Devon Marquis Saddler (born October 27, 1992) is an American-born, naturalized Belarusian former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the University of Delaware before playing professionally in Italy, Greece, Hungary, Belarus and Israel. A two-time Belarusian League champion with Tsmoki-Minsk, Saddler was named the Belarusian League MVP in 2019.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1991-05-10) May 10, 1991 (age 31) |
| Nationality | American / Belarusian |
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Listed weight | 210 lb (95 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Aberdeen (Aberdeen, Maryland) |
| College | Delaware (2010–2014) |
| NBA draft | 2014 / Undrafted |
| Playing career | 2014–2019 |
| Position | Point guard |
| Career history | |
| 2014–2015 | Omegna |
| 2015–2016 | Apollon Patras |
| 2016–2017 | Körmend |
| 2017 | Jászberény |
| 2017–2019 | Tsmoki-Minsk |
| 2019 | Maccabi Rishon LeZion |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Saddler attended Aberdeen High School in Aberdeen, Maryland, where he averaged 18 points, five rebounds, six assists and three steals while leading Aberdeen to a 20-3 record in his senior year. Saddler was named 3A All-State as a junior.[1] He also played at The Winchendon School in Winchendon, Massachusetts for the 2009-10 season.[1]
Saddler played college basketball at the University of Delaware, where he averaged 19.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game.[1] On March 6, 2014, Saddler earned a spot in the First-team All-Colonial Athletic Association for two consecutive years.[2]
On August 5, 2014, Saddler started his professional career with Fulgor Omegna of the Italian Serie A2 Basket.[3] In 30 games played for Omegna, he averaged 17 points, 4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.
On September 1, 2015, Saddler signed with Cibona Zagreb of the Croatian League and the ABA League.[4] In November 2015, he parted ways with Cibona before appearing in a game of them. On November 27, 2015, Saddler signed with Apollon Patras of the Greek Basket League.[5] In 19 games played for Patras, he averaged 10.5 points, 3 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.
On September 19, 2016, Saddler signed with Egis Körmend of the Hungarian Nemzeti Bajnokság I/A (NBI/A).[6] On February 2, 2017, Saddler parted ways with Körmend to join Jászberényi KSE for the rest of the season.[7] On April 8, 2017, Saddler recorded a career-high 35 points, shooting 13-of-20 from the field, along with six rebounds and three assists in a 90–74 win over MAFC Budapest.[8]
On September 15, 2017, Saddler signed a two-year deal with Tsmoki-Minsk of the Belarusian Premier League and the VTB United League.[9] Saddler won the 2018 Belarusian Premier League championship and the 2018 Belarusian Cup titles with Tsmoki-Minsk.
On April 30, 2019, Saddler recorded a season-high 30 points, shooting 11-of-19 from the field, along with five rebounds and four assists in a 70–77 loss to Nizhny Novgorod.[10] Saddler went on to win the 2019 Belarusian Premier League championship title, leading his team to the 11th champion title in a row as he earned the Finals MVP honors.[11]
On May 27, 2019, Saddler signed with Avtodor Saratov of the VTB United League.[11] On August 16, 2019, he parted ways with Saratov before appearing in a game for them.[12] On September 2, 2019, Saddler signed a one-year deal with Maccabi Rishon LeZion of the Israeli Premier League.[13] On October 15, 2019, he parted ways with Rishon LeZion after appearing in three games.[14]
On November 25, 2019, Saddler announced his retirement from playing professional basketball.[15]
Saddler was a member of the Belarus national basketball team. In 4 games played during the 2019 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers, he averaged 16 points, 6.8 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game.[11] On February 26, 2018, Saddler made a key contribution to a sensational 93–92 win of the Belarusian team over Slovenia, recording 25 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds.[16]