Justin Minaya Explained

Justin Minaya
Position:Small forward / power forward
Height Ft:6
Height In:5
Weight Lb:210
League:NBA
Team:Portland Trail Blazers
Number:24
Birth Date:26 March 1999
Birth Place:Harrington Park, New Jersey, U.S.
High School:Northern Valley
(Old Tappan, New Jersey)
College:
Draft Year:2022
Career Start:2022
Years1:2022–2023
Team1:Capitanes de Ciudad de México
Years2:–present
Team2:Portland Trail Blazers
Years3:2023–present
Team3:Rip City Remix

Justin Minaya (born March 26, 1999)[1] is a Dominican-American professional basketball player for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Rip City Remix of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for South Carolina and Providence. He is the son of Major League Baseball executive Omar Minaya.

College career

Coming out of high school, Minaya was an unranked recruit but received several offers to play college basketball. He received official offers from South Carolina, UNC Wilmington, Boston University, Illinois, Iona and UMass. Minaya officially visited with South Carolina and UNC Wilmington before committing to South Carolina, signing his letter of intent on May 15, 2017.

Minaya played four seasons with the Gamecocks from 2017 to 2021, only playing 5 games in 2018–19 due to a severe knee injury. In 2020, Minaya also underwent surgery on his thumb. He played all four years at South Carolina under head coach Frank Martin.

After four years at South Carolina, Minaya transferred to Providence for his graduate season. At Providence, Minaya averaged 6.5 points per game and started in 25 out of the 32 games he played in the 2021–22 season. The Friars won the Big East regular season championship in 2022 and advanced to Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament, defeating South Dakota State and Richmond before losing to Kansas.

Professional career

Capitanes de Ciudad de México (2022–2023)

After going undrafted in the 2022 NBA draft, Minaya joined the Charlotte Hornets for the 2022 NBA Summer League.[2] He was named to the Capitanes de Ciudad de México's roster to start the 2022–23 NBA G League season.[3]

Portland Trail Blazers (2023–present)

On April 4, 2023, Minaya signed a 10-day contract with the Portland Trail Blazers[4] and made his NBA debut that night, scoring 8 points in a 119-109 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.[5]

In June 2023, Minaya joined the Blazers for the 2023 NBA Summer League[6] and on October 2, he re-signed with the Trail Blazers.[7] On October 21, 2023 his deal was converted to a two-way contract with the Rip City Remix of the NBA G League.[8]

On July 1, 2024, Minaya signed a second two-way contract with Portland.[9]

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

|-| style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Portland| 4 || 0 || 22.2 || .304 || .250 || .000 || 3.8 || 1.0 || .5 || 1.3 || 4.3|-| style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Portland| 34 || 1 || 11.2 || .297 || .245 || .556 || 1.6 || .6 || .3 || .3 || 1.8|- class="sortbottom"| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career| 38 || 1 || 12.4 || .299 || .246 || .500 || 1.9 || .7 || .3 || .4 || 2.1

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Matthew. Legros. Trail Blazers Sign G League Forward Justin Minaya. BlazersEdge.com. April 4, 2023. April 5, 2023.
  2. Web site: Montana. Samuels. NBA Draft: Justin Minaya Signs Summer League Deal, No Friars Drafted. Patch.com. June 24, 2022. April 6, 2023 .
  3. Web site: 2022-2023 Mexico City Capitanes Regular Season Roster. RealGM.com. April 6, 2023.
  4. Web site: Luke. Adams. Blazers Sign Justin Minaya For Rest Of Season. HoopsRumors.com. April 4, 2023. April 6, 2023.
  5. Web site: Justin Minaya. ESPN.com. April 6, 2023.
  6. Web site: Trail Blazers Announce NBA 2K24 NBA Summer League 2023 Roster. NBA.com. June 30, 2023. October 4, 2023.
  7. Web site: Trail Blazers Sign Five Players. NBA.com. October 2, 2023. October 4, 2023.
  8. Web site: Trail Blazers Convert Justin Minaya To Two-Way Contract. NBA.com. October 21, 2023. October 22, 2023.
  9. Web site: Trail Blazers Re-Sign Justin Minaya to Two-Way Contract. NBA.com. July 1, 2024. July 2, 2024.