| Hamburg Towers | |
|---|---|
| Position | Point guard |
| League | Basketball Bundesliga |
| Personal information | |
| Born | May 6, 1999 Royal Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Listed weight | 216 lb (98 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Royal Palm Beach (Royal Palm Beach, Florida) |
| College | UNC Asheville (2017–2022) |
| NBA draft | 2023: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2022–present |
| Career history | |
| 2022–2023 | Tampereen Pyrintö |
| 2023–2024 | BC Šiauliai |
| 2024 | Brampton Honey Badgers |
| 2024–2025 | Juventus Utena |
| 2025–present | Hamburg Towers |
Leonard "L. J." Thorpe (born May 6, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for Hamburg Towers of the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL). He played college basketball for the UNC Asheville Bulldogs.
Thorpe graduated from Royal Palm Beach High School in Royal Palm Beach, Florida. In his junior year he averaged 13.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. As a senior he averaged 14.1 points, 7.2 assists and 6.7 rebounds per game. After both his junior and senior years, he was named conference player of the year and first team all-state. [1] Thorpe committed to UNC Asheville after graduating. [2]
Thorpe played only one game before getting injured and redshirted during the 2017–18 season. [1] On 9 February 2019, he scored a then career-high 24 points against the Charleston Southern Buccaneers. [3] On 18 January 2020, Thorpe scored a career-high 31 points against the Hampton Pirates, however Hampton's Ben Stanley outscored Thorpe by putting up 33 points and managed to lead Hampton to an 88–86 victory. [4]
On 10 February 2020, L.J. Thorpe became the second player in program history to record a triple-double (the first one being Kenny George). He led the team with 17 points, recorded a career-high 13 rebounds and career-high 10 assists as the Bulldogs fell 80–70 to the Hampton Pirates. [5]
On August 8, 2022, he signed with Tampereen Pyrintö of the Korisliiga in Finland. [6] [7] During his stay with the team he averaged 12.7 points and 4.9 assists per game. [8] [9]
On July 18, 2023, he signed with BC Šiauliai of the Lithuanian Basketball League. [9] [10] [11] On October 26, 2023, Thorpe scored 28 points and hit five three-pointers in a 104–93 win over Pieno žvaigždės Pasvalys. [12]
On May 8, 2024, Thorpe signed with the Brampton Honey Badgers of the Canadian Elite Basketball League. [13]
In July, 2024, Thorpe signed with Juventus Utena of the Lithuanian Basketball League. [14]
On June 12, 2025, Thorpe signed with Hamburg Towers of the Basketball Bundesliga. [15]
| 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 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017–18 | UNC Asheville | 1 | 0 | 6.0 | .500 | .000 | .750 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | 5.0 |
| 2018–19 | UNC Asheville | 16 | 6 | 23.9 | .385 | .268 | .679 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 0.1 | 8.6 |
| 2019–20 | UNC Asheville | 31 | 31 | 28.6 | .486 | .404 | .686 | 6.4 | 2.3 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 13.9 |
| 2020–21 | UNC Asheville | 20 | 16 | 25.1 | .500 | .405 | .714 | 4.1 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 11.6 |
| 2021–22 | UNC Asheville | 32 | 27 | 24.2 | .494 | .400 | .739 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 14.1 |
| Career | 100 | 80 | 25.5 | .479 | .366 | .708 | 4.6 | 2.9 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 12.5 | |