From the 2019-20 rosters of the Indiana Pacers and the Sacramento Kings, two teams set to participate in the first-ever NBA India Games, Dewayne Dedmon is the most experienced big man from both teams.
His experience of six years is the longest among the power forwards and centers from both teams.
Background
Dewayne Dedmon was born in Lancaster, California on August 12th, 1989.
High school & College career
Dedmon attended Lancaster High School in Lancaster, California but did not play basketball.
Even in college, at Antelope Valley College in Lancaster, California, he only began playing ball in his senior year (2009-10).
MORE: Kings' roster for the NBA India Games
Signing with USC (University of Southern California) in 2010, he had to subsequently redshirt his 2010-11 season due to the NCAA transfer regulations.
He ended up playing two years at USC (2011-13), playing 53 games with averages of 7.1 points and 6.4 rebounds. He declared for the 2013 NBA Draft, forgoing the final year of college.
NBA career
Dewayne Dedmon went undrafted in 2013.
However, he kept finding his way on to the rosters of NBA teams. In his rookie year, the 2013-14 season, he played a total of 31 games for three different teams - the Golden State Warriors, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Orlando Magic.
MORE: Kings' coaching staff for the NBA India Games
After the musical chairs in his first campaign in the league, his career found stability at least with respect to games and playing time. From 2014 to 2019, Dedmon played a total of 319 games for three different teams in the Magic (2014-16), San Antonio Spurs (2016-17), and the Atlanta Hawks (2017-19).
For his career, he has appeared in 350 regular-season games with averages of 6.5 points and 6.0 rebounds.
The Kings acquired him this past offseason by signing him to a 3-year, $40 million deal.
Skill set
Dedmon certainly brings a lot of experience to the Kings locker room, one that is needed in abundance given how young their core is.
As a center, he can be effective in limited minutes offensively by being a threat as a shooter and roller. He shot 38.2% from three-point distance last season on 3.4 attempts and scored 1.28 points per possessions on pick-and-rolls last season (83rd percentile).
For more updates and stories on the NBA India Games 2019, you can follow NBA.com's page dedicated to the historic event.
