Myles Powell

Myles Powell
Born	(1997-07-07) July 7, 1997 United States
Occupation	Professional basketball player
Years active	2016–present
Known for	Playing for Seton Hall Pirates, Philadelphia 76ers, Qingdao Eagles

Myles Blake Powell (born July 7, 1997) is a professional basketball athlete from the United States currently playing for the Qingdao Eagles in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He competed at the collegiate level with the Seton Hall Pirates.

High school career

Powell's high school journey included stints at Medford Tech, Trenton Catholic, and South Kent School, where he consistently played on the varsity team throughout all four years. At South Kent, he posted an average of 25 points and three rebounds per game, while during his junior and sophomore years at Trenton Catholic, he averaged 17 and 18.5 points respectively. Additionally, Powell participated in AAU basketball representing NJ Playaz under coach Jimmy Salmon, where he maintained an 18-point scoring average. His notable performances include competing in the Nike EYBL Peach Jam with a 19.8 points average, contributing 17 points in the Jordan Brand Classic Regional Game, winning the 2015 Big Strick Classic three-point shooting contest, and taking part in the 2016 National High School Three-Point Contest held during the NCAA Final Four weekend.

College career

During his sophomore year, Powell was recognized on the Big East All-Academic team and earned the title of Most Improved Player within the conference.

In the 2018–19 campaign, he finished second in scoring within the Big East by averaging 23.1 points per game, including eight contests with 30-plus points and a season-best of 40 against Grand Canyon. With four seniors graduating, Powell stepped into a leadership role, expressing readiness to lead supported by his coaches and teammates. A highlight was his 31-point effort against Big East opponent Butler at the Prudential Center, which led Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard to emphasize their offensive focus on Powell. That season also brought national acclaim as he was named to the Wooden Award midseason watch list. Leading Seton Hall in scoring, Powell garnered first-team All-Big East honors and captured the Haggerty Award as the premier college player in the New York City metropolitan area.

Entering his senior year, Powell was honored as a preseason first-team All-American by the Associated Press and selected as preseason Big East Player of the Year. Despite suffering a significant ankle injury early on, he managed to score a team-high 37 points against Michigan State. A subsequent concussion caused an indefinite absence; however, he returned to contribute 27 points along with five rebounds and five steals in a victory over DePaul. On January 15, 2020, Powell put up 29 points in a win against fifth-ranked Butler. Shortly after, he surpassed 2,000 career points on January 18, becoming only the fifth player in Seton Hall history to reach this milestone. He earned first-team All-Big East recognition for a second straight year while averaging 21.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per contest.

At the conclusion of his senior season, Powell was awarded Big East Player of the Year and received the Jerry West Award. He became Seton Hall's first consensus first-team All-American since 1953 and made history as the first player from the school to claim the Haggerty Award twice.

Westchester Knicks (2021)

Following an undrafted status in the 2020 NBA draft, Powell signed with the New York Knicks on November 29, 2020. In his preseason debut appearance, he recorded two points and one assist across six minutes of play. The Knicks waived him on December 19; subsequently, he joined their NBA G League affiliate, the Westchester Knicks, on January 21, 2021. Over thirteen games with Westchester, Powell averaged 17.8 points while shooting 44.6% from beyond the arc alongside contributions of 3.3 rebounds and four assists per game.

On April 23, 2021, Powell inked a two-way contract with New York but was released just one day later. The Knicks re-signed him on October 12 but waived him again two days afterward. Eleven days later, he returned to Westchester where he appeared in one game.

Philadelphia 76ers (2021–2022)

On December 19, 2021, Powell inked a two-way contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, his hometown franchise. As a devoted admirer of both the Sixers and Allen Iverson, Powell revealed that he "cried for the first 45 minutes" upon receiving the news of his signing.

Bay Area Dragons (2022–2023)

Powell committed to the Bay Area Dragons competing in the East Asia Super League on July 27, 2022.

Qingdao Eagles (2023–2025)

On September 22, 2023, Powell became a member of the Qingdao Eagles in the Chinese Basketball Association. He extended his contract with Qingdao on September 19, 2024.

National team career

During the summer of 2019, Powell represented the United States National team at the Pan American Games held in Peru, where he helped secure a bronze medal.

NBA

|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia | 11 || 0 || 4.7 || .294 || .167 || 1.000 || .5 || .3 || .1 || .0 || 1.2 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 11 || 0 || 4.7 || .294 || .167 || 1.000 || .5 || .3 || .1 || .0 || 1.2

College

|- | style="text-align:left;"|2016–17 | style="text-align:left;"|Seton Hall | 33 || 2 || 23.8 || .392 || .332 || .817 || 2.2 || .9 || .9 || .2 || 10.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"|2017–18 | style="text-align:left;"|Seton Hall | 34 || 33 || 31.7 || .433 || .379 || .789 || 2.6 || 2.8 || 1.0 || .2 || 15.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"|2018–19 | style="text-align:left;"|Seton Hall | 34 || 34 || 36.0 || .447 || .363 || .840 || 4.0 || 2.9 || 2.0 || .2 || 23.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"|2019–20 | style="text-align:left;"|Seton Hall | 28 || 28 || 31.5 || .398 || .306 || .795 || 4.3 || 2.9 || 1.2 || .2 || 21.0 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career | 129 || 97 || 30.8 || .421 || .346 || .814 || 3.3 || 2.3 || 1.3 || .2 || 17.5

Personal life

Powell’s older brother, Noel III, received a seven-year prison sentence in 2021 for involvement in a fatal incident at an Applebee's in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, dating back to 2017. Demonstrating solidarity in 2019, Powell embroidered “Free Big Nutty” on his jacket during a media day appearance.

Seton Hall lawsuit

In July of 2021, Powell initiated legal action against Seton Hall University, head coach Kevin Willard, and Sports Medicine Director Tony Testa for alleged negligence. The claim asserted that they permitted him to compete with a torn meniscus throughout the 2019–20 season while downplaying the injury’s seriousness. In August of the same year, Seton Hall moved to have the lawsuit dismissed.

External links

• Profile at Seton Hall Pirates