British basketball player (born 1987)
Joel Daniel Freeland
(born 7 February 1987) is a British former professional
basketball
player who last played for
CSKA Moscow
of the
VTB United League
. Standing at
2.10 m (6 ft
10
+
1
⁄
2
in),
[1]
he played at the
power forward
and
center
positions. He also represented the
Great Britain national basketball team
.
Professional career
[
edit
]
Early years
[
edit
]
Freeland began his career as a youth player with the youth teams of Thames Valley Tigers/Guildford Heat, before joining the Solent Stars. Within a year, he was representing England's Under-18 national team, and soon found himself in Spain, with the
fourth division
side Gran Canaria II. While playing in the lower level Spanish leagues, Freeland was drafted by the
Portland Trail Blazers
, becoming the 30th overall pick of the
2006 NBA draft
, which was the highest rank for a British born player in the history of the draft.
[2]
The Blazers encouraged Freeland to remain in Europe to learn his trade, and he subsequently signed with
Gran Canaria
, of the
Spanish top-tier level
Liga ACB
in August 2006.
[3]
During the 2006?07 season, while playing with Gran Canaria, Freeland appeared in 16 games in the Liga ACB, and also made his debut in the
European-wide 2nd-tier level
ULEB Cup
(now called
EuroCup
). Freeland continued to improve during the 2007?08 season, appearing in 28 games in the Liga ACB, and reaching the quarter-finals of the ULEB Cup. The 2008?09 season saw Freeland become one of Gran Canaria's best players, as he averaged 9.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, in 17.8 minutes per game in the Liga ACB.
[4]
Unicaja Malaga
[
edit
]
In July 2009, Freeland joined the Spanish
EuroLeague
club
Unicaja Malaga
, on a five-year contract worth
€
4.5 million euros
net income
.
[5]
During the 2009?10 season, Freeland made his debut in
Europe's top-tier level league
, the
EuroLeague
, and also made 37
Spanish ACB League
appearances. The 2010?11 season was Freeland's best season, as he averaged career-highs of 13.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per game in the Liga ACB,
[6]
and 13.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in the EuroLeague.
[7]
In July 2012, Freeland reached an agreement with Unicaja on a €1.5 million buyout.
[8]
Portland Trail Blazers
[
edit
]
On 28 June 2006, he was selected by the
Portland Trail Blazers
in the first round of the
2006 NBA draft
as the 30th overall draft pick. However, the Trail Blazers encouraged him to return to European play to further improve his game. On 13 July 2012, Freeland signed a three-year deal with the
Portland Trail Blazers
.
[9]
On 14 December 2012, he was assigned to the
Idaho Stampede
of the
NBA D-League
.
[10]
He was recalled on 16 December 2012.
[11]
On 26 December 2014, Freeland recorded a career-high 17 rebounds against the
Philadelphia 76ers
. On 13 April 2015, he scored a career-high 16 points against the
Oklahoma City Thunder
.
[12]
CSKA Moscow
[
edit
]
On 13 July 2015, Freeland signed a two-year contract with the Russian club
CSKA Moscow
.
[13]
In a warm-up for a preseason game against
Galatasaray
, he suffered a left
calf
injury, which prevented him from play at the start of the season.
[14]
During his two-year stint with CSKA, he won the
EuroLeague
in
2016
and was a two time
VTB United League
champion (
2016
,
2017
). Following the expiration of his contract, he left the club at the end of the 2016?17 season.
[15]
International
[
edit
]
Freeland represented the senior
Great Britain national basketball team
at the
EuroBasket 2009
and the
EuroBasket 2011
. He also played at the
2012 Summer Olympics
.
[16]
Career statistics
[
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]
†
|
Denotes season in which Freeland's team won the
EuroLeague
|
Regular season
[
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]
Playoffs
[
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]
EuroLeague
[
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]
References
[
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]
External links
[
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]
Links to related articles
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