C. J. Massinburg

Last updated
C. J. Massinburg
C. J. Massinburg 5 Bahcesehir Koleji SK TBSL 20241011 (3).jpg
Massinburg in 2024
No. 5–Pallacanestro Brescia
Position Shooting guard
League Lega Basket Serie A
Personal information
Born (1997-04-14) April 14, 1997 (age 28)
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight202 lb (92 kg)
Career information
High school South Oak Cliff (Dallas, Texas)
College Buffalo (2015–2019)
NBA draft 2019: undrafted
Playing career2019–present
Career history
2019–2021 Long Island Nets
2021–2022 Limoges CSP
2022–2024 Pallacanestro Brescia
2024–2025 Bahçeşehir Koleji
2025–presentPallacanestro Brescia
Career highlights
Stats at Basketball Reference   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Christian Jalon Massinburg (born April 14, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for Pallacanestro Brescia of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). He played college basketball for the Buffalo Bulls. He was named the 2019 Mid-American Conference Player of the Year. He previously played for the Long Island Nets of the NBA G League and Limoges CSP of the LNB Pro A.

Contents

Early life

Born and raised in Dallas, [1] Massinburg came to Buffalo from South Oak Cliff High School. As a senior, he averaged 22.3 points per game, but initially received no NCAA Division I offers. He ultimately signed with the Bulls after being scouted playing on a travel team for unsigned seniors. [2] [3]

College career

In his freshman season, Massinburg was not expected to contribute much, but ended up playing a key role off the bench averaging 11.3 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, earning a spot on the Mid-American Conference (MAC) All-Freshman Team. [4] As a sophomore, Massinburg's progress was slowed by missing the first eight games of the season due to a bout with mononucleosis, [5] but he improved his scoring to 14.5 points per game as he moved into the starting lineup. As a junior, Massinburg was named first-team All-MAC as the Bulls enjoyed regular-season and Tournament conference championships, earning a trip to the 2018 NCAA tournament. Massinburg scored 19 points in the Bulls' upset over 4-seed Arizona in the NCAA Tournament's first round, thought to be the biggest win in program history at the time. [6]

As a senior, Buffalo was the overwhelming preseason choice to win the MAC and Massinburg was named preseason first-team All-MAC East. [7] The Bulls experienced great team success, as the team achieved a top 25 ranking in the November 12, 2018 AP Poll, signifying a first for the school. [8] The Bulls would go on to maintain a spot in the top 25 for the remainder of the year. Massinburg led the team in scoring, moving into the school's top five all-time scoring list on January 29, 2019. [9] He received national individual recognition as he was named to three watch lists for several national Player of the Year awards. [10] [11] Massinburg closed the 2018–19 regular season averaging 18.5 points per game and winning MAC Player of the Year honors and repeating on the all-conference first team. [12] [13]

The Buffalo News named Massinburg the best player of the decade from Buffalo, Canisius, Niagara, or St. Bonaventure. He was also named to the Lou Henson Award All-Decade Team. [14]

Professional career

Long Island Nets (2019–2021)

On October 15, 2019, Massinburg signed with the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). [15] On October 18, the Nets waived Massinburg. [16] He was ultimately added to the roster of the Nets’ NBA G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets. [17] On November 15, Massinburg contributed 28 points, six rebounds and three assists in a loss to the Delaware Blue Coats. [18] He missed a game against the Canton Charge on December 30 for undisclosed reasons. [19] Massinburg missed more than a month of action due to a right knee injury before returning against the Grand Rapids Drive on January 27, 2020. [20]

Limoges CSP (2021–2022)

On September 14, 2021, Massinburg was signed by Limoges CSP of the LNB Pro A, the top tier men's basketball league in France. [21]

Pallacanestro Brescia (2022–2024)

In June 2022, Massinburg signed a two-year contract with Pallacanestro Brescia of Lega Basket Serie A. [22]

Bahçeşehir Koleji (2024–2025)

On June 1, 2024, he signed with Bahçeşehir Koleji of the Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL). [23]

Return to Pallacanestro Brescia (2025–present)

On July 7, 2025, he signed with Pallacanestro Brescia of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) for a second stint. [24]

The Basketball Tournament

Massinburg has played in The Basketball Tournament (TBT), an annual $1 million winner-take-all tournament, for Blue Collar U, a team primarily rostered with Buffalo alumni. In TBT 2021, the team made it to the semifinals of the tournament. [25] In TBT 2022, Blue Collar U won the tournament and $1 million prize, [26] with Massinburg being named tournament MVP. [27]

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

College

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
2015–16 Buffalo 35725.3.447.389.7524.11.71.1.411.3
2016–17 Buffalo 241832.4.411.331.7505.62.8.6.114.5
2017–18 Buffalo 363534.0.468.405.7437.32.41.1.417.0
2018–19 Buffalo 353432.1.464.399.7806.53.01.2.318.2
Career1309430.8.452.386.7575.92.41.1.315.3

References

  1. ↑ "NCAA Tournament gallery: A closer look at the Tulsa teams | Photo Galleries | tulsaworld.com".
  2. ↑ Carlton, Charles (March 23, 2019). "Every Texas school passed on South Oak Cliff's C.J. Massinburg. Now Texas Tech must deal with him, Buffalo in NCAA second round". The Dallas Morning News . Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  3. ↑ Cooper, Mark (March 21, 2019). "An off-the-radar recruit who became a Buffalo legend, Dallas native CJ Massinburg leads talented Bulls team into March". Tulsa World . Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  4. ↑ "MAC announces men's hoops All-MAC, All-Freshman & All-Defensive teams". Hartford Courant . March 7, 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  5. ↑ Filipowski, Nick (December 4, 2016). "Bulls Massinburg cleared to return after battling Mono". wkbw.com. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  6. ↑ Marshall, John (March 16, 2018). "Buffalo pulls off big upset, knocks off Arizona". Hartford Courant . Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  7. ↑ Alexander, Elton (October 30, 2018). "Buffalo Bulls picked to dominate MAC men's basketball in preseason poll". Cleveland.com . Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  8. ↑ Herbert, Geoff (November 12, 2018). "Buffalo basketball ranked in AP top 25 for first time in UB history". The Post-Standard . Syracuse, NY . Retrieved December 9, 2018.
  9. ↑ Lenzi, Rachel (January 29, 2019). "UB's CJ Massinburg hits milestone as Bulls prepare for first-place showdown at Bowling Green". The Buffalo News . Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  10. ↑ "UB's CJ Massinburg among 30 in consideration for top award". The Buffalo News . February 13, 2019. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  11. ↑ Rinard, Jordan (December 22, 2018). "Buffalo's CJ Massinburg Named to Oscar Robertson Midseason Watch List". SB Nation . Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  12. ↑ "Massinburg and Oats claim MAC's top honors". University of Buffalo . March 18, 2019. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  13. ↑ "Buffalo's Oats, Massinburg earn top MAC honors". Mid-American Conference . March 24, 2019. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  14. ↑ "Massinburg Highlights All-Decade Honors For UB Men's Hoops". University at Buffalo. January 1, 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  15. ↑ "Brooklyn Nets Sign Devin Cannady and CJ Massinburg". NBA.com. October 15, 2019. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  16. ↑ "Brooklyn Nets Waive Four". NBA.com. October 18, 2019. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  17. ↑ "Long Island Nets Finalize Opening Night Roster". NBA.com. November 5, 2019. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  18. ↑ "CJ Massinburg: Drops 28 off bench". CBS Sports . November 16, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  19. ↑ "CJ Massinburg: Inactive Saturday". CBS Sports . December 31, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  20. ↑ Milholen, Chris (January 27, 2020). "Jeremiah Martin scores 25 as Long Island Nets fall to Grand Rapids Drive, 135-117". NetsDaily. SBNation . Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  21. ↑ "C.J. MASSINBURG PIGISTE MÉDICAL DE GERRY BLAKES". limogescsp.com. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  22. ↑ "Energia e dinamismo, il primo volto nuovo della Germani è CJ Massinburg". pallacanestrobrescia.it. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  23. ↑ @BKBasketbol (June 11, 2024). "C.J. Massinburg, Bahçeşehir Koleji'nde" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  24. ↑ "CJ Massinburg torna a vestire la canotta della Germani Brescia". pallacanestrobrescia.it (in Italian). July 7, 2025. Retrieved July 20, 2025.
  25. ↑ Bronstein, Jonah (2 August 2021). "Blue Collar U bows out of TBT, vows to be back". Niagara Gazette. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  26. ↑ Borzello, Jeff (August 2, 2022). "Blue Collar U downs Americana for Autism, takes home $1 million The Basketball Tournament title". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  27. ↑ @thetournament (August 2, 2022). "Your TBT 2022 MVP is CJ Massinburg!" (Tweet). Retrieved August 2, 2022– via Twitter.
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