Dakota Mathias

Last updated

Dakota Mathias
Penya michigan18 19 mathias byunniks-1.jpg
Mathias with Joventut in 2018
Brisbane Bullets
Position Shooting guard
League NBL
Personal information
Born (1995-07-11) July 11, 1995 (age 30)
Lima, Ohio, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High school Elida (Elida, Ohio)
College Purdue (2014–2018)
NBA draft 2018: undrafted
Playing career2018–present
Career history
2018–2019 Joventut
2019–2020 Texas Legends
2020–2021 Philadelphia 76ers
2021–2022 Memphis Grizzlies
2022 Texas Legends
2022–2023 Memphis Hustle
2023 Lenovo Tenerife
2023–2024 ratiopharm Ulm
2024–2025 Indiana Mad Ants
2025–present Brisbane Bullets
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 the Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Summer Universiade
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2017 Taipei Team

Dakota Daniel Mathias (born July 11, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Brisbane Bullets of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball for the Purdue Boilermakers.

Contents

High school career

Mathias was a star basketball player at Elida High School. He entered the starting lineup as a freshman and scored over 1,000 points and broke the school scoring record with 1,902. [1] Mathias scored 28 points a game as a senior at Elida and was First Team All-Ohio twice. He committed to Purdue in November 2013. [2]

College career

Prior to Mathias's freshman season at Purdue, he suffered from mononucleosis and threw up before every practice. By the time his health was better, he suffered injuries to both ankles. Despite this, he never missed any games as a freshman but was not at full strength. [1] He averaged 4.8 points and 2.1 rebounds per game as a freshman but shot just 32.2 percent from three-point range. [3] He had a procedure to correct sinus issues and a deviated septum prior to his second year. [1] As a junior, Mathias averaged 9.7 points a game, led the team in three-pointers and started every game. He developed a reputation as a coach on the floor, with players frequently going to him if they did not understand something basketball-related. [2] He was an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention and was named to the conference Defensive Team. [4] [5]

As a senior, Mathias evolved into one of the best defensive players in the Big Ten Conference. He scored 23 points against Fairfield on November 29, 2017. [1] In the Round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament, he hit the critical 3-pointer with 13 seconds remaining that decided Purdue's 76–73 victory over Butler. [6] As a senior, he averaged 12.0 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game on a 30–7 squad. Mathias finished sixth in the NCAA in three-point field goal percentage at 46.6 percent and owns the Purdue record for career threes with 250. [7] He was again an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention and named to the conference Defensive Team. [8]

Professional career

Joventut (2018–2019)

After going undrafted in the 2018 NBA draft, Mathias signed a partially guaranteed contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers, joining the team for Summer League. [9] On August 1, 2018, he signed with Divina Seguros Joventut of the Liga ACB in Spain. [10] After an ankle injury that sidelined him between October and December, some pain remained which prevented him from playing regularly, and on March 3, 2019, he and the club agreed to cancel their contract. [11]

Texas Legends (2019–2020)

On July 26, 2019, Mathias signed a training camp contract with the Dallas Mavericks. [12] He was waived on October 16, 2019, [13] but later added to the roster of the Mavs' NBA G League affiliate, the Texas Legends. [14] He scored 30 points in a win over Sioux Falls Skyforce on November 27. [15] Mathias scored 30 points in a victory over the Oklahoma City Blue on December 9. [16] Mathias averaged 18.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal per game. [17]

Philadelphia 76ers (2020–2021)

On December 3, 2020, Mathias signed a two-way contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, splitting time with their G League affiliate the Delaware Blue Coats. [18] He was waived on January 18, 2021, after averaging 6.0 points and 1.6 assists per game in eight games. [19]

Memphis Grizzlies / Texas Legends (2021–2022)

On December 30, 2021, Mathias signed a 10-day contract with the Memphis Grizzlies via the hardship exception. [20]

On January 9, 2022, Mathias was reacquired by the Texas Legends. [21]

On January 14, 2022, Mathias signed a 10-day contract with the Memphis Grizzlies. [22]

On January 24, 2022, Mathias was reacquired by the Texas Legends. [23] On February 10, he was waived. [24]

Memphis Hustle (2022–2023)

Mathias joined the Memphis Grizzlies for the 2022 NBA Summer League. [25] On November 4, 2022, Mathias was named to the opening-night roster for the Memphis Hustle. [26]

Lenovo Tenerife (2023)

On April 6, 2023, Mathias signed with Lenovo Tenerife of the Liga ACB. [27]

ratiopharm Ulm (2023–2024)

On August 1, 2023, Mathias signed with ratiopharm Ulm of the Basketball Bundesliga. [28]

Indiana Mad Ants (2024–2025)

On August 26, 2024, Mathias signed with the Indiana Pacers, [29] but was waived three days later. [30] On October 27, he joined the Indiana Mad Ants. [31]

Brisbane Bullets (2025–present)

On October 24, 2025, Mathias signed with the Brisbane Bullets of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) for the rest of the 2025–26 season. [32]

National team career

Mathias was a part of the Purdue team chosen to represent the United States in the 2017 Summer Universiade in Taipei, Taiwan. [33] The U.S. received a silver medal after losing in the title game to Lithuania. [34]

In 2021, Mathias joined the national team to compete in the Americup qualifiers. [35]

Personal life

Mathias is the son of Dan and Tracy, and he has two brothers, Dustin and Bo. [6]

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

NBA

Regular season

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
2020–21 Philadelphia 8215.4.396.308.333.91.6.1.46.0
2021–22 Memphis 602.7.333.333.000.3.2.2.01.0
Career1429.9.389.313.500.61.0.1.23.9

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Baird, Nathan (November 21, 2017). "Purdue's Dakota Mathias still a role model, but more than a role player". Journal & Courier . Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  2. 1 2 Naveau, Jim (February 3, 2018). "Elida graduate Mathias, Purdue chasing a championship". The Lima News . Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  3. Baird, Nathan (April 16, 2015). "Purdue's Dakota Mathias hopes for healthy summer". Indianapolis Star . Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  4. "Men's Basketball Postseason Honors: Purdue's Swanigan named Big Ten Player of the Year". BigTen.org. CBS Interactive. March 6, 2017. Archived from the original on March 7, 2017. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
  5. "2016–17 All-Big Ten Men's Basketball Team" (PDF). CSTV.com . March 6, 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 7, 2017. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
  6. 1 2 Baird, Nathan (March 21, 2018). "Dakota Mathias sets the tone for Purdue basketball with his calm intensity". Journal & Courier. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  7. "Purdue's Mathias picked for 3-Point Championship roster". The Journal Gazette . March 26, 2018. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  8. "View the 2017–18 All-Big Ten Men's Basketball Team". Big Ten Network. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  9. Baird, Nathan (June 22, 2018). "Former Purdue guard Dakota Mathias excited about his fit with Cleveland Cavaliers". Lafayette Journal & Courier . Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  10. "Dakota Mathias signs with Badalona". Sportando. August 1, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2018.[ permanent dead link ]
  11. Prat, Jordi (March 3, 2019). "Dakota Mathias deixa de ser jugador del Divina Joventut". L'Esportiu (in Catalan). Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  12. Sefko, Eddie (July 26, 2019). "Mavericks sign former Purdue star Mathias". Mavs.com. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  13. "Dakota Mathias: Waived by Dallas". cbssports.com. October 16, 2019. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  14. "Legends hand Skyforce first home loss". KSFY. November 27, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  15. "Dakota Mathias: Drops 30 points in win". CBS Sports . November 27, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  16. "Dakota Mathias: Drops 30 points in win". CBS Sports. December 9, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  17. Schmidt, Dakota (May 27, 2020). "Dakota Schmidt And Santa Cruz Play By Play Man Kevin Danna Select Their G League All-Star Teams". Ridiculous Upside. SB Nation. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  18. "Team Signs Mathias to Two-Way Contract". NBA.com. December 3, 2020. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  19. Levick, Noah (January 18, 2021). "Sixers waive Mathias, opening up 2-way spot". NBC Sports . Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  20. "Memphis Grizzlies sign Dakota Mathias to 10-day contract". NBA.com. December 30, 2021. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  21. "2021-22 NBA G League transactions". gleague.nba.com. January 9, 2022. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  22. "Memphis Grizzlies sign Dakota Mathias to second 10-day contract". NBA.com. January 14, 2022. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  23. "2021-22 NBA G League Transactions". gleague.nba.com. January 24, 2022. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  24. "2021-22 Texas Legends Transactions". RealGM. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
  25. "Memphis Grizzlies 2022 NBA2K23 Summer League Roster". NBA.com. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  26. "Memphis Hustle Announce Roster Moves; Finalize Opening Night Roster". oursportscentral.com. November 4, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  27. "Dakota Mathias refuerza la línea exterior del Lenovo Tenerife". ACB.com (in Spanish). April 6, 2023. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  28. "Erfahrener Scharfschütze wird Uuulmer". ratiopharmUlm.com (in German). August 1, 2023. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  29. "Indiana Pacers Sign Mathias to Exhibit 10 Contract with the Mad Ants". NBA.com. August 26, 2024. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
  30. "Indiana Pacers Waive Mathias". NBA.com. August 29, 2024. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  31. Mad Ants Basketball [@TheMadAnts] (October 27, 2024). "our 2024-25 training camp roster 🐜🔥" (Tweet). Retrieved October 28, 2024 via Twitter.
  32. "Brisbane Bullets Announce Star Import Signing". Brisbane Bullets | Official NBL Website. October 24, 2025. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
  33. DeCourcy, Mike (August 28, 2017). "World University Games 2017: Purdue 40 minutes from gold after wrecking Serbia". Sporting News . Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  34. Botkin, Mike (August 29, 2017). "Medal Up". Indianapolis Monthly . Retrieved January 22, 2018.
  35. "FIBA.basketball". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved March 10, 2021.