Joseph John Avila[1] (born October 11, 1991) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Salt Lake City Stars of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for Navy and Colorado State.
Argentina 2022 | |
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Position | Forward |
Personal information | |
Born | (1991-10-11) October 11, 1991 (age 30) McAllen, Texas |
Nationality | American |
Listed height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) |
Listed weight | 250 lb (113 kg) |
Career information | |
High school | McAllen (McAllen, Texas) |
College |
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NBA draft | 2015 / Undrafted |
Playing career | 2015–present |
Career history | |
2015–2016 | Stella Artois Leuven Bears |
2016–2017 | Windy City Bulls |
2017–2018 | Texas Legends |
2018–2021 | Agua Caliente Clippers |
2021–2022 | Salt Lake City Stars |
Career highlights and awards | |
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Stats ![]() | |
Avila attended McAllen High School. As a senior, he averaged 21.6 points, 11.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 2.1 blocks and 1.6 steals, being named to the Class 5A Texas Association of Basketball Coaches all-state team. After graduating, Avila was the school's all-time leading scorer with 2,865 career points.[2]
Avila began his career at Navy, where he played for two years and won the Patriot League Rookie of the Year after ranking second on the team in scoring (11.5), rebounding (5.3), assists (74) and free throw percentage (.829).[2]
After playing at Navy, he transferred to South Texas College where he redshirted and then transferred to Colorado State where he averaged 16.7 points and 7.4 rebounds. He earned first-team All-Mountain West honors as a senior in 2014–15 after averaging 16.7 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists.[3] In his four college seasons, he saw action in started 103 of 115 games and posted averages of 15.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.6 steals in 31.5 minutes.[2][4]
After going undrafted in the 2015 NBA draft, Avila joined the Houston Rockets for the 2015 NBA Summer League.[3] On July 27, he signed with Stella Artois Leuven Bears of the Belgian League.[5] In 18 games, he averaged 11.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists.[6]
In July, 2016, Avila joined the New York Knicks for the 2016 NBA Summer League.[6] On September 26, 2016, he signed with the Chicago Bulls,[4] but was waived on October 21 after appearing in two preseason games.[7] On October 30, 2016, he was acquired by the Windy City Bulls of the NBA Development League as an affiliate player of Chicago.[8]
On January 28, 2017, he was traded to the Texas Legends.[9]
On December 16, 2018, the Texas Legends announced that they had acquired Ryan Boatright from the Agua Caliente Clippers for Avila.[10] On February 6, 2020, Avila had 21 points, nine rebounds, two assists and three steals in a loss to the Texas Legends.[11]
On December 8, 2021, Avila was acquired by the Salt Lake City Stars.[12] He was waived on February 2, 2022.[13]
He is the son of J.J. Avila Sr. and Vicki Avila. He majored in communication studies at Colorado State.