Kamar Malik Baldwin (born September 15, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for Saski Baskonia of the Spanish Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for the Butler Bulldogs.

Kamar Baldwin
Baldwin with Butler in 2019
No. 44 – Cazoo Baskonia
PositionPoint guard
LeagueLiga ACB
EuroLeague
Personal information
Born (1997-09-15) September 15, 1997 (age 27)
Winder, Georgia, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High schoolApalachee
(Winder, Georgia)
CollegeButler (2016–2020)
NBA draft2020: undrafted
Playing career2020–present
Career history
2020–2021Türk Telekom
2021–2022BG Göttingen
2022–2023Maine Celtics
2023–2024Dolomiti Energia Trento
2024–presentSaski Baskonia
Career highlights and awards

Early life and high school career

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Baldwin started playing basketball from age two. He also played football as a quarterback and ran track in middle school.[1] Baldwin attended Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia. As a junior, he averaged 27 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game, led his team to the Sweet 16 round of the Class AAAAA state tournament and was named Region 8-AAAAA Player of the Year.[2] In his senior season, Baldwin averaged 29.6 points, 10.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game.[3] He repeated as Region 8-AAAAA Player of the Year and finished with 2,593 career points, the most in Barrow County history.[4] Baldwin played for the Atlanta Celtics on the Amateur Athletic Union circuit.[3] On August 6, 2015, he committed to playing college basketball for Butler.[5] Baldwin was a consensus three-star recruit and was ranked 123rd in the 2016 class by Rivals.[6]

College career

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On November 16, 2016, in his second career game, Baldwin made the game-winning shot in 70–68 win over Northwestern.[7] He scored a freshman season-high 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds in an 83–78 victory over Xavier on January 14, 2017.[8] As a freshman, Baldwin averaged 10.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game and was unanimously named to the Big East All-Freshman Team.[6] On December 27, 2017, he scored 31 points in a 91–89 double overtime win over Georgetown.[9] On March 8, Baldwin scored a sophomore season-high 32 points in a 75–74 victory over Seton Hall at the Big East tournament quarterfinals. He was named to the Big East All-Tournament Team.[10] As a sophomore, he averaged 15.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.[6] On January 19, 2019, Baldwin scored a junior season-high 30 points and grabbed eight rebounds in an 80–71 win over St. John's.[11] As a junior, he averaged 17 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game and was named to the Second Team All-Big East.[12]

In his senior season, Baldwin was limited in the first two games with a rib cartilage injury.[13] He scored 31 points in a 67–58 win over Ole Miss on December 3.[14] On January 24, 2020, Baldwin scored 31 points including the last nine points in regulation and collected a season-high eight rebounds in a 89–85 overtime win over Marquette.[15] He had 17 points and eight rebounds on February 5, and hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to defeat Villanova 79–76.[16] Baldwin injured his ankle in the first half of a loss to Creighton on February 23.[17] On March 7, Baldwin scored a career-high 36 points and hit the game-winning three-pointer with a second remaining in a 72–71 win over Xavier.[18] At the conclusion of the regular season, Baldwin was selected to the First Team All-Big East.[19] He shared the Big East Sportsmanship Award with Jagan Mosely of Georgetown and Emmitt Holt of Providence.[20] As a senior, Baldwin averaged 16.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game, leaving with the fourth-most points and the third-most steals in program history.[6]

Professional career

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After going undrafted in the 2020 NBA draft, Baldwin signed his first professional contract with Türk Telekom of the Turkish Super League on August 13, 2020.[21] He averaged 6.1 points and 2.6 rebounds per game.

On July 27, 2021, Baldwin signed with BG Göttingen of the Basketball Bundesliga.[22]

On October 24, 2022, Baldwin joined the Maine Celtics training camp roster.[23]

On July 22, 2023, Baldwin signed with Dolomiti Energia Trento of the Lega Basket Serie A.[24]

Career statistics

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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

College

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17 Butler 34 24 26.9 .495 .372 .756 3.7 1.5 1.7 .5 10.1
2017–18 Butler 35 35 34.0 .442 .331 .775 4.9 3.2 1.5 .4 15.7
2018–19 Butler 33 33 34.2 .447 .311 .850 4.9 3.1 1.5 .3 17.0
2019–20 Butler 31 30 31.6 .419 .331 .850 4.6 3.3 1.1 .5 16.2
Career 133 122 31.7 .446 .333 .817 4.5 2.7 1.5 .5 14.7

References

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  1. ^ Woods, David (January 19, 2017). "Butler's Kamar Baldwin: Ability, humility, ambidextrous". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  2. ^ Saavedra, Nicole (April 14, 2015). "Area players named to GSWA all-state basketball team". Athens Banner-Herald. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  3. ^ a b Gardner, David (March 18, 2017). "Underdog? What Underdog? Butler's Kamar Baldwin Has Always Been a Star". Bleacher Report. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  4. ^ "OnlineAthens all area boys high school basketball team". Athens Banner-Herald. April 6, 2016. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  5. ^ Novak, Christopher (August 6, 2015). "Kamar Baldwin commits to Butler". Big East Coast Bias. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d "Kamar Baldwin". Butler University. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  7. ^ Duber, Vinnie (November 16, 2016). "Butler's buzzer-beater buries Northwestern at Hinkle Fieldhouse". NBC Sports. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  8. ^ Dauster, Rob (January 14, 2017). "Kamar Baldwin, No. 12 Butler survives No. 15 Xavier at home". NBC Sports. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  9. ^ "@ButlerMBB Tops Georgetown 91-89 in Double-Overtime". Butler Bulldogs. December 27, 2017. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  10. ^ Woods, David (March 8, 2018). "Butler gets first Big East tournament win on late tip-in". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  11. ^ "Baldwin scores 30, Butler beats St. John's 80-71". Fox Sports. Associated Press. January 19, 2019. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  12. ^ Dopirak, Dustin (October 17, 2019). "Mechanics fixed and duly motivated, Kamar Baldwin aims to get Butler back to the Dance". The Athletic. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  13. ^ Greder, Adam (November 13, 2019). "Gophers' 'alarming rate' of turnovers the downfall in 64–56 loss to Butler". St. Paul Pioneer Press. Associated Press. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  14. ^ Burrows, Chris (December 3, 2019). "Baldwin scores 31 as No. 24 Butler beats Ole Miss 67–58". Minneapolis Star Tribune. Associated Press. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  15. ^ "Baldwin's flurry leads No. 13 Butler past Marquette in OT". ESPN. Associated Press. January 24, 2020. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
  16. ^ "Baldwin gives No. 19 Butler 79–76 win over No. 10 Villanova". ESPN. Associated Press. February 5, 2020. Archived from the original on February 6, 2020. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  17. ^ "Zegarowski can't miss, No. 15 Creighton routs No. 21 Butler". ESPN. Associated Press. February 23, 2020. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  18. ^ "Baldwin has career-best 36, Butler rallies over Xavier 72–71". ESPN. Associated Press. March 7, 2020. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  19. ^ Woods, David (March 8, 2020). "Kamar Baldwin becomes fourth Butler player on All-Big East first team". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  20. ^ Dedman, John (March 9, 2020). "Kamar Baldwin Shares 2019-20 Big East Sportsmanship Award". Butler Bulldogs. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  21. ^ Carchia, Emiliano (August 13, 2020). "Kamar Baldwin joins Turk Telekom Ankara". Sportando. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  22. ^ Maggi, Alessandro (July 27, 2021). "BG Gottingen officially signs Kamar Baldwin". Sportando. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  23. ^ "Maine Celtics Select Two in G League Draft, Announce Training Camp Roster". OurSportsCentral.com. October 24, 2022. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  24. ^ "Il nuovo playmaker è Kamar Baldwin!". AquilaBasket.it (in Italian). July 22, 2023. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
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