds. On April 6, 2012, Mullens set new career highs by scoring 31 points (on 14–23 shooting) and grabbing 14 rebounds (9 offensive) in 43 minutes against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Entering the 2012–13 season, Mullens played as Charlotte's starting power forward. The acquisition of center Brendan Haywood was part of the decision to play Mullens primarily at power forward instead of center.

On July 22, 2013, Mullens signed with the Los Angeles Clippers. [14]

On February 20, 2014, Mullens was traded, along with a 2018 second-round draft pick, to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for a top-55-protected 2014 second-round draft pick. [15] [16]

In July 2014, Mullens joined the Shaanxi Wolves of the Chinese National Basketball League where he played four games for the club. On August 11, 2014, he signed with Shanxi Zhongyu of the Chinese Basketball Association [17] but later left the club before appearing in a game for them.

On February 14, 2015, Mullens was acquired by the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA Development League, [18] and reacquired as a returning player on November 2. [19]

On March 1, 2016, Mullens signed a deal with Turkish club Torku Konyaspor until the end of the 2016–17 season. [20] At the end of the 2015–16 season he left Konyaspor.

In October 2016, Mullens signed with Al Wasl Dubai of the UAE National Basketball League. [21]

In October 2017, Mullens signed with Sanat Naft Abadan of the Iranian Basketball Super League. [22]

On February 22, 2018, the Sioux Falls Skyforce acquired a 2018 second round draft pick from Lakeland Magic for Mullens and Sioux Falls' 2018 fourth round draft pick. [23]

On December 23, 2018, Levanga Hokkaido announced that they had signed Mullens. [24]

He signed with KT Sonicboom of the Korean Basketball League for the 2019-20 season. [25]

On March 2, 2020, he signed with Movistar Estudiantes of the Spanish Liga ACB. [26]

On August 20, 2020, Mullens signed with the London Lions in Great Britain for the 2020–21 BBL season. [27]

On April 1, 2022, Mullens signed with the New Taipei Kings of the P. LEAGUE+. [28]

NBA 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

Regular season

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
2009–10 Oklahoma City 1304.2.368.000.000.8.1.2.01.1
2010–11 Oklahoma City 1306.5.321.000.5001.8.0.2.21.9
2011–12 Charlotte 652522.5.425.235.8215.0.9.3.89.3
2012–13 Charlotte 534126.9.385.317.6466.41.5.6.610.6
2013–14 L.A. Clippers 2706.2.406.333.3331.2.2.2.12.5
2013–14 Philadelphia 18013.7.465.400.5713.3.4.5.46.8
Career1896618.2.408.319.7064.2.8.4.57.4

Playoffs

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
2010 Oklahoma City 104.0.000.000.500.0.0.0.01.0

International career

Mullens was included in the preliminary Great Britain squad for the 2012 Summer Olympics. He left the team in June 2012 due to a toe injury. [29]

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References

  1. Byron Mullens NBA & ABA Stats
  2. MULLENS TO JOIN GB'S OLYMPIC TILT
  3. Scout.com Class of 2008 Basketball Rankings
  4. "Accepting OSU Scholarship". Archived from the original on October 24, 2008. Retrieved September 2, 2008.
  5. "Senior year Stats". Archived from the original on April 26, 2010. Retrieved September 2, 2008.
  6. "More Stats". Archived from the original on July 3, 2009. Retrieved September 2, 2008.
  7. "DraftExpress NBA Draft Prospect Profile: B.J. Mullens, Stats, Comparisons, and Outlook". Archived from the original on December 23, 2008. Retrieved September 28, 2009.
  8. Lesmerises, Doug (March 10, 2009). "Turner, Buford, Mullens honored". The Plain Dealer . Archived from the original on March 12, 2009. Retrieved March 16, 2009.
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved January 14, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. "B.J. Mullens is now referred to as Byron Mullens. We like it!". OKC Thunder official Twitter page. Retrieved February 4, 2010.
  11. Mullens Signs One-Year Deal With Panionios
  12. Thunder's Byron Mullens leaves Greek League team
  13. "Bobcats Acquire Byron Mullens from Thunder". NBA.com . December 19, 2011. Archived from the original on November 18, 2012. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
  14. CLIPPERS SIGN CENTER BYRON MULLENS
  15. "Sam Hinkie's First Trade Deadline With The Sixers Was A Busy One". CBSLocal.com. February 20, 2014. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
  16. "CLIPPERS FINALIZE TRADES WITH HAWKS AND 76ERS". NBA.com. February 20, 2014. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
  17. Byron Mullens officially signs with Shanxi Brave Dragons
  18. Skyforce Acquire Mullens and Re-Acquire Dawkins
  19. "Skyforce Announces 2015-16 Training Camp Roster". OurSportsCentral.com. November 2, 2015. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  20. "Byron Mullens signs with Konyaspor". Sportando.com. March 1, 2016. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
  21. "Byron Mullens (ex Konyaspor) agreed terms with Al Wasl !!". Eurobasket.com. October 22, 2016. Archived from the original on January 9, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
  22. Byron Mullens inks with Naft Abadan
  23. "Welcome to Lakeland, Byron Mullens!". Twitter.com. February 22, 2018. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  24. Cauchi, Orazio (December 23, 2018). "Byron Mullens inks with Levanga Hokkaido Sapporo". Sportando. Archived from the original on December 4, 2021. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
  25. "Byron Mullens Player Profile, London Lions, News, Stats - Asia-Basket".
  26. "Byron Mullens is a newcomer of Movistar Estudiantes". Sportando. March 2, 2020. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  27. "Byron Mullens Is London's 2nd NBA Star". www.thelondonlions.com. August 20, 2020. Retrieved August 21, 2020.[ permanent dead link ]
  28. Yen, William (April 1, 2022). "NBA veteran Byron Mullens joins P. LEAGUE+'s New Taipei Kings". Central News Agency. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  29. Brendan Gallagher. "London 2012 Olympics: Byron Mullens pulls out but Team GB basketball squad are hopeful Ben Gordon will play". The Telegraph. June 21, 2012. Retrieved on June 24, 2012.