Marreese Speights

Mo Speights
Mo Speights
Born	Marreese Akeem Speights; August 4, 1987 (age 39); St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S.
Occupation	Professional basketball player (retired)
Years active	2008–2021
Known for	NBA player, NBA champion (2015)

Marreese Akeem "Mo" Speights (born August 4, 1987) is a retired American professional basketball athlete who competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA). During his collegiate career, he represented the Florida Gators, playing a role as a freshman on their 2007 NCAA national championship-winning squad. Speights was chosen 16th overall in the first round of the 2008 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. He later secured an NBA championship with the Golden State Warriors in 2015.

Early life

Hailing from St. Petersburg, Florida, Speights played basketball at Admiral Farragut Academy in St. Petersburg, where his jersey was retired after just one season. He also spent his senior year at Hargrave Military Academy and attended Gibbs High School. Rated as a four-star prospect by Rivals.com, he was ranked the 13th best power forward and 51st overall nationally in the class of 2006.

College career

Speights enrolled at the University of Florida for the 2006–07 season, contributing approximately four points and two rebounds in six minutes per game as a freshman on the national champion Gators team. He played behind notable frontcourt players such as Al Horford, Joakim Noah, and Chris Richard.

In his sophomore year (2007–08), Speights improved his averages to 14.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per contest. Following this season, he declared for the 2008 NBA draft, confirming with coach Billy Donovan on June 12, 2008, that he would forgo returning to Florida.

Philadelphia 76ers (2008–2012)

Selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 16th pick in the 2008 NBA draft, Speights signed with the team on July 18, 2008. During his rookie campaign, he appeared in 79 games, posting a .502 field goal percentage and .773 from the free-throw line while starting twice.

In his sophomore NBA season, Speights saw increased playing time and scored over 15 points in half of his first ten games. However, a partial tear to his left knee MCL on November 14 caused him to miss 14 contests. After returning, his minutes diminished due to heightened contributions from teammate Elton Brand.

With Doug Collins taking over as head coach for the 2010–11 season with a focus on defense, Speights’ offensive-oriented approach resulted in reduced court time, averaging a career-low of 11.5 minutes per game. He made one start against the New Orleans Hornets on January 3, 2011, recording 12 points and six rebounds. That year, he averaged 5.4 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.

Memphis Grizzlies (2012–2013)

Speights was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies on January 4, 2012, as part of a three-team deal that included Xavier Henry and future draft selections. On June 29, 2012, Memphis tendered him a qualifying offer, designating him as a restricted free agent. Subsequently, he re-signed with the Grizzlies on July 13 under a two-year contract worth $8 million.

Cleveland Cavaliers (2013)

On January 22, 2013, Speights was sent to the Cleveland Cavaliers along with Wayne Ellington, Josh Selby, and a future first-round draft pick in exchange for Jon Leuer. In his tenure with Cleveland spanning 39 games, he averaged 10.2 points and grabbed 5.1 rebounds per contest.

Golden State Warriors (2013–2016)

Speights joined the Golden State Warriors on July 12, 2013. He achieved a personal best by scoring 32 points on February 10, 2014, during a victory against the Philadelphia 76ers. During the 2014–15 NBA season, he earned the nickname "Mo Buckets" as the leading scorer off the bench and secured his first NBA championship with the Warriors in the 2015 NBA Finals.

The Warriors opted to retain Speights for the 2015–16 season by exercising his team option. That season, he played a role in Golden State’s unmatched 24–0 start and their historic 73–9 regular-season finish. In the playoffs, Speights shot an impressive 3-of-6 from beyond the arc in Game 3 versus the Houston Rockets, tallying 22 points. He contributed to the Warriors’ postseason success as they eliminated the Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers, and overcame a 3–1 series deficit against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals. Golden State advanced to the NBA Finals for a second straight year but ultimately fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a seven-game series after leading 3–1.

Los Angeles Clippers (2016–2017)

Speights signed with the Los Angeles Clippers on July 12, 2016. On January 16, 2017, he recorded a season-high of 23 points in a commanding 120–98 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. On May 23, he chose to opt out of his contract for the following season, entering free agency unrestricted.

Orlando Magic (2017–2018)

Speights inked a deal with the Orlando Magic on July 27, 2017. On October 30, he scored 18 points and set a new career mark with six three-pointers—including five made within six minutes—in a 115–99 win against the New Orleans Pelicans.

Guangzhou Loong Lions (2018–2021)

On July 2, 2018, Speights signed with the Guangzhou Loong Lions of the CBA. His import player spot was replaced by Cory Jefferson on January 16, 2019. However, Guangzhou re-signed him on August 17, 2020, extending his tenure for another season.

Regular season

|- | align="left" | | align="left" | Philadelphia | 79 || 2 || 16.0 || .502 || .250 || .773 || 3.7 || .4 || .3 || .7 || 7.7 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Philadelphia | 62 || 1 || 16.4 || .477 || .000 || .745 || 4.1 || .6 || .5 || .5 || 8.6 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Philadelphia | 64 || 1 || 11.5 || .495 || .250 || .753 || 3.3 || .5 || .1 || .3 || 5.4 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Memphis | 60 || 54 || 22.4 || .453 || .000 || .771 || 6.2 || .8 || .4 || .5 || 8.8 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Memphis | 40 || 2 || 14.5 || .429 || .400 || .716 || 4.7 || .5 || .3 || .7 || 6.6 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Cleveland | 39 || 1 || 18.5 || .457 || .200 || .806 || 5.1 || .7 || .4 || .7 || 10.2 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Golden State | 79 || 3 || 12.4 || .441 || .258 || .821 || 3.7 || .4 || .1 || .4||6.4 |- | style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| † | align="left" | Golden State |76||9||15.9||.492||.278||.843||4.3||0.9||0.3||0.4||10.4 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Golden State |72||0||11.6||.432||.387||.825||3.3||0.8||0.3||0.5||7.1 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | L.A. Clippers | style="background:#cfecec;" | 82*||2||15.7||.445||.372||.876||4.5||0.8||0.3||0.5||8.7 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Orlando |52||3||13.0||.395||.369||.727||2.6||0.8||0.2||0.4||7.7 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2" | Career |705||78||15.1||.459||.356||.797||4.1||0.7||0.3||0.5||7.9

Playoff Appearances

|- | align="left" | 2009 | align="left" | Philadelphia |3||0||9.7||.429||.000||.750||2.0||0||0||0||3.0 |- | align="left" | 2011 | align="left" | Philadelphia |2||0||10.5||.167||0||0||3.0|||'.5'||0|||'.5'||2 |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- class="sortbottom" |- class="sortbottom" |- class="sortbottom" |- class="sortbottom" |- class="sortbottom" |- class="sortbottom" |- class="sortbottom" |- class="sortbottom" |- class="sortbottom" |- class=

External links