Javonte Cooke

Javonte Cooke
No. 15 – Oklahoma City Blue
PositionPoint guard
LeagueNBA G League
Personal information
Born (1999-07-11) July 11, 1999 (age 25)
Columbia, South Carolina, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High schoolCovenant Classical
(Columbia, South Carolina)
College
NBA draft2023: undrafted
Playing career2022–present
Career history
20222024Iowa Wolves
2024Brampton Honey Badgers
2024–presentOklahoma City Blue
Career highlights and awards
  • First-team All-CIAA (2022)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Javonte Cooke (born July 11, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Mars Hill Lions and the Winston-Salem State Rams.

High school career

Cooke graduated from Covenant Classical School in Columbia, SC. As a senior, he averaged 23 points, 9 rebounds 4.5 steals and 3.5 assists per game. He earned SCISA A Player of the Year. He was Most Outstanding Player in the Georgia vs. South Carolina All Star Game.[1]

College career

Cooke enrolled at the University of South Carolina Aiken, but only redshirted as a freshman before transferring.[2]

Mars Hill University

Cooke played for Mars Hill from 2018 to 2021. He played in 47 games during his time at the school and made 27 starts. He averaged 14 points and 5.7 rebounds in two seasons. He reached double figures scoring in 34 games, with nine games over 20 points during the 2019–2020 season.[3]

On November 4, 2020, Cooke was selected to the preseason All-South Atlantic Conference Second Team.[4]

Winston-Salem State

Cooke joined Winston Salem State in the Fall of 2020. He played in 23 games for the team and helped them claim the CIAA Southern Division title. He averaged 17.5 points, 3.9 rebounds 1.5 assists and 1.8 steals per game. He finished the season fifth in the conference in scoring, sixth in field goal percentage and first in 3-point field goal percentage and 3-point field goals per game. He was named HBCU Player of the Week and CIAA Player of the Week at least once during the season as well as BOXTOROW National Player of the Week. Cooke was named to the All-CIAA Backcourt Team and CIAA All-Tournament Team. He scored 1,220 points during his career.[5]

In March 2022, Cooke received an invitation to participate in the HBCU All-Star basketball game.[6]

Professional career

Iowa Wolves (2022–2024)

On October 25, 2022, Cooke signed, after a tryout, with the Iowa Wolves as a prospect.[7]

After going undrafted in the 2023 NBA draft, Cooke joined the Minnesota Timberwolves for the 2023 NBA Summer League[8] and on October 21, 2023, he signed with the team,[9] but was waived the same day.[10] On October 29, he rejoined Iowa.[11]

Brampton Honey Badgers (2024)

On May 10, 2024, Cooke signed with the Brampton Honey Badgers of the Canadian Elite Basketball League,[12] but waived him on June 29, in the aftermath of their latest loss against Scarborough.[13]

Oklahoma City Blue (2024–present)

After joining the Minnesota Timberwolves for the 2024 NBA Summer League,[14] Cooke signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder on October 11, 2024.[15] However, he was waived the next day[15] and on October 25, he joined the Oklahoma City Blue.[16]

Personal life

Cooke is the son of Jermaine and Valerie Cooke. He has two older siblings, Acqwon and Keyona.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b "Javonte Cooke". Mars Hill University Athletics. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  2. ^ "Javonte Cooke - Men's Basketball". University of South Carolina Aiken Athletics. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  3. ^ "Javonte Cooke". Mars Hill University Athletics. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  4. ^ "Cooke tabbed to Preseason All-SAC Second Team". Mars Hill University Athletics. November 4, 2020. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  5. ^ "Javonte Cooke - 2021-22 - Men's Basketball". Winston-Salem State University. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  6. ^ "Javonte Cooke Selected To HBCU All-Star Game". Winston-Salem State University. March 31, 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  7. ^ "Iowa Wolves Announce Training Camp Roster". NBA.com. October 25, 2024. Retrieved September 28, 2024.
  8. ^ Gaither, Steven J. (July 5, 2023). "Minnesota Timberwolves summer league includes G-Leaguer from HBCU". HBCUGameday.com. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  9. ^ "Timberwolves Sign Brian Bowen II and Javonte Cooke". NBA.com. October 21, 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  10. ^ Timberwolves PR [@Twolves_PR] (October 21, 2023). "The @Timberwolves have waived Brian Bowen II and Javonte Cook. Minnesota's roster stands at 17 players" (Tweet). Retrieved September 28, 2024 – via Twitter.
  11. ^ "Wolves Announce Training Camp Roster". NBA.com. October 29, 2023. Retrieved September 28, 2024.
  12. ^ "Honey Badgers add NBA G League Guard Cooke to Roster". CEBL.ca. May 10, 2024. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  13. ^ "New-look Honey Badgers come back to clip Alliance in wild finish". CEBL.ca. June 29, 2024. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  14. ^ Manzano, Francisco (July 7, 2024). "Timberwolves Announce NBA 2K25 Summer League 2024 in Las Vegas Roster". NBA.com. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  15. ^ a b Adams, Luke (October 12, 2024). "Thunder Sign, Waive Javonte Cooke". HoopsRumors.com. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
  16. ^ "2024-2025 Oklahoma City Blue Transaction History". RealGM.com. Retrieved November 11, 2024.