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Malik Pope

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Malik Pope
Pope in 2014
Rapla
PositionPower forward
LeagueKorvpalli Meistriliiga
Personal information
Born (1996-07-25) July 25, 1996 (age 28)
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High schoolLaguna Creek
(Sacramento, California)
CollegeSan Diego State (2014–2018)
NBA draft2018: undrafted
Playing career2018–present
Career history
2018–2019PAOK
2019Greensboro Swarm
2019Rostock Seawolves
2021Austin Spurs
2021NBA G League Ignite
2021–2022Wisconsin Herd
2022Delaware Blue Coats
2023Caribbean Storm Islands
2023–presentRapla KK
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata

Malik Pope (born July 25, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for Rapla KK of the Latvian-Estonian Basketball League. He played college basketball for the San Diego State Aztecs.[1]

Early life

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Pope is a native of Sacramento and played for Laguna Creek High School He measured 6'3 as a high school sophomore and 6'8 as a junior, crediting his growth spurt in part to drinking more milk. In 2012, while doing some drills, Pope broke his left leg. Several months later, he broke it again and tore his meniscus, causing him to miss his entire senior season of high school.[2] Even so, he was a 5 star recruit in the class of 2014 who committed and played for San Diego State.[3]

College career

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Pope had a career high 22 points and seven rebounds in a game against Colorado State as a freshman, sending his name up NBA Draft boards.[4] As a sophomore at San Diego State, he averaged 7.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. He increased those numbers to 12.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game in March 2016 as he led the Aztecs to the NIT finals. Following the season he declared for the 2016 NBA draft but did not hire an agent.[5]

Pope had an injury-riddled junior campaign and missed nine games.[4] He went on to average 11 points per game.[6] As a senior, Pope was named to the Second Team All-Mountain West Conference.[7] He was suspended on February 23, 2018, for allegedly receiving a $1,400 loan from an agent, according to an FBI investigation.[8] Pope was cleared to return to the team on February 28.[9] He averaged 12.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocked shots per game, shooting 52.1 percent from the floor and 36.8 percent from 3-point range. Pope led San Diego State to an NCAA tournament berth as an 11 seed after winning the conference tournament.[2]

Professional career

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PAOK (2018—2019)

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After going undrafted in the 2018 NBA draft, Pope joined the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2018 NBA Summer League.[10] On August 10, 2018, Pope officially started his professional career by signing with Greek team PAOK.[11]

Greensboro Swarm (2019)

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On January 13, 2019, Pope signed with the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA G League.[12] He averaged 6.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 0.6 blocks per game.

Rostock Seawolves (2019)

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Pope joined the Rostock Seawolves of the German ProA league in August 2019.[13] In 13 games, he averaged 7.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 0.9 blocks per game. In December 2019, Pope left the Seawolves.[14]

Austin Spurs (2021)

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On February 13, 2021, the Austin Spurs announced that they had acquired Pope from available pool of players,[15] but was later waived by the Austin Spurs on February 21 after appearing in two games.[16]

NBA G League Ignite (2021)

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On October 28, 2021, Pope signed with the NBA G League Ignite.[17]

Wisconsin Herd (2021–2022)

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On December 24, Pope signed with the Wisconsin Herd of the NBA G League, but was later waived on January 4, 2022.[18]

Delaware Blue Coats (2022)

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On January 7, 2022, Pope was acquired via available player pool by the Delaware Blue Coats.[19] On January 9, 2022, Pope was waived by the Delaware Blue Coats.[20]

Caribbean Storm Islands (2023—present)

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On April 18, 2023, Pope signed with the Caribbean Storm Islands of the Colombian League.[21]

References

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  1. ^ "Malik Pope 21". GoAztecs.com. Archived from the original on 2018-07-23. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
  2. ^ a b Davidson, Joe (March 14, 2018). "Malik Pope fueled by bad breaks, a lost friend and milk. He seeks NBA after NCAAs". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  3. ^ "Malik Pope - Basketball Recruiting - Player Profiles - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  4. ^ a b Zeigler, Mark (January 1, 2018). "SDSU's Malik Pope: 'I set my bar pretty high.'". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  5. ^ Greene, Dan (May 23, 2016). "Stay or Go? San Diego State forward Malik Pope". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  6. ^ Grammer, Geoff (November 7, 2017). "MWC basketball preview: San Diego State transitions to a new coach". The Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  7. ^ Zeigler, Mark (March 6, 2018). "SDSU's Malik Pope named second team all-conference". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  8. ^ Zeigler, Mark (February 23, 2018). "SDSU suspends Malik Pope after allegations he received $1,400 loan from pro agent". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  9. ^ Boone, Kyle (February 28, 2018). "College basketball scandal: San Diego State's Malik Pope cleared to return". CBS Sports. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  10. ^ Cunningham, Sean (June 23, 2018). "Sacramento's Malik Pope will begin NBA dream with Los Angeles Lakers". ABC10. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  11. ^ "PAOK signed Malik Pope". EuroHoops.net. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  12. ^ Trujillo, Justin (January 13, 2019). "Greensboro Acquires Malik Pope". NBA G League. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  13. ^ "Habemus Papam – Malik Pope komplettiert SEAWOLVES-Kader". Rostock Seawolves (in German). August 5, 2019. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  14. ^ "SEAWOLVES trennen sich von Malik Pope". Rostock Seawolves (in German). December 22, 2019. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  15. ^ "Austin Spurs acquire Malik Pope". NBA.com. February 13, 2021. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  16. ^ "Austin Spurs acquire Galen Robinson Jr". NBA.com. February 21, 2021. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  17. ^ "Ignite Announces Veteran Additions, Coaching Staff". OurSportsCentral.com. October 28, 2021. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  18. ^ "2021-22 NBA G League transactions". gleague.nba.com. January 4, 2022. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  19. ^ "2021-22 NBA G League transactions". gleague.nba.com. January 7, 2022. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  20. ^ "2021-22 NBA G League Transactions". gleague.nba.com. February 9, 2022. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  21. ^ Vega, Francisco (April 18, 2023). "Liga WPlay 2023 - Carrib.Storm inks Malik Pope". LatinBasket.com. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
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