Paul Reed (basketball)

Paul Reed
Born	(1999-06-14) June 14, 1999 Orlando, Florida, U.S.
Occupation	Professional basketball player
Years active	2020–present
Known for	Playing for the Detroit Pistons in the NBA

Paul Reed (born June 14, 1999), also known by the nickname "BBall Paul", is a professional basketball athlete from the United States currently playing for the Detroit Pistons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He competed at the collegiate level with the DePaul Blue Demons.

Early life

Raised in Orlando, Florida, Reed attended Wekiva High School. His height increased significantly from 6'2" as a freshman to 6'8" during his senior year. In his final high school season, he averaged 18.2 points and 11.4 rebounds per game, earning the title of Central Florida Player of the Year while guiding the Mustangs to the state championship match. Rated as a three-star recruit and ranked No. 235 nationally, Reed chose to play for DePaul over scholarship offers from Clemson, Kansas State, Rutgers, and Murray State.

College career

During his freshman year, Reed appeared in 28 games off the bench, averaging 3.6 points and 3.1 rebounds, with an uptick to 5.6 points and 4.6 rebounds in the final 14 contests. His sophomore season saw him inspired by teammate Max Strus, resulting in averages of 12.3 points and a conference-leading 8.5 rebounds per game, which earned him the Big East Most Improved Player award. In the 2019 College Basketball Invitational, Reed posted averages of 18.3 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.7 blocks, and 2.2 steals, helping DePaul reach the tournament final.

Coming into his junior year as a preseason All-Big East honoree, Reed notched ten double-doubles and was named to the Big East Weekly Honor Roll on four occasions during non-conference play. On January 18, he scored 23 points with nine rebounds in DePaul’s upset victory over No. 5-ranked Butler. Later in the season, he missed several games due to a hip pointer injury. He concluded his junior campaign averaging 15.1 points per game while ranking second in the conference with averages of 10.7 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, and 1.9 steals per contest, earning Second Team All-Big East recognition and recording 18 double-doubles over the season. Following this standout year, Reed declared for the 2020 NBA draft, foregoing his remaining college eligibility.

Philadelphia 76ers (2020–2024)

Selected with the 58th overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers, Reed signed a two-way contract on December 3 that allowed him to split time between Philadelphia and their G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats. He made his NBA debut on January 4, 2021, contributing two points in limited minutes during a victory against the Charlotte Hornets. Excelling during the 2020–21 NBA G League season, Reed earned both the league’s Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year awards.

On March 26, 2021, Reed’s contract was upgraded to a standard NBA agreement. He demonstrated continued growth with notable performances such as a game on November 27, 2022, where he recorded 13 rebounds and scored 12 points against the Orlando Magic. In the Eastern Conference Semi-finals of 2023, Reed made four crucial free throws that helped secure a win versus the Boston Celtics.

On July 8, 2023, Reed agreed to a three-year, $23 million offer sheet with the Utah Jazz, which was matched by Philadelphia on July 9 to retain his services. On January 27, 2024, he achieved career-best statistics with 30 points and 13 rebounds despite a loss to the Denver Nuggets. The Philadelphia 76ers waived Reed on July 6, 2024.

Detroit Pistons (2024–present)

On July 9, 2024, the Detroit Pistons acquired Reed through the waiver process but released him on December 14. He rejoined the Pistons the very next day. On December 19, 2024, Reed was part of a confrontation involving Jordan Clarkson, resulting in a $15,000 fine issued on December 21. Subsequently, on June 30, 2025, Reed agreed to a two-year contract worth $11 million to continue his tenure with Detroit.

Regular season

|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia | 26 || 0 || 6.8 || .538 || .000 || .500 || 2.3 || .5 || .4 || .5 || 3.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia | 38 || 2 || 8.0 || .563 || .250 || .429 || 2.4 || .4 || .9 || .4 || 3.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia | 69 || 2 || 10.9 || .593 || .167 || .745 || 3.8 || .4 || .7 || .7 || 4.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia | 82 || 24 || 19.4 || .540 || .368 || .718 || 6.0 || 1.3 || .8 || 1.0 || 7.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Detroit | 45 || 0 || 9.7 || .507 || .286 || .762 || 2.7 || 1.0 || .9 || .6 || 4.1 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career | 260 || 28 || 12.5 || .548 || .305 || .705 || 3.9 || .8 || .8 || .7 || 4.9

Playoffs

|- | style="text-align:left;"|2021 | style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia | 3 || 0 || 3.5 || .500 || || || 2.7 || .0 || .0 || .3 || 1.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"|2022 | style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia | 12 || 0 || 11.6 || .528 || .667 || .571 || 3.8 || .8 || .8 || .5 || 3.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"|2023 | style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia | 11 || 2|| 14.3|| .579||  || 1.000|| 5.5|| .6|| .5|| .4|| 4.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"|2024 | style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia | 6||0||7.2||.444|| ||.500||2.7||.3||.2||.5||1.5 |- | style="text-align:left;" | 2025

| style="text-align:left;" | Detroit 
|5||0||10.6||625|| ||667|||30|||02|||10|||06|||28

|- class="sortbottom"

|style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career 
|37||2||10.9||547|||667|||727|||39|||05|||06|||05|||33

College

|-

|style="text-align:left;" | 2017–18 
|style="text-align:left;" | DePaul 
|28||1||9.9||518|||214|||579|||31|||04|||05|||05|||36

|-

|style="text-align:left;" | 2018–19 
|style="text-align:left;" | DePaul 
|36||28||26.9||562|||405|||770|||85|||09|||11|||15|||123

|-

|style="text-align:left;" | 2019–20 
|style="text-align:left;" | DePaul 
|29||29||31.7||516|||308|||738|||107|||16|||19|||26|||151

|- class="sortbottom"

|style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career 
|93||58||23.2||535|||330|||739|||75|||10|||12|||15|||106

Personal life

Paul Reed's father, also named Paul, competed in collegiate basketball at Old Dominion and UCF before pursuing a professional career across Europe. Additionally, his uncle, Mike Sims-Walker, had a tenure in the NFL.

Outside of his basketball career, Reed promotes his 'Out the Mud' hoodie line through social media platforms. This apparel brand draws inspiration from a tweet symbolizing his determination and resilience during periods of limited court time.

External links

• DePaul Blue Demons bio