NBA Players From Gary Indiana 2023

Branden Dawson is the most famous basketball player from Indiana, Dawson was born and raised in Gary. BJ played and studied at Lew Wallace School. 

BJ was an athletic marvel, standing at six foot and six inches in height, he had an imposing presence while playing for the Clippers. 

Despite giving his best, he was not able to stick to the NBA for the long run. He often hopped from one D-League team to another eventually playing professionally in Taiwan.

BJ played college ball with Michigan State but faced a loss to MJ’s former school North Carolina in Carrier Classic. 

Dawson was fighting for minutes in his rookie year with the Clippers. He had one of the best performances in the ’15 Summer League. 

Moreover, after not meeting the standards of the Clippers he was waived in 2016. 

Chris Hunter is within the ranks of Gary basketball players. Hunter has one of the best underdog stories.

Chris went undrafted in 2006 after playing in the foreign league for three years. He was hired by GSW in 2010. Christopher played 60 games with the Warriors. 

Hunter’s success is quite inspirational. Chris made a solid comeback by playing in the foreign league and joining hands with seven-time NBA champions. 

The Indiana-born player had a short basketball career, he played ball for seven years and retired in ’13. Before, his retirement he played with Clippers in the summer league. 

After retiring, he went on to become a management executive and holds the title of “Director of Player Personnel” at the University of Michigan in men’s basketball. 

Besides, the Clippers and GSW he played for Knicks as well. 

Korie Lucious is an Iowa and Michigan State basketball player from Indiana. Lucious was born in Gary but he migrated to Milwaukee Wisconsin. 

Lucious was a Highschool star at Rufus King High, he was surrounded by controversy after he transferred to the rival high school Plus XI High. 

Besides, the school he made a name for himself at was the University of Michigan and Iowa State. Lucious is remembered for his clutch plays among the fans of the college ball. 

After graduating from Iowa, he declared for the ’13 draft but went undrafted. Nonetheless, he had an opportunity to play in the D-League with Detriot Pistons in the 13-14 season. 

He averaged 20 points per game and again gave a chance to another Summer League with GSW, where he averaged 18 points. 

Unfortunately, he did not have much success in NBA but he did play for Polish and Macedonian teams. 

Larry Demic is a 90s basketball player from Gary. He played for New York Knicks from 1979-1982. Demich played for three years with NYK and retired from sports in ’85. 

Demic was drafted in ’79 he was the first round’s ninth pick by NYK. Before, his NBA career, he went to Westside high school which was within the vicinity of his home. 

Larry went on college to Arizona, he played basketball and his stature and experience led him to become a first-round pick for Knicks. 

However, he was not able to meet the expectations of the coach and owners. Thus, he had a short stint with the Knicks. 

Nevertheless, Demic gave basketball another chance by playing for international clubs and leagues. Unfortunately, he was not able to find his ground in the game thus he retired from playing ball professionally in ’85. 

AJ Hammons is Gary Indiana’s pride he made it into the NBA in 2016, he was the 46th pick of the Mavericks. AJ a seven feet stature athlete was a four-star recruit. 

Hammons played center, he attended Oak Hill Academy, and graduated college from Purdue. AJ was the second-round pick and went to the Mavericks. 

Before joining NBA, he was one of the best athletes in college ball. and was named 2016 Ten Defensive Player of the Year and was a finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award. 

Hammons basketball’s future looked promising but he was not able to translate his skills and talent in the big stage. He played for G-League during his time with Dallas. 

After not seeing much improvement, he was transferred to Miami Heat and played for the D-league club Sioux Falls Skyforce. 

Darius Garland is the most popular Indiana NBA player originating from Gary. Garland is a point-guard playing for the Cavaliers.

Darius is one of the most talented athletes in the league. He is a recipient of the former Mr. Basketball Award in Tennessee. 

Cavalier’s point guard is among the shortest player in the league, he measures only 6ft and 1 inch. The All-Star is shorter than the GSW legend Steph Curry.

Garland might be short but he is known for his immense talent and tenacity in the game. Darius was a fifth pick in the first-round draft th of the Cavaliers. 

DG was voted the most improved player of the year in 2022. He signed a $231 million contract with the Cavaliers and recorded a 51-point game in the same year. 

Glenn Robinson is a legendary player Gary Indiana player from the 90s. He was drafted by was Bucks and went 1st in the 1st round pick. 

Robinson known as “Big Dog” or “The Chosen One” only spent 11 years in NBA. He became NBA champion with the Spurs in ’05 and registered over 14k points in his career. 

Glenn is not known well for his grades and homework but for his ECU performance. Due to his troubling grades, he once worked at a retail shop. 

Nonetheless, he made history by becoming one of the best basketball players. In retrospect, after his difficult time in college education, he went pro in 1994. 

In the history of the Cavs, he is counted alongside Kareem and Giannis who surpassed his record. Eventually, he traded ships to the Hawks, 76ers, and Spurs. 

Jerome Harmon is an American basketball player of Gary. He is an alumnus of Louisville College and went undrafted in the 1991 NBA. 

Harmon received an opportunity to play with the Philadelphia 76ers where he signed a 10-day contract. Jerome secured 10 points and registered four rebounds per game. 

Despite his improved performance, he did not receive a second opportunity thus he played for Continental Basketball Association (CBE). 

During his time with CBE, he played for two clubs Grand Rapids Mackers and Yakima Sun Kings but his stint was quite shorter, as the Indiana player retired from the game in ’98. 

Eugene German is Indiana, Gary-born player who played Summer league with Denver Nuggets. German is the leading scorer and conference champion. 

German grew up surrounded by a palpable love of his mother and father. He was a state high point scorer (32 points). 

Eugene finished his collegiate career with over 2,000 points but went undrafted in NBA and struggled to get minutes in the Summer League. 

Eventually, he signed with foreign clubs including the Greek and Turkish clubs. In the 2022, season Eugene is settled with a Chinese team called “Qingdao Eagles.”

Tim McCalister is an 80s basketball player who lives in Gary Indiana. He was drafted by Clippers in the 3rd round in the 80s. 

McCalister is an alumnus of the University of Oklahoma. This 6’3 player averaged over 2,200 points while playing college ball. His future looked promising but he was unable to make it into the big stage.

After being drafted by Clippers, he did not have an opportunity to play in NBA. Instead, he went abroad and became one of the best scorers in the PBA league. He averaged 25 points while only playing three games with Purefoods Hotdogs. 

In 1988, he changed four teams and eventually settled with Rapid City Thrillers in the ’89 season. However, he called it quits to basketball in the same year.