Introduction
Nicolas Devir Claxton (born April 17, 1999) is an Americanprofessional basketball player for the Long Island Nets, on assignment from the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Georgia Bulldogs.
High school career
Claxton attended Legacy Charter School in Greenville, South Carolina. In his senior season, he averaged 17.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks per game and became the fourth player in school history to record 1,000 career points. Claxton was a three-star recruit and chose to play for Georgia over Baylor, Florida State, NC State, and South Carolina.
College career
As a freshman for Georgia, Claxton started in five of 33 games, averaging 3.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game. In his sophomore season, he became a full-time starter and averaged 13 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game, leading his team in all three categories. Claxton earned second-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) from league coaches. On April 19, 2019, he declared for the 2019 NBA draft. Claxton was invited to the NBA Draft Combine, which took place in May 2019, and drew praise from CBS Sports for his performance there.
Professional career
Brooklyn Nets (2019–present)
On June 20, 2019, Claxton was selected with the 31st overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft by the Brooklyn Nets. On July 7, 2019, the Nets announced that they had signed with Claxton. He suffered a hamstring injury in January 2020 and was assigned to their G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets.
National team career
In 2014, Claxton played for the United States Virgin Islands at the Centrobasket Under-15 Championship in Panama City, averaging a double-double of 10.6 points and 11.8 rebounds per game. He made another appearance for the Virgin Islands at the 2015 Centrobasket Under-17 Championship in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he averaged 11 points and eight rebounds per game. Claxton competed at the 2016 FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship in Valdivia, Chile. He averaged a team-high 12 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, leading his team to seventh place. In the summer of 2018, Claxton joined the senior Virgin Islands national team at qualifying competition for the 2019 FIBA World Cup.
Claxton is eligible for the U.S. Virgin Islands team because his father, Charles, was born in St. Thomas.
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 |
College
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017–18 | Georgia | 33 | 5 | 14.7 | .449 | .364 | .523 | 3.9 | .2 | .2 | 1.3 | 3.9 |
| 2018–19 | Georgia | 32 | 32 | 31.6 | .460 | .281 | .641 | 8.6 | 1.8 | 1.1 | 2.5 | 13.0 |
| Career | 65 | 37 | 23.0 | .457 | .302 | .611 | 6.2 | 1.0 | .6 | 1.9 | 8.4 | |
Personal life
Claxton is the son of Charles Claxton, a U.S. Virgin Islands native who played college basketball for Georgia and was briefly a member of the Boston Celtics in the 1995–96 NBA season.