Introduction
Devonte' Terrell Graham (born February 22, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kansas Jayhawks.
High school career
Graham attended Broughton High School in Raleigh, North Carolina. As a senior, Graham averaged 15.7 points and 5.4 assists per game, leading the team to a 26-6 record and the 4A state championship game during the 2012-13 season.
Graham originally committed to Appalachian State before deciding he wanted to play elsewhere. However, Appalachian State’s head coach at the time, Jason Capel, would not allow him to de-commit, as he felt other teams may have been tampering with Graham following his commitment to the university. Due to this, Graham elected to play a post-graduate year at Brewster Academy, in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, rather than honor his commitment to play for Appalachian State.
At Brewster Academy, Graham averaged 17.2 points and 5.0 assists per game, leading the team to the national prep championship and the New England championship during the 2013-14 season. On May 2, 2014, Graham committed to Kansas, choosing them over North Carolina and Virginia.
College career
Freshman
As a freshman at Kansas, Graham averaged 5.7 points and 2.1 assists per game. He had a season-high 20 points against TCU on February 21, 2015. In the NCAA Tournament, he scored 17 points against Wichita State.
Sophomore
After scoring a then career-high 27 points on 8-of-13 shooting against Oklahoma, Graham was named Big 12 Player of the Week for the week of February 14, 2016. At the conclusion of the regular season, Graham was named to the Big 12 All-Defensive Team. He was named MVP of the 2016 Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament after scoring 27 points against West Virginia in the championship game. As a sophomore in the 2015-16 season, Graham averaged 11.3 points per game while shooting 46 percent overall and 44 percent from 3 point territory.
Junior
As a junior, Graham was named to the Second Team All-Big 12. Along with Frank Mason III, Graham formed the backcourt of a Kansas team that went 31-5 but lost in the Elite Eight, as Graham shot 0 for 7 from the field and missed six 3-pointers in a season-ending 74-60 loss to Oregon. For the season, he averaged 13.4 points, 4.1 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game. In April, Graham announced on Twitter that he was returning for his senior year.
Senior
In his senior season, Graham was named the preseason Big 12 Player of the Year for the 2017–18 season. On November 28, Graham scored a career high 35 points in a 96-58 win over Toledo. The following game, a 76-60 win over Syracuse, Graham again scored 35 points. Graham would go on to be unanimously selected as the Big 12 Player of the Year, averaging 17.6 points and 7.2 assists per game as a senior. He was also named a consensus member of the First Team All-America by multiple organizations. During his senior season, he averaged about 38 minutes a game.
Professional career
Charlotte Hornets (2018–2021)
Graham was drafted in the 2nd round, 34th overall, of the 2018 NBA draft by the Atlanta Hawks before being traded to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for two second round picks. In the Hornets' first three summer league games, he averaged ten points and six assists per contest. However, he would miss the rest of summer league with a knee injury.
Graham made his NBA debut on October 22, 2018, against the Toronto Raptors, recording no points and one assist in five and a half minutes of play. On October 23, 2019, Graham scored 23 points along with eight assists and four rebounds in a 126–125 win over the Chicago Bulls. Graham hit six three-pointers to help the Hornets set a new franchise record for three-point field goals made in a single game. On December 11, 2019, Graham scored a career-high 40 points with five rebounds and five assists in a 113–108 win over the Brooklyn Nets.
Graham was featured on The Dodo's Youtube channel in June 2021, in a video about his basketball career and his life with his German Shepherd dog 'Charlotte', who is named after the team he had been playing for.
New Orleans Pelicans (2021–present)
On August 7, 2021, Graham was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans.
Career statistics
| 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 |
NBA
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018–19 | Charlotte | 46 | 3 | 14.7 | .343 | .281 | .761 | 1.4 | 2.6 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 4.7 |
| 2019–20 | Charlotte | 63 | 53 | 35.1 | .382 | .373 | .820 | 3.4 | 7.5 | 1.0 | .2 | 18.2 |
| 2020–21 | Charlotte | 55 | 44 | 30.2 | .377 | .375 | .842 | 2.7 | 5.4 | .9 | .1 | 14.8 |
| Career | 164 | 100 | 27.7 | .376 | .364 | .822 | 2.6 | 5.4 | .8 | .1 | 13.3 | |
College
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–15 | Kansas | 29 | 0 | 17.8 | .393 | .425 | .724 | 1.5 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 5.7 |
| 2015–16 | Kansas | 38 | 36 | 32.6 | .460 | .441 | .744 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 11.3 |
| 2016–17 | Kansas | 36 | 36 | 35.3 | .428 | .388 | .793 | 3.1 | 4.1 | 1.5 | 0.2 | 13.4 |
| 2017–18 | Kansas | 39 | 39 | 37.8 | .400 | .406 | .827 | 4.0 | 7.2 | 1.6 | 0.1 | 17.3 |
| Career | 142 | 111 | 31.7 | .422 | .409 | .787 | 3.1 | 4.5 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 12.3 | |