DeAndre Liggins

DeAndre Liggins
DeAndre Liggins
Born	March 31, 1988 (age 38); Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation	Professional basketball player
Years active	2011–present
Known for	Playing in the NBA and international basketball leagues

DeAndre Desmond Liggins (born March 31, 1988) is an American professional basketball athlete currently playing for Dijlah Al-Jamiea in the Iraqi Basketball Premier League. He competed at the collegiate level with the Kentucky Wildcats.

High school career

Liggins began his high school journey at George Washington High School in Chicago before transferring to Findlay Prep located in Henderson, Nevada, for his senior year. Rated as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, he was ranked as the No. 6 point guard and placed No. 28 among all players nationally in the class of 2008.

College career

During his three seasons at the University of Kentucky, Liggins primarily came off the bench in his first two years. In his junior season, head coach John Calipari promoted him to a starting role. Following that year, Liggins declared for the 2011 NBA draft.

Orlando Magic (2011–2012)

The Orlando Magic selected Liggins with the 53rd pick in the 2011 NBA draft. He made his NBA debut on February 20, 2012, contributing three points and two rebounds over ten minutes of play. Liggins also participated in Orlando’s 2012 NBA Summer League squad.

Oklahoma City Thunder (2012–2013)

On September 12, 2012, Liggins signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Throughout the 2012–13 season, he spent time assigned to their NBA Development League affiliate, the Tulsa 66ers. He earned his first NBA start on January 13, 2013, posting 11 points and nine rebounds during a victory against Portland. Liggins was included on Oklahoma City’s roster for the 2013 NBA Summer League but was waived on September 6, 2013.

Sioux Falls Skyforce and Miami Heat (2013–2014)

In November 2013, Liggins joined the Sioux Falls Skyforce. He was named to the Futures All-Star team for the 2014 NBA Development League All-Star Game on February 3, 2014.

Liggins signed a 10-day contract with the Miami Heat on February 25, 2014, followed by a second 10-day deal on March 8. After a brief assignment back to Sioux Falls on March 9, he was recalled the following day. The Heat waived him on March 14 after one game in which he recorded two points and one rebound. He returned to Sioux Falls on March 18. On April 21, Liggins received the honor of being named the 2014 NBA Development League Defensive Player of the Year.

Russia and Germany (2014–2015)

In July 2014, Liggins competed in the Orlando Summer League with the Detroit Pistons and later in the Las Vegas Summer League representing the Los Angeles Clippers. On October 15, he signed with Russian team BC Krasny Oktyabr for the 2014–15 campaign but parted ways with them on January 20, 2015. Subsequently, on February 27, he joined German club Eisbären Bremerhaven for the remainder of that season.

Second Sioux Falls Skyforce stint (2015–2016)

Liggins rejoined the Sioux Falls Skyforce on November 2, 2015. On January 29, he earned selection to the East All-Star squad for the 2016 NBA D-League All-Star Game—his second All-Star nod within three years. However, due to a right plantar fascia injury sustained on January 9, he missed the event and was replaced by Quinn Cook. On April 13, he secured his second D-League Defensive Player of the Year accolade within three seasons. Liggins played a key role in leading Sioux Falls to a league-best record of 40–10 during the 2015–16 season and contributed significantly to their championship victory over the Los Angeles D-Fenders in a best-of-three Finals series. At season’s conclusion, he was named to both the All-NBA D-League Second Team and All-NBA D-League All-Defensive First Team for a second time.

Cleveland Cavaliers (2016–2017)

Liggins inked a deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers on September 26, 2016. He made his first appearance on October 25, 2016, contributing four points, three rebounds, three assists, and one block in a commanding 117–88 victory against the New York Knicks. The Cavaliers released him on April 9, 2017.

Dallas Mavericks (2017)

Two days later, on April 11, 2017, Liggins was picked up off waivers by the Dallas Mavericks.

2017 off-season

On June 28, 2017, Liggins was traded to the Houston Rockets in exchange for cash and was immediately included in the trade package to the Los Angeles Clippers linked to Chris Paul's transfer. Subsequently, on September 25, he was traded to the Atlanta Hawks for draft rights but was waived within hours. Liggins signed with the Miami Heat on October 10, 2017; however, he was released four days later after participating in one preseason contest.

Milwaukee Bucks (2017–2018)

The Milwaukee Bucks claimed Liggins off waivers on October 16, 2017. His tenure with the Bucks ended when he was waived on January 7, 2018.

New Orleans Pelicans (2018)

Liggins secured a 10-day contract with the New Orleans Pelicans on January 10, 2018, followed by a second 10-day contract starting January 20. On February 5, he agreed to a two-year contract with the Pelicans. Four days afterward, he started his first game of the season during a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, logging 19 minutes without scoring. The Pelicans waived him on August 31, 2018.

Third Sioux Falls Skyforce stint (2018–2019)

After signing with the Miami Heat on October 7, 2018, Liggins was waived following one preseason game on October 11. He then returned to play for the Sioux Falls Skyforce during the 2018–19 season.

Kolossos Rodou (2019)

On March 23, 2019, Liggins joined Kolossos Rodou competing in the Greek Basket League for the remainder of that season.

Fuenlabrada (2019)

Liggins signed a one-year contract with Spanish club Montakit Fuenlabrada of the Liga ACB on August 5, 2019. Throughout his time there, he averaged 2.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game.

London Lions (2020–2021)

On July 22, 2020, Liggins became part of the London Lions roster in the British Basketball League (BBL). During the 2020–21 campaign, he posted averages of 14.4 points, 6.9 assists, and 5.4 rebounds per game.

New Taipei Kings (2021–2022)

Liggins signed with Taiwan's New Taipei Kings of the P. League+ on December 3, 2021.

Regular season

|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Orlando | 17 || 0 || 6.8 || .480 || .000 || .474 || .9 || .3 || .4 || .0 || 1.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Oklahoma City | 39 || 1 || 7.4 || .447 || .368 || .500 || 1.4 || .4 || .5 || .1 || 1.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Miami | 1 || 0 || 1.0 || 1.000 || .000 || || 1.0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || 2.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Cleveland | 61 || 19 || 12.3 || .382 || .378 || .622 || 1.7 || .9 || .7 || .2 || 2.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Dallas | 1 || 0 || 25.0 || .500 || .000 || .667 || 7.0 || .0 || 2.0 || .0 || 8.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Milwaukee | 31 || 1 || 15.5 || .338 || .306 || .400 || 1.6 || .9 || .9 || .3 || 1.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|New Orleans | 27 ||3||9.0||.439|| .471|| ||1.0||.8||.4||.1||1.6 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career |177||24||10.8||.402||.352||.549||1.4||.7||.6||.2||2.0

Playoff Performance

|- | style="text-align:left;"|2013 | style="text-align:left;"|Oklahoma City Thunder | 8 || 0 || 8.5 || .333 || .200 || .250 || 1.8 || .5 || .1 || .1 || 1.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"|2018 | style="text-align:left;"|New Orleans Pelicans | 3 || 0 || 4.7 || .000 || || .500 || .3 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .3 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Overall Playoff Stats | 11 || 0 || 7.5 || .300 || .200 || .333 || 1.4 || .4 || .1 || .1 || .8

Collegiate Career

|- | style="text-align:left;"|2008–09 | style="text-align:left;"|Kentucky Wildcats | 33 || || || .362 || .235 || .673 || 2.3 || 2.8 || .7 || .4 || 4.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"|2009–10 | style="text-align:left;"|Kentucky Wildcats | 29 || || 15.3 || .419 || .318 || .590 || 2.3 || .8 || .7 || .3 || 3.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"|2010–11 | style="text-align:left;"|Kentucky Wildcats | 38 || || 31.6 || .424 || .391 || .648 || 4.0 || 2.5 || 1.2 || .7 || 8.6 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Total College Career | 100 || || 24.6 || .407 || .332 || .643 || 3.0 || 2.1 || .9 || .5 || 5.8

External links