Jamal Shead

Jamal Shead
No. 23 – Toronto Raptors
PositionPoint guard
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (2002-07-24) July 24, 2002 (age 22)
Austin, Texas, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High school
CollegeHouston (2020–2024)
NBA draft2024: 2nd round, 45th overall pick
Selected by the Sacramento Kings
Playing career2024–present
Career history
2024–presentToronto Raptors
2024→Raptors 905
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Jamal Daniel Shead (/ʃɛd/ SHED; born July 24, 2002) is an American professional basketball player for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Houston Cougars.

Early life and high school career

Shead began his high school career at John B. Connally High School before transferring to Manor High School.[1] He averaged 18.1 points, six rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game as a junior. Shead led Manor High School to the state tournament for the first time in school history and scored 44 points in a win over Rudder High School, earning District 18-5A Most Valuable Player honors.[2] As a senior, he averaged 19.3 points and 4.3 assists per game, helping Manor achieve a 28–10 record and the District 18-5A title.[3] Considered a three-star recruit by the 247Sports Composite, Shead committed to playing college basketball for Houston over Texas A&M, SMU and Colorado State.[4]

College career

As a freshman, Shead averaged 3.3 points and 1.5 assists per game, logging minor minutes as a backup point guard on Houston's 2020–21 Final Four team.[5] In 2021–22, Shead's sophomore season, he averaged 10 points and 5.8 assists per game. During the season he was promoted to the starting lineup after injuries to starting guards Marcus Sasser and Tramon Mark. Shead paced the Houston offense as the Cougars won both the AAC regular season and tournament championships. In the NCAA tournament, Shead averaged 15 points per game en route to an Elite Eight berth for the Cougars, which included an upset of South Regional No. 1 seed Arizona in the Sweet 16, in which Shead led his team with 21 points.[6] Shead was named to the All-American Athletic Conference (AAC) Third Team.[7] As a junior, he averaged 10.5 points, 5.4 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game. Shead was named to the All-AAC Second Team and earned AAC Defensive Player of the Year honors. Following the season, he declared for the 2023 NBA draft but ultimately returned to Houston for his senior season.[8] In 2023–24, their first year in the Big 12, Shead led the Cougars to a regular season title with averages of 12.9 points, 6.3 assists, and 2.2 steals per game. He was named the Big 12 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the first player to win both awards in the same season.

Professional career

Toronto Raptors / Raptors 905 (2024–present)

On June 27, 2024, Shead was selected with the 45th overall pick by the Sacramento Kings in the 2024 NBA Draft, however, immediately on draft night, he was traded along with Davion Mitchell, Aleksandar Vezenkov, and a 2025 second-round pick to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Jalen McDaniels.[9] On July 5, he signed with the Raptors.[10]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2020–21 Houston 26 2 9.9 .455 .125 .750 1.1 1.5 .8 .2 3.3
2021–22 Houston 38 32 31.0 .405 .298 .802 3.0 5.8 1.6 .2 10.0
2022–23 Houston 37 37 32.6 .415 .310 .732 3.0 5.4 1.7 .2 10.5
2023–24 Houston 37 37 31.1 .409 .309 .779 3.7 6.3 2.2 .5 12.9
Career 138 108 27.5 .412 .296 .772 2.8 5.0 1.6 .3 9.7

References

  1. ^ Baldwin, Chris (February 8, 2023). "Manor Mal — Houston's Jamal Shead Is An Athletic Marvel Hiding In Plain Sight, But His Peyton Manning Level Leadership Leaps Out". Paper City Magazine. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  2. ^ "Houston Welcomes Three on Signing Day". Houston Cougars. November 13, 2019. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  3. ^ Jones, Thomas (March 6, 2019). "History already made, Manor seeks elusive state title". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  4. ^ Quinn, Brendan (March 23, 2023). "Jamal Shead was always a Houston player. Now the Coogs are his team". The Athletic. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  5. ^ Duarte, Joseph (March 23, 2022). "Houston's Jamal Shead is on point when it comes to pressure and Sweet 16". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  6. ^ Freeman, Tristan (July 18, 2022). "NCAA Basketball: Ranking the top 25 team backcourts for 2022-23 season". Busting Brackets. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  7. ^ "American Athletic Conference Announces Men's Basketball Honors". theamerican.org. March 8, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  8. ^ Harris, Terrance (June 3, 2023). "UH guard Jamal Shead withdraws NBA Draft". The Houston Defender. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  9. ^ "Raptors' Jamal Shead: Heading to Toronto". CBSSports.com. June 29, 2024. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  10. ^ "RAPTORS SIGN WALTER, MOGBO AND SHEAD". NBA.com. July 4, 2024. Retrieved July 5, 2024.