D. J. Wilson

DeVante Wilson
Born	(1996-02-19) February 19, 1996 United States
Occupation	Professional basketball player
Years active	2017–present
Known for	Playing for the Milwaukee Bucks, Houston Rockets, Toronto Raptors, Philadelphia 76ers, and Jilin Northeast Tigers

DeVante Jaylen Wilson (born February 19, 1996) is a professional basketball athlete from the United States currently playing for the Jilin Northeast Tigers in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He competed at the collegiate level for the Michigan Wolverines, finishing his junior year in the 2016–17 season. Wilson entered the professional ranks when he was selected 17th overall in the 2017 NBA draft by the Milwaukee Bucks, where he played for four seasons before being traded to the Houston Rockets in March 2021.

Early life and education

Wilson attended Capital Christian School in Sacramento, where he experienced a stress fracture in his fifth lumbar vertebra, causing him to miss summer 2012 and part of his junior year, which impacted recruiting interest. He was required to wear a back brace for three months during recovery. By the middle of his junior year, he had grown five inches, reaching a height of 6 ft 8 in. In June 2013, Wilson impressed scouts by scoring 22 points and grabbing 8 rebounds against Ivan Rabb at a California Golden Bears camp, leading to recruitment attention from Michigan and other programs. He visited Michigan in October 2013 and ultimately committed, choosing them over offers from USC, Gonzaga, Northwestern, and Harvard.

On November 13, 2013, Wilson signed his National Letter of Intent with Michigan, anticipating openings created by Jordan Morgan’s graduation and the NBA departures of Glenn Robinson III and Mitch McGary. At that time, he was noted as potentially the first player from Sacramento to join a Big Ten Conference team. In March 2014, Wilson scored 29 points during the Northern California Open Division championship game, which ended in defeat. His national ranking improved significantly from 135th in October 2013 to 86th by April 2014 according to Rivals.

Freshman season (2014–2015)

Prior to the start of the 2014–15 season, Wilson underwent surgery on his little finger, causing him to miss part of the offseason and an August exhibition trip to Italy. Upon joining Michigan, he was diagnosed with valgus deformity (commonly known as "knock-kneed"), and through neuromuscular therapy during college, he enhanced his vertical leap by eight inches. In his fifth game against Villanova at the 2014 Legends Classic, Wilson sustained a knee injury while attempting a blocked dunk and was sidelined for the remainder of the season due to a sprained knee.

Sophomore season (2015–2016)

On December 19, 2015, Wilson contributed 12 points on efficient 5–6 shooting during Michigan’s dominant 105–46 victory over Youngstown State—the program’s second-largest margin of victory. Although he appeared in 26 games that season, Wilson exceeded ten minutes of playing time in only five contests but still ranked second on the team with ten blocks. Notably, he recorded two blocks during Michigan’s January 12 upset over No. 3 Maryland—their first home win against a top-three ranked team since 1997.

Junior season (2016–2017)

Wilson delivered a career-best performance on January 1 in Michigan’s Big Ten opener against Iowa, posting 28 points and grabbing 14 rebounds despite an overtime loss of 83–86. On February 19 against Minnesota, he led the team with 16 points—including a crucial three-pointer that tied the game—though Michigan fell short in overtime by a score of 78–83. During the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals on March 10, Wilson spearheaded Michigan’s overtime win over (#12/#13) Purdue with a stat line of 26 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks—the second-highest scoring output of that tournament. Across four Big Ten tournament games, he averaged 15.3 points per contest as Michigan secured the championship title.

In three NCAA tournament games, Wilson averaged 16 points, four rebounds, and three blocks per game while helping Michigan advance to the round of sixteen before being eliminated by the Oregon Ducks. During victories over Oklahoma State and Louisville, he remained perfect from the free-throw line in the final half-minute. Over seven postseason contests combined, Wilson posted averages of 15.6 points on 53.8% shooting along with five rebounds and two blocks per game. He finished as Michigan’s top rebounder and shot-blocker for the season with averages of 5.3 boards and 1.5 blocks per game. His total of 203 rebounds marked the highest for a Wolverine since Mitch McGary four years prior, while his tally of 57 blocks was Michigan’s best in nine seasons.

After concluding the NCAA Tournament run, Wilson appeared in mock drafts ahead of the 2017 NBA draft. On April 10, both he and teammate Moritz Wagner declared for the draft without hiring agents, preserving their option to return to college until May 24. However, prior to attending the NBA Combine, Wilson suffered a quadriceps injury during a workout with the San Antonio Spurs, limiting him to measurements and interviews only. He expressed that he would remain in the draft only if assured a first-round selection. Ultimately, on May 24, Wilson officially entered the draft and relinquished his remaining two years of college eligibility.

Milwaukee Bucks (2017–2021)

Wilson was selected 17th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2017 NBA draft on June 22, 2017, making him the first among four players from the Big Ten to be drafted that year. He agreed to a rookie scale contract worth $12.1 million on July 6. Wilson made his NBA debut on October 20, 2017, and tallied his initial four points on October 31. Throughout his rookie season, he was frequently assigned to the Bucks’ NBA G League team, the Wisconsin Herd.

During the 2018–19 season, Wilson was sidelined for the first 22 games due to a hamstring injury but still had his $3 million third-year option picked up despite limited playing time. That season saw him achieve personal bests including 10 rebounds and 9 points on December 19, followed by his first NBA double-double with 14 rebounds and 10 points on December 27. He also improved his scoring output with 13 points on January 16 and then 16 points on January 31. Wilson earned his first career start on March 31, and on April 10, he reached new career highs with 18 points, 17 rebounds, and 4 assists.

On October 24, 2019, the Bucks exercised Wilson’s fourth-year rookie contract option valued at $4.5 million, extending his tenure through the 2020–21 season. He set a new scoring record of 19 points on December 2 during a game against the New York Knicks.

Houston Rockets (2021)

Wilson was traded to the Houston Rockets on March 19, 2021, as part of a package including D. J. Augustin and draft selections in exchange for P. J. Tucker and Rodions Kurucs. On August 1, the Rockets chose not to extend a $6.9 million qualifying offer to Wilson, which made him an unrestricted free agent.

Toronto Raptors / Oklahoma City Blue (2021–2023)

On September 27, 2021, Wilson signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder, but was waived shortly after on October 15 and subsequently joined their G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue, where he averaged 13.9 points and 9.6 rebounds over 13 contests.

Wilson inked a hardship exception ten-day contract with the Toronto Raptors on December 22, 2021. He secured a second ten-day deal on January 7, 2022, before returning to the Blue on January 17. Later, he rejoined Toronto for another ten-day stint starting February 28 but was waived on March 6 and reclaimed by Oklahoma City Blue the following day. His time with the Blue ended soon after due to a season-ending injury.

The Raptors brought Wilson back on July 8, 2022; however, he was waived again on October 15. He was included in the Oklahoma City Blue’s roster for opening night of the 2022–23 season as announced on November 3.

Osceola Magic / Philadelphia 76ers (2023–2024)

On February 12, 2023, Wilson was traded to the Lakeland Magic in exchange for a first-round pick in the 2023 draft but did not appear in any games for them. He signed with the Orlando Magic on September 29, 2023; however, he was waived by October 13. Subsequently, he joined the Osceola Magic on November 2.

Wilson signed a ten-day contract with the Philadelphia 76ers on March 24, 2024, before returning to Osceola Magic on April 4.

Shanghai Sharks (2024–present)

On September 6, 2024, Wilson officially joined the Shanghai Sharks competing in the Chinese Basketball Association, marking his debut in the Asian basketball circuit.

Regular season

|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Milwaukee | 22 || 0 || 3.2 || .563 || .400 || .500 || .5 || .1 || .1 || .0 || 1.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Milwaukee | 48 || 3 || 18.4 || .414 || .362 || .553 || 4.6 || 1.1 || .4 || .4 || 5.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Milwaukee | 37 || 1 || 9.8 || .394 || .247 || .611 || 2.5 || .7 || .1 || .1 || 3.6 |- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2| | style="text-align:left;"|Milwaukee | 12 || 0 || 8.8 || .372 || .357 || .500 || 2.1 || .3 || .1 || .3 || 3.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"|Houston | 23 || 1 || 14.3 || .416 || .339 || .696 || 3.8 || .9 || .4 || .5 || 6.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Toronto | 4 || 1 || 13.5 || .733 || .000 || .800 || 4.0 || 1.3 || 1.3|| .3|| 7.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia | 2||0||7.7||.667||1.000|| —||1.0||1.0||.0||1.0||5.0 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career | 148||6||12.3||.422||.331||.618||3.1||.7||.3||.3||4.4

Playoffs

|- | style="text-align:left;"|2019 | style="text-align:left;"|Milwaukee | 8||0||5.4||.500||.200||1.000||1.3||.5||.0||.1||2.4 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career | 8||0||5.4||.500||.200||1.000||1.3||.5||.0||.1||2.4

College

|- | style="text-align:left;"|2014–15 | style="text-align:left;"|Michigan | 5||0||4.8||.250||.000|| —||1.2||0||0||.6||0.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"|2015–16 | style="text-align:left;"|Michigan | 26||0||6.1||.474||.333||.727||0.7||0.3||0.2||0.4||2.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"|2016–17 | style="text-align:left;" |Michigan

| 38||| 36||| 30.4||| 538||| 373||| 833||| 5,3||| 13||| 05||| 15||| 110

|- class="sortbottom"

| style =" text-align:center" colspan ="2"|Career
|69 |36 |19,4 |525 |363 |817 |33 |08 |04 |10 |71

External links

• Profile at Michigan Wolverines