Craig Sword

Craig Sword

Sword with the Mississippi State Bulldogs in 2015
No. 3–Kaohsiung Aquas
Position	Shooting guard
League	Taiwan Professional Basketball League
Personal information
Born	(1994-01-16) January 16, 1994 (age 31) Montgomery, Alabama, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight	196 lb (89 kg)
Career information
High school	G. W. Carver (Montgomery, Alabama)
College	Mississippi State (2012–2016)
NBA draft	2016: undrafted
Playing career	2016–present
Career history
2016–2017	Wilki Morskie Szczecin
2017–2019	Erie BayHawks
2019	Rayos de Hermosillo
2019–2020	Grand Rapids Drive
2020	Astros de Jalisco
2021	Omaha's Finest
2021–2023	Capital City Go-Go
2021–2022	Washington Wizards
2023	Spartans Distrito Capital
2023–2024	Indiana Mad Ants
2024	Tasmania JackJumpers
2025–present	Kaohsiung Aquas
Career highlights and awards
Second-team All-SEC (2015) SEC All-Freshman team (2013) Alabama Mr. Basketball (2012)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference
Medals Men's basketball Representing   United States FIBA AmeriCup 2022 Brazil

Craig Sword (born January 16, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Kaohsiung Aquas of the Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL). He played college basketball for the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

High school career

Sword played high school basketball for George Washington Carver High School in Montgomery. His senior year, Sword led his team to the 6A state championship was named Alabama Mr. Basketball. Sword was listed as 4-star recruit by Rivals.com, and choose to attend Mississippi State over offers from Alabama, Auburn, and Georgia. ^[1] While Sword committed to head coach Rick Stansbury, he kept his commitment to the Bulldogs when Stansbury was fired and replaced by Rick Ray.

College career

As a true freshman in 2012–13, Sword appeared all 32 games for the Bulldogs, starting 30 of them. ^[2] He was named SEC Freshman of the Week twice, and led the Bulldogs with 10.5 points per game. The Bulldogs finished a dismal 4–14 in the SEC, however.

Sword improved his scoring clip in 2013–14 to 13.7 PPG as a sophomore. Sword scored his career high, 33 points, in a 91–82 loss to LSU. ^[3]

Sword was sidelined with a back injury in the first half of his junior year in 2014–15. However, he returned to full form during the conference portion of the season, again leading the Bulldogs in scoring, ^[2] leading the Bulldogs to a 6–12 conference record, and a generally much more competitive team. Sword was named Second Team All-SEC for his efforts. ^[4]

Sword places ninth on the Bulldogs' career leaderboard with 144 steals.

Professional career

Wilki Morskie Szczecin (2016–2017)

After going undrafted in the 2016 NBA draft, Sword signed on June 25, 2016, with Wilki Morskie Szczecin of the Polish Basketball League, ^[5] averaging 4.3 points, 1.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 11.7 minutes in 19 games. ^[6]

Erie BayHawks (2017–2019)

On October 25, 2017, Sword signed with the Erie BayHawks of the NBA G League after a tryout. ^[7]

On September 27, 2018, Sword re-signed with the Erie BayHawks. ^[8] He joined the Grand Rapids Drive in 2019. ^[9]

Omaha's Finest (2021)

In 2021, Sword signed with Omaha's Finest of The Basketball League. ^[10]

Grand Rapids Gold (2021)

In October 2021, he joined the Grand Rapids Gold. ^[11]

Capital City Go-Go / Washington Wizards (2021–2023)

On November 3, 2021, Sword was acquired by the Capital City Go-Go ^[12] and on December 28, he signed a 10-day contract with the Washington Wizards. ^[13] Sword played 3 games in the NBA, averaging 2.0 points in 6.3 minutes per game with the Wizards. On January 6, 2022, Sword was reacquired and activated by the Go-Go]]. ^[14]

Spartans Distrito Capital (2023)

On April 3, 2023, Sword signed with Spartans Distrito Capital of the Venezuelan League. ^[15]

Indiana Mad Ants (2023–2024)

On September 26, 2023, Sword signed with the Indiana Pacers, ^[16] but was waived two days later. ^[17] On October 28, 2023, he joined the Indiana Mad Ants. ^[18]

Tasmania JackJumpers (2024)

On May 28, 2024, Sword signed with the Tasmania JackJumpers of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) for the 2024–25 season. ^[19] He was released by the JackJumpers on December 13, 2024, after averaging 6.3 points in 15 games. ^{[20] [21]}

Kaohsiung Aquas (2025–present)

On January 1, 2025, Sword signed with the Kaohsiung Aquas of the Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL). ^[22]

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

NBA

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2021–22	Washington	3	0	6.3	.750	.000	.000	.0	.3	1.3	.0	2.0
Career		3	0	6.3	.750	.000	.000	.0	.3	1.3	.0	2.0

College

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2012–13	Mississippi State	32	30	26.7	.405	.194	.554	2.9	2.3	1.7	.4	10.5
2013–14	Mississippi State	32	32	28.1	.485	.273	.620	3.8	2.8	1.9	.5	13.7
2014–15	Mississippi State	28	22	24.8	.451	.360	.701	2.8	1.7	1.0	.4	11.3
2015–16	Mississippi State	31	31	29.2	.451	.232	.676	3.9	3.0	1.3	.9	13.0
Career		123	115	27.3	.449	.263	.635	3.3	2.5	1.5	.6	12.1

References

1. "Craig Sword". Rivals.com. Rivals. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
2. "Craig Sword bio". HailState.com. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
3. "Frosh lead LSU past Mississippi State 92-81". ESPN.com. February 19, 2014.
4. Bonner, Michael (March 10, 2015). "Craig Sword named second-team All-SEC". ClarionLedger.com. The Clarion Ledger.
5. "King Wilki Morskie signs rookie Craig Sword". Sportando.com. June 25, 2016. Retrieved April 5, 2018.^{[ permanent dead link ‍]}
6. "Craig Sword player profile". RealGM.com. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
7. Hartman, Billy (October 25, 2017). "Erie BayHawks Add Brandon Bowdry to Training Camp Roster, Waive Ted Kapita". NBA.com. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
8. Hartman, Billy (October 20, 2018). "Erie BayHawks Finalize 2018 Training Camp Roster". NBA.com. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
9. "Opening Night Roster". NBA.com. November 7, 2019. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
10. Masri, Tarik (April 23, 2021). "Outlaws pick up fifth-straight win". Enid News & Eagle. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
11. "Grand Rapids Gold Announce 2021-22 Training Camp Roster". NBA.com. October 28, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
12. "Go-Go Acquire Craig Sword". Our Sports Central. November 3, 2021. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
13. "Wizards' Craig Sword: Signs with Wizards". CBS Sports . December 28, 2021. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
14. "2021-22 NBA G League transactions". gleague.nba.com. January 6, 2022. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
15. "CRAIG SWORD ES EL NUEVO IMPORTADO DE SPARTANS DISTRITO CAPITAL". CanchaLatina.com (in Spanish). April 3, 2023. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
16. "Pacers Sign Two". NBA.com. September 26, 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
17. "Indiana Pacers Announce Roster Moves". NBA.com. September 28, 2023. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
18. "Mad Ants announce 2023 Training Camp Roster". NBA.com. October 28, 2023. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
19. "JackJumpers round out import trio". NBL.com.au. May 28, 2024. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
20. "The Tasmania JackJumpers Farewell Craig Sword". Tasmania JackJumpers | Official NBL Website. December 13, 2024. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
21. "Tasmania JackJumpers release import Craig Sword". ESPN.com. December 14, 2024. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
22. "最會蓋火鍋的後衛來了！ 海神找前美國隊猛將克雷格加盟". ETtoday. January 1, 2025. Retrieved January 1, 2025.

External links

• NBL profile