Jaron Samuel Blossomgame (born September 16, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for AS Monaco of the LNB Pro A and the Euroleague. Blossomgame played college basketball for Clemson University and was selected in the second round of the 2017 NBA draft by the San Antonio Spurs.

Jaron Blossomgame
Blossomgame with Monaco in 2024
No. 4 – AS Monaco
PositionPower forward / small forward
LeagueLNB Pro A
EuroLeague
Personal information
Born (1993-09-16) September 16, 1993 (age 31)
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High schoolChattahoochee
(Johns Creek, Georgia)
CollegeClemson (2013–2017)
NBA draft2017: 2nd round, 59th overall pick
Selected by the San Antonio Spurs
Playing career2017–present
Career history
2017–2018Austin Spurs
2018Canton Charge
2018–2019Cleveland Cavaliers
2018–2019→Canton Charge
2019–2020Rio Grande Valley Vipers
2020Windy City Bulls
2020–2021Ironi Nahariya
2021–2022ratiopharm Ulm
2022–presentAS Monaco Basket
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

High school career

edit

Blossomgame attended Chattahoochee High School in Johns Creek, Georgia. He played high school basketball for the Cougars under Head Coach Kacey Martin and Assistants Mason Singletary, Lorenzo Withright, and Haaris Quraishy. After his junior season, he earned first-team all-region and second-team all-state honors after averaging 24 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. As a senior, Blossomgame helped Chattahoochee end the season with a 25–5 record, as his team advanced all the way to the elite 8 before losing to Southwest Dekalb.[1] He joined the Georgia Stars of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) in 2011 and led his team with 15.7 points per game. However, that year, Blossomgame broke his leg while trying to dunk with his trainer. His bone protruded from his left leg at the time.[2] After the injury, he expected to wear a cast for the following six to eight weeks.[3]

College career

edit

Blossomgame chose Clemson over VCU, Wichita State, Tennessee Tech and Gardner-Webb. He elected to redshirt the 2012–13 season due to the broken leg suffered in AAU.[4]

After two seasons of steadily-improving production, Blossomgame enjoyed a breakout junior season in 2015–16. Blossomgame averaged 18.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game and became the 13th Clemson player to be named first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). He was also named the conference's Most Improved Player for the season.[5] Following the season, Blossomgame declared his eligibility for the 2016 NBA draft, and was invited to the NBA Draft Combine.[6] Ultimately, he chose to return to Clemson for his senior season.[7]

Blossomgame was named to the preseason All-ACC team and was named a preseason All-American by several publications.[8] Blossomgame averaged 17.7 points and 6.3 rebounds and led the Tigers to the 2017 National Invitation Tournament, earning third-team All-ACC honors.[9] He was also a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award, earning second-team senior All-American honors.[10] After his last year at Clemson ended, Blossomgame was invited to his second straight NBA Draft Combine event, becoming one of the first players to ever get invited to the event multiple times in different years.

Professional career

edit

Austin Spurs (2017–2018)

edit

Blossomgame was drafted with the 59th pick in the 2017 NBA draft by the San Antonio Spurs.[11] Blossomgame was later included in the 2017 NBA Summer League roster.[12] In November 2017, Blossomgame joined the Austin Spurs of the NBA G League.[13] In April 2018, he helped Austin win the 2017–18 G League championship.[14] He was subsequently named in the All-NBA G League Third Team.[15]

On September 24, 2018, Blossomgame was included in the training camp roster for the San Antonio Spurs,[16] but was later waived by the Spurs on October 8 after appearing in three preseason games.[17] On October 22, 2018, Blossomgame was included in the training camp roster of the Austin Spurs,[18] and on October 31, Blossomgame was included in Austin's opening night roster.[19]

Canton Charge (2018)

edit

On November 19, 2018, Canton Charge announced that they had acquired Blossomgame from Austin Spurs in exchange for the returning right of John Holland.[20]

Cleveland Cavaliers (2018–2019)

edit

After ten games in the G League (in which he averaged 20.9 points and 7.5 rebounds per game), Blossomgame was signed by the Cleveland Cavaliers to a two-way contract with the Charge.[21] On December 5, 2018, Blossomgame made his debut in NBA, coming off the bench in a 105–129 loss to the Golden State Warriors with a rebound.[22] Five days later on December 10, 2018, Blossomgame had his first double-double, coming off the bench in a 92–108 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks with eleven points, ten rebounds, two assists and a block.[23] On June 23, 2019, Blossomgame become an unrestricted free agent.[24]

Rio Grande Valley Vipers (2019–2020)

edit

On September 27, 2019, Blossomgame signed a training camp contract with the Houston Rockets.[25] Blossomgame was released by the Houston Rockets on October 18.[26] On October 24, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers acquired Blossomgame's rights in exchange for Gary Payton II.[27] Blossomgame was later included in the training camp roster of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.[28]

Windy City Bulls (2020)

edit

On February 1, 2020, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers announced that they had traded Blossomgame to the Windy City Bulls with the returning rights to Jonathan Gibson and Kyle Davis in a three-team trade in acquiring Jarell Martin from the Stockton Kings, who received a 1st round draft pick of 2020 NBA G League Draft and the returning right to Charles Cooke from the Bulls.[29]

Ironi Nahariya (2020–2021)

edit

On August 13, 2020, the Ironi Nahariya announced that they had signed Blossomgame.[30]

ratiopharm Ulm (2021–2022)

edit

On July 21, 2021, Blossomgame signed with ratiopharm Ulm in Germany.[31]

AS Monaco Basket (2022–present)

edit

On July 19, 2022, he has signed with AS Monaco Basket of the LNB Pro A.[32] In round 10 of the 2023–24 EuroLeague competition he scored the game winner in a 77–75 win against Baskonia on a tip-in dunk with two seconds remaining on the clock. [33]

Career statistics

edit
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  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high
 
Blossomgame with Clemson in 2016

Regular season

edit
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2018–19 Cleveland 27 4 16.3 .443 .256 .769 3.6 .5 .3 .3 4.2
Career 27 4 16.3 .443 .256 .769 3.6 .5 .3 .3 4.2

EuroLeague

edit
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2022–23 Monaco 38 17 17.3 .435 .250 .556 2.7 .2 .3 .2 5.1 4.4
2023–24 39 15 19.6 .486 .259 .656 3.3 .3 .5 .3 6.6 6.4
Career 77 32 18.5 .464 .255 .597 3.0 .2 .4 .2 5.8 5.4

EuroCup

edit
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2021–22 ratiopharm Ulm 19 19 33.4 .504 .419 .767 7.6 1.3 .9 .6 16.2 19.8
Career 19 19 33.4 .504 .419 .767 7.6 1.3 .9 .6 16.2 19.8

Domestic leagues

edit
Year Team League GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2017–18   Austin Spurs G League 50 29.6 .547 .301 .785 8.1 1.3 .8 .4 16.5
2018–19   Austin Spurs G League 6 36.2 .539 .417 .737 8.2 3.3 .3 1.3 23.8
  Canton Charge G League 29 32.7 .440 .301 .695 7.0 2.0 .8 1.2 17.4
2019–20   R.G. Valley Vipers G League 27 26.7 .505 .217 .787 6.8 1.4 .6 .6 15.4
  Windy City Bulls G League 15 33.5 .465 .314 .857 8.5 2.6 1.1 .3 16.9
2020–21   Ironi Nahariya Ligat HaAl 30 33.9 .531 .392 .750 6.5 .7 1.0 .9 18.5
2021–22   ratiopharm Ulm BBL 37 31.1 .510 .379 .783 5.4 1.1 .8 .6 15.8
2022–23   Monaco LNB Élite 36 21.6 .510 .419 .769 3.0 .6 .4 .2 10.1
2023–24   Monaco LNB Élite 40 20.3 .483 .376 .750 3.0 .5 .3 .4 8.1

College

edit
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2012–13 Clemson   Redshirt
2013–14 Clemson 33 30 23.5 .395 .200 .596 5.0 .4 .3 .4 4.9
2014–15 Clemson 31 31 30.9 .486 .288 .708 8.2 1.0 .8 .4 13.1
2015–16 Clemson 31 31 34.2 .513 .446 .782 6.7 1.5 .7 1.3 18.7
2016–17 Clemson 33 33 34.3 .499 .255 .714 6.3 1.5 .8 .9 17.7
Career 128 125 30.7 .488 .316 .724 6.5 1.1 .6 .7 13.5

References

edit
  1. ^ "Jaron Blossomgame". Clemson Tigers. Archived from the original on April 17, 2017. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  2. ^ Walton, Carroll Rogers (December 12, 2015). "Blossomgame leading way for Clemson". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  3. ^ "Update on Blossomgame's broken leg". TigerNet. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  4. ^ Johnson, Raphielle (November 15, 2012). "Clemson freshman forward Jaron Blossomgame announces decision to redshirt". NBCSports.com. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  5. ^ "Clemson's Jaron Blossomgame named first team All-ACC". The State. March 7, 2016. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  6. ^ Hope, Dan (May 20, 2016). "Jaron Blossomgame's stock rising after NBA Draft Combine". The State. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  7. ^ "Clemson's Jaron Blossomgame withdraws from NBA draft". ESPN.com. May 25, 2016. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  8. ^ "Blossomgame Preseason All-ACC". clemsontigers.com. October 25, 2016. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  9. ^ Raynor, Grace (March 5, 2017). "Clemson forward Jaron Blossomgame named to third-team All-ACC". The Post and Courier. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  10. ^ "Villanova's Josh Hart Wins 2016-17 Senior CLASS Award for Men's Basketball". seniorclassaward.com. March 31, 2017. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  11. ^ "SPURS SELECT DERRICK WHITE AND JARON BLOSSOMGAME IN 2017 NBA DRAFT". NBA.com. June 23, 2017. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
  12. ^ "SPURS ANNOUNCE 2017 UTAH SUMMER LEAGUE ROSTER". NBA.com. June 30, 2017. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  13. ^ "Opening Night Roster". Twitter.com. November 2, 2017. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  14. ^ "Austin Spurs Win 2018 NBA G League Championship". San Antonio Spurs.
  15. ^ "MVP Lorenzo Brown Headlines 2017-18 All-NBA G League First Team". NBA G League.
  16. ^ "SPURS ANNOUNCE 2018-19 TRAINING CAMP ROSTER". NBA.com. September 24, 2018. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
  17. ^ "SPURS WAIVE JARON BLOSSOMGAME". NBA.com. October 9, 2018. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  18. ^ "Austin Spurs Announce 2018 Training Camp Roster". NBA.com. October 22, 2018. Archived from the original on October 23, 2018. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  19. ^ "Austin Spurs Announce 2018-19 Opening Night Roster". NBA.com. October 31, 2018. Archived from the original on November 4, 2018. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  20. ^ "Charge Acquire Blossomgame in Trade". NBA.com. November 19, 2018. Archived from the original on November 20, 2018. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  21. ^ "Cavs Sign Jalen Jones and Jaron Blossomgame to Two-Way Contracts". NBA.com. December 2, 2018. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
  22. ^ "Curry's 42 leads Warriors past Cavs in faux Finals rematch". ESPN.com. December 5, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  23. ^ "Bledsoe has 20 points, 12 boards and Bucks beat Cavs 108-92". ESPN.com. December 10, 2018. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  24. ^ "Cavaliers won't extend qualifying offer to Blossomgame". June 23, 2019. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
  25. ^ "Rockets Sign Free Agent Jaron Blossomgame". NBA.com. September 27, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  26. ^ "Official Roster Updates: The Rockets have waived guard Michael Frazier and forward Jaron Blossomgame. The team has signed free agent forward Matur Maker". Houston Rockets on Twitter.com. October 18, 2019. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
  27. ^ "VIPERS ACQUIRE RETURNING PLAYER RIGHTS TO JARON BLOSSOMGAME". NBA.com. October 24, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  28. ^ "VIPERS FINALIZE TRAINING CAMP ROSTER". NBA.com. October 27, 2019. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
  29. ^ "VIPERS ADD JARELL MARTIN IN THREE-TEAM TRADE". NBA.com. February 1, 2020. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
  30. ^ "Welcome Jaron Blosomgame!". Ironi Nahariya on instagram.com. August 13, 2020. Archived from the original on December 24, 2021. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  31. ^ "Ratiopharm Ulm inks Jaron Blossomgame". Sportando. July 21, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  32. ^ "Jaron Blossomgame officially signs with Monaco". Sportando. July 19, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  33. ^ "Jaron Blossomgame highlighted Monaco's team ethic". euroleaguebasketball.net. November 25, 2023.
edit