Renaldo Major
Renaldo Major | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 7, 1982 Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Occupation(s) | Professional basketball player, coach |
| Years active | 2004–2019 (player), 2018–present (coach) |
| Known for | NBA G League all-time leading scorer |
Renaldo Major (born May 7, 1982) is a former American professional basketball player who transitioned into coaching. He held the position of Head Coach for the Fresno Fire in The Basketball League and competed professionally for squads such as the Kansas City Tornadoes and Yakima SunKings.
Major's collegiate basketball tenure included time at South Plains College and later at Fresno State. He is recognized as the NBA G League's all-time leading scorer, amassing 5,058 points throughout his career, highlighting his notable influence within the league.
College career
Between 2000 and 2002, Major played at South Plains College, where he earned all-conference recognition during the 2000–01 season and posted averages of 13 points and eight rebounds per game in 2001–02. In 2002, he transferred to Fresno State, earning a spot on the WAC All-Newcomer Team in the 2002–03 season. Across two seasons with Fresno State, Major appeared in 41 games (starting 13), averaging 10.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per contest.
|-
| align="left" | 2002–03
| align="left" | Fresno State
| 28 || 6 || 22.7 || .516 || .486 || .805 || 4.5 || 1.1 || 0.4 || 0.4 || 10.0
|-
| align="left" | 2003–04
| align="left" | Fresno State
| 13 || 7 || 26.7 || .412 || .345 || .778 || 3.5 || 1.1 || 0.7 || 0.2 || 10.7
|-
| align="left" | Career
| align="left" |
| 41 || 13 || 24.0 || .477 || .424 || .795 || 4.1 || 1.1 || 0.5 || 0.4 || 10.2
|-
Gary Steelheads (2004–2005)
Major's professional journey commenced with the Gary Steelheads competing in the Continental Basketball Association during the 2004–05 campaign.
Dodge City Legend (2005)
In the year 2005, he became a member of the Dodge City Legend within the United States Basketball League.
Sioux Falls Skyforce and returns to Gary and Dodge City (2005–2006)
The subsequent season saw Major dividing his time between the Sioux Falls Skyforce and Gary Steelheads before making a return to the Dodge City Legend for the USBL's 2006 season.
Dakota Wizards (2006–2007)
On November 2, 2006, Major was drafted in the fourth round of the NBA D-League draft by the Dakota Wizards.
Golden State Warriors (2007)
Major signed a short-term, ten-day contract with the Golden State Warriors on January 17, 2007, marking his debut and sole appearance in an NBA game. During this outing against the Los Angeles Clippers at the Staples Center, he logged 27 minutes and scored five points in a losing effort. He described this experience as fulfilling a lifelong dream.
Return to Dakota (2007–2011)
Following his brief tenure with Golden State, Major resumed playing for Dakota to conclude the remainder of the 2006–07 season. In July of that year, he participated with the Miami Heat in the NBA Summer League. On August 1, he signed with Italian side Tisettanta Cantù for the upcoming season but was released later that month in favor of signing Denham Brown. While undergoing a trial period with the Denver Nuggets in October 2007, a routine medical examination revealed a loose heart valve necessitating open-heart surgery, which prematurely ended his chances with that franchise.
After sitting out the entire 2007–08 season due to this cardiac issue, Major returned to play with the Dakota Wizards in 2008 and remained with them for three additional seasons.
Bakersfield Jam (2011–2012)
In November 2011, Major inked a deal with the Bakersfield Jam. He briefly signed with the Los Angeles Clippers on December 9, 2011, but was waived after ten days and subsequently returned to Bakersfield.
During July 2012, Major took part in the NBA D-League Select Team for the Summer League. The following month, he signed with Mexico’s Fuerza Regia but exited the team in September. In November 2012, he was reacquired by the Bakersfield Jam.
Mets de Guaynabo (2013)
Following the conclusion of the D-League season, Major joined Puerto Rico’s Mets de Guaynabo.
Kataja Basket Club (2013)
Major signed with Finland’s Kataja Basket Club in August 2013 for the 2013–14 campaign but departed in December after participating in 12 league contests and five EuroChallenge games.
Return to Bakersfield (2014–2016)
Major returned to the Bakersfield Jam in January 2014.
In July 2014, he agreed to terms with the Cheshire Phoenix of the British Basketball League, though a foot injury led to his departure in September. He rejoined Bakersfield by November of that year. On December 5, 2014, Major surpassed Ron Howard to become the NBA D-League's all-time leading scorer. He was honored with the NBA Development League's Jason Collier Sportsmanship Award on April 20, 2015.
In November 2015, Major commenced his fifth tenure with the Jam.
Reno Bighorns (2016–2017)
On October 31, 2016, Major was acquired by the Reno Bighorns.
Moncton Magic (2017)
In 2017, Major competed for the Moncton Magic.
Yakima SunKings (2018)
Major guided the Yakima SunKings to a league championship in 2018.
Kansas City Tornadoes (2018–2019)
The Kansas City Tornadoes acquired Major on October 12, 2018.
Coaching career
At the conclusion of the 2018 NAPB season, Major took on dual responsibilities as player-coach for the Yakima SunKings.
NBA
|- | align="left" | | align="left" | Golden State | 1 || 0 || 27.0 || .200 || — || .500 || 2.0 || 0.0 || 2.0 || 0.0 || 5.0 |- | align="left" | Career | align="left" | | 1 || 0 || 27.0 || .200 || — || .500 || 2.0 || 0.0 || 2.0 || 0.0 || 5.0
NBA D-League
| † | Indicates seasons when Major secured an NBA D-League championship |
|- | style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2006–07† | align="left" | Dakota | 45 || 45 || 33.9 || .502 || .280 || .812 || 5.4 || 2.6 || 1.5 || 0.7 || 18.2 |- | align="left" | 2008–09 | align="left" | Dakota | 42 || 42 || 38.1 || .520 || .245 || .846 || 5.3 || 3.5 || 1.9 || 0.8 || 16.9 |- | align="left" | 2009–10 | align="left" | Dakota | 49 || 8 || 27.8 || .519 || .320 || .831 || 4.5 || 2.3 || 1.0 || 1.0 || 12.3 |- | align="left" | 2010–11 | align="left" | Dakota | 49 || 48 || 35.1 || .513 || .211 || .754 || 5.5 || 1.7 || 1.3 || 0.7 || 15.7 |- | align="left" | 2011–12 | align="left" | Bakersfield | 46 || 46 || 31.8 || .533 || .214 || .789 || 4.7 || 2.3 || 1.5 || 0.9||15.2 |- | align="left" | 2012–13 | align="left" | Bakersfield |41||36||29.0|| .464|| .241|| .793||3.3||1.3||1.3||0.8||13.6 |- | align="left" |2013–14 | align="left" | Bakersfield |11||2||23.5|| .500|| .412|| .808||3.4||1.2||1.3||0.6||8.4 |- | align="left" |2014–15 | align="left" | Bakersfield |46||9||24.0|| .500|| .410|| .825||3.4||1.5||1.2||0.6||8.7 |- | align="left" |2015–16 | align="left" | Bakersfield |42||8||19.3|| .459|| .360|| .852||1.9||1.0||0.6||0.5||6.1 |- | align="left" |2016–17 | align="left" | Reno |29||1||18.1|| .390|| .379|| .776||1.8||0.6||0.7||0.4||5.1 |- | align="left" | Career | align="left" | |400||245||28.9|| .502|| .324|| .805||4.1||1.9||1.3||0..7||12..6 |}
NBA D-League / G League Records
Renaldo Major is the record holder for multiple career achievements in the NBA G League, including:
- Highest total points scored (5,058)
- Greatest minutes logged (11,555)
- Most field goals converted (1,702)
- Highest number of free throws made (1,486)
- Most free throw attempts (1,847)
- Leading in steals (502)
- Most personal fouls committed (969)
- Previously held records
- Highest games played (400), a record later broken by Andre Ingram on January 12, 2019
- Most field goal attempts (3,392)
National team career
In 2011, Major contributed to the USA Basketball Men's Team securing a bronze medal at the Pan American Games.
Personal
Renaldo Major is the son of Natline Jones and the late Ronald Major. He has one brother named Amir and three sisters: Latoye, Amira, and Ashing. His father served as a security officer at the University of Chicago for twelve years before passing away from a stroke in May 2008.
Originally concentrating on baseball, Major changed his athletic focus after witnessing Michael Jordan's unsuccessful attempt at a baseball career.
See also
External links
- Renaldo Major profile at nbadleague.com
- Fresno State biography
- 1982 births
- Living people
- American expatriate basketball people in Canada
- American expatriate basketball people in Finland
- American expatriate basketball people in Mexico
- American men's basketball players
- Bakersfield Jam players
- Basketball players at the 2011 Pan American Games
- Dakota Wizards players
- Fresno State Bulldogs men's basketball players
- Fuerza Regia de Monterrey players
- Golden State Warriors players
- Kataja BC players
- Moncton Magic players
- Reno Bighorns players
- Sioux Falls Skyforce (CBA) players
- Small forwards
- South Plains Texans basketball players
- Undrafted NBA players
- Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games
- Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in basketball
- Basketball players from Chicago
- Mets de Guaynabo basketball players
- United States men's national basketball team players