| KJ Simpson | |
| Position: | Point guard |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 2 |
| Weight Lbs: | 189 |
| League: | NBA |
| Team: | Charlotte Hornets |
| Number: | 25 |
| Birth Date: | 8 August 2002 |
| Birth Place: | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| High School: | Chaminade College Prep (Los Angeles, California) |
| College: | Colorado (2021–2024) |
| Draft Year: | 2024 |
| Draft Round: | 2 |
| Draft Pick: | 42 |
| Draft Team: | Charlotte Hornets |
| Career Start: | 2024 |
| Years1: | –present |
| Team1: | Charlotte Hornets |
| Years2: | 2024–present |
| Team2: | →Greensboro Swarm |
| Highlights: |
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Kenneth "KJ" Simpson Jr. (born August 8, 2002) is an American professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Colorado Buffaloes.
Simpson grew up in Panorama City, Los Angeles and attended Chaminade College Preparatory School.[1] He was rated a four-star recruit and initially committed to playing college basketball for Arizona.[2] After Arizona head coach Sean Miller was fired, Simpson requested and was granted a release from his National Letter of Intent and reopened his recruitment.[3] He ultimately signed to play at Colorado.[4]
Simpson was named to the Pac-12 Conference All-Freshman team during his first season playing for the Colorado Buffaloes after averaging 7.4 points per game and also leading the team in total assists and steals.[5] He was named second-team All-Pac-12 after averaging 15.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.5 steals per game as a sophomore.[6]
As a junior, Simpson was named to the first-team All-Pac-12, averaging a team-high 19.7 points per game and shooting 43% from three-point range this season.[7] In the first round of the 2024 NCAA tournament against No. 7 Florida, Simpson hit a game-winning jumper with less than two seconds left to secure a 102–100 victory.[8]
On June 27, 2024, Simpson was selected with the 42nd overall pick by the Charlotte Hornets in the 2024 NBA draft.[9] On July 7, 2024, Simpson signed a two-way contract with the Charlotte Hornets.[10]
|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2021–22| style="text-align:left;"| Colorado| 32 || 1 || 21.3 || .377 || .254 || .770 || 2.5 || 2.7 || .8 || .1 || 7.4|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2022–23| style="text-align:left;"| Colorado| 29 || 28 || 31.8 || .396 || .276 || .817 || 4.3 || 3.8 || 1.5 || .2 || 15.9|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2023–24| style="text-align:left;"| Colorado| 37 || 37 || 35.1 || .475 || .434 || .876 || 5.8 || 4.9 || 1.6 || .1 || 19.7|- class="sortbottom"| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career| 98 || 66 || 29.6 || .429 || .347 || .834 || 4.3 || 3.9 || 1.3 || .1 || 14.6