Brandon Paul is an American professional basketball player, a guard. He was born on April 30, 1991.[5] In the 2013–2014 season, he played for BC Nizhny Novgorod in the VTB United League and the EuroCup.[1]

Career before joining Nizhny Novgorod

From 2009 to 2013, Paul played in the NCAA for the University of Illinois. In his final college season, the 22-year-old averaged 16.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game. He was not selected in the 2013 NBA draft. At the Las Vegas Summer League, the guard represented Minnesota, where he caught the eye of BC Nizhny Novgorod head coach Zoran Lukić.[2]

At BC Nizhny Novgorod

In August 2013, the club signed Paul to a one-year contract.[4] The player is 193 cm (6 ft 4 in) tall and weighs 91 kg (200 lb). Lukić described the newcomer as a physically gifted player who performs equally well on offense and defense.[2]

In a partial season, Paul played 22 games — 10 in the VTB United League and 12 in the EuroCup — averaging 5.9 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. He did not manage to become a team leader, and toward the end of the season disagreements arose between the player and head coach Lukić over the training process. Commenting on the parting with the player, head coach Zoran Lukić stated that Brandon had not been able to find his place on the team and that a constructive dialogue to resolve the situation had become impossible.[6][1]

On February 15, 2014, the contract was terminated by mutual consent. After leaving BC Nizhny Novgorod, Paul continued his career in European basketball: in the 2016/17 and 2017/18 seasons he played in the EuroLeague — first for the Turkish club Anadolu Efes, averaging about 9.6 points per game. In the 2017/18 season, Paul made his NBA debut with the San Antonio Spurs, playing 69 regular-season games with an average of 2.1 points per game.[5][5] The club's general manager, Sergey Panov, noted in a comment that management had expected a faster adaptation of the young player to European basketball and expressed hope that Paul would still grow into a top-class player.[1]

References

Sources

  1. flashscorekz.com — After leaving BC Nizhny Novgorod, Brandon Paul continued his career in European basketball and in the 2017/18 season made his NBA debut with the San Antonio Spurs, p
  2. Pro Gorod Nizhny Novgorod — Head coach Zoran Lukic, commenting on the parting with the player, stated that Brandon had not been able to find his place in the team and that constructive dialogue to resolve
  1. NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" — BC "Nizhny Novgorod" terminates contract with American import Brandon Paul | Nizhny Novgorod News
  2. old.nn-basket.ru — Brandon Paul — newcomer to BC "Nizhny Novgorod" — Official website of the basketball club "Nizhny Novgorod" (archive)
  3. behance.net — Anya Paul — Graphic Designer in Moscow, Russian Federation
  4. news.sportbox.ru — "Nizhny Novgorod" signs contract with Paul