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Nic Claxton was drafted by the Brooklyn Nets as the 31st second-round pick of the 2019 NBA Draft. He is averaging 12.5 ppg, 9.2 rebs, and 2.5 blk, with an NBA-leading shooting efficiency of 70.7% this season with the Nets.
Nic Claxton's personal life
Nic Claxton was born on April 17, 1999, in Greenville, South Carolina. His father is Charles Claxton and his mother is Nicole Claxton. His father played basketball at the collegiate level for the University of Georgia.
Charles briefly played for the Boston Celtics during the 1996-1996 NBA season. He later played professional basketball for the Brighton Bears in the United Kingdom, the Baloncesto Superior National in Puerto Rico, and the Atleta Kaunas in Lithuania.
Charles Claxton, Nic Claxton's father, retired from professional basketball in 2000 and established CNC Delivery Service in South Carolina. He also served as Nic's basketball coach.
Nic Claxton's college basketball career
Similar to his father, Nic Claxton also attended the same university as his father did, University of Georgia.
Nic Claxton averaged 3.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks during his freshman season with the school. In his sophomore season, he improved his level of play and averaged 13.0 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks.
Nic Claxton's international basketball career
Claxton also played two years for the United States Virgin Islands at the Centrobasket Under-14 and Under-15 Championships in Panama City. In 2016, he was part of the 2016 FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship in Valdivia, Chile. In 2019, he played for the senior Virgin Islands national team in the qualifying rounds for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup Americas Qualifiers
Nic Claxton's professional NBA career
Nic Claxton is now in his fourth season with the Brooklyn Nets, at his best career average. Nic has improved upon his game each season with the 2022-2023 season being his best defensively with a 107.8 defensive rating.
His first year with the Brooklyn Nets was an interesting one as the team had championship aspirations when they signed Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant but were halted due to the two All-Stars suffering from injuries.
They would then come up short in making a deep playoff run and are now in the middle of a rebuild with the All-Stars moving to other teams, leaving Nic Claxton with the rest of the remaining Brooklyn Nets players on the roster.
In a New York Post article, Charles Claxton said this as advice to his son:
"So you put your heart and soul to where you are but you put say 99 or 95 percent because there’s a chance that when you come in, you won’t be there. So if you have that mindset, you’re going to be all right," Claxton said.
In his experience transitioning from a brief stint in the NBA to playing professional basketball overseas, Charles Claxton provided some insight into his son's young NBA career. Given how competitive the NBA has remained over the years, and players being traded left and right, it's best to remain prepared and hungry in the league.
Guess the Lakers players!
