Dante Exum is an American-born Australian professional basketball player. The point guard was selected fifth over the Utah Jazz in the 2014 NBA Draft straight out of high school after impressing the scouts. He will look to emulate the successes of legendary players such as LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan, who also entered the league straight out of high school and managed to dominate the game for years.
Who is Dante Exum? Biography,
On July 13, 1995 in Melbourne, Australia, Dante Exum was born to American parents who emigrated to the country. Around the age of about five, Exum was introduced to basketball by his father. After a few years, he showed such interest and progress in the sport that his family began to consider him a career choice.
Exum was enrolled at Lake Ginninderra College Secondary School in Canberra while playing as a junior in the Keilor Basketball Association. He also concurrently participated in the Australian Institute of Sport during this period. During high school, Exum participated in the Nike Hoop Summit. He played for the world junior selection team that beat the United States. He then returned to school and helped Lake Ginninderra win the Australian National High School Basketball Championship in 2014.
Following these feats, a number of college programs wanted to bring Exum to the United States for college education before making it to the league. The player, however, decided against going to college and instead decided to declare himself for the 2014 NBA draft, where he was drafted by the Utah Jazz with the fifth overall pick.
Dante Exum joins Utah for the 2014 Summer NBALeague where he averaged 7.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.4 steals in 5 games. He then made his debut in Jazz’s season opener against the Houston Rockets, where he contributed 5 points, 1 assist and 1 steal. He went on to lead a season-best 15-point game against the Milwaukee Bucks on January 22, 2015 and a season-best 12 assist against the Denver Nuggets on April 1, 2015. of the season, Dante Exum averaged 4.8 points, 1.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 82 games during his rookie season.
At the start of the following season, Exuma joined the Jazz for one game in the 2015 NBA Summer League before joining the Australian national team. Unfortunately, it was during this period that Exum suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in his left knee which ended his season prematurely. Dante spent the entire 2015-16 regular season on the sidelines before returning for the 2016-17 regular season opener. He split his time between the Jazz and the NBA D-League affiliated Salt Lake City Stars as he returned to form. He averaged 6.2 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 66 games.
In the 2017-18 season, Dante Exum suffered a shoulder injury which forced him to undergo surgery. He spent the start of the season on the sidelines before returning in March 2018 with a 10-point effort against the Phoenix Suns.
Family – Parents
Dante Exum’s parents are; Cecil and DésiréeExum, to thank for their exceptional athletic abilities. Desiree was a high school track star who attended the University of North Carolina. His father, Cecil, who also attended the same university, was a professional basketball player. He first played college basketball under legendary Taar Heels head coach Dean Smith and alongside Basketball Hall of Famers James Worthy and Michael Jordan. He was part of the team that won the 1982 NCAA championship.
After graduating in 1984, Cecil was selected by the Denver Nuggets with the 194th overall pick, but never made it to an NBA game. He then chose to move to Australia in 1989, where he played in the Australian National Basketball League for teams like the North Melbourne Giants, Melbourne Tigers and Geelong Supercats. During his seven-year NBL career, Cecil Exum averaged 10.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game.
Today, both parents are very close advisors to their son who seeks to remind the world of the Exum surname. Another family member doing the same job is Dante’s twin sister, Tierra, who is said to be an international gymnast. The twins have an older brother named Jamaar.
His height and weight
Dante Exum’s height is listed at 6 feet 6 inches or 1.98m making him one of the best guards in the game in the NBA where the average height of players in this position is around 1.9m. His weight is also listed at 190 pounds or 86 kg.