DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell

DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell (born June 5, 1993) is an Trinidadian-American professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for Eastern Oklahoma State and Illinois State. Standing at 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m), he usually plays the small forward position.

DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell
No. 44 – Oklahoma City Blue
PositionSmall forward
LeagueNBA G League
Personal information
Born (1993-06-05) June 5, 1993
Orlando, Florida
NationalityTrinidadian / American
Listed height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High schoolWest Oaks Academy
(Orlando, Florida)
College
NBA draft2016 / Undrafted
Playing career2016–present
Career history
2016–2018Bakken Bears
2018Denver Nuggets
2018→Delaware Blue Coats
2018–2019Hapoel Tel Aviv
2019ESSM Le Portel
2019–presentOklahoma City Blue
Career highlights and awards

College career

Akoon-Purcell transferred from Eastern Oklahoma State College, where he was a National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I All-America Honorable Mention selection in 2014, to Illinois State University ahead of the 2014-15 season.[1] During his junior season at Illinois State, Akoon-Purcell was named to the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) All-Newcomer Team,[2] and he was also named the MVC Newcomer of the Year.[3] In 2014-15, he was also a finalist for the Riley Wallace Award, presented annually to the top transfer in NCAA Division I basketball, as awarded by CollegeInsider.com.[4] Ahead of his senior season, Akoon-Purcell was a 2015-16 MVC Preseason Team selection.[5] During his senior season at Illinois State, Akoon-Purcell led the team in scoring and ranked eighth in the MVC with 14.1 points per game on his way to earning All-MVC Second Team and NABC Division I District 16 Second Team accolades.[6] Akoon-Purcell went undrafted in 2016.[7]

Professional career

Bakken Bears (2016–2018)

In August 2016, Akoon-Purcell signed a one-year contract with Danish side Bakken Bears of the Basketligaen and FIBA Europe Cup.[8] He led the Bears to a Basketligaen championship in his first season, while being named the league's MVP and Finals MVP.[9] In his second season with the Bears, he reached the semi-finals of the FIBA Europe Cup and won the Basketligaen championship. Akoon-Purcell was given the title of Fan Vote FIBA Europe Cup MVP, as he received 4,939 fan votes. He also was named the Guard of the Year of the competition.[10]

Denver Nuggets (2018)

Akoon-Purcell joined the Denver Nuggets NBA Summer League roster ahead of the 2018 Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 12.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 2.0 steals in 19.3 minutes per game. On August 7, 2018, the Denver Nuggets signed Akoon-Purcell on a two-way contract.[11] Akoon-Purcell played in only 7 games with the Nuggets throughout the entirety of his two-way contract. On December 16, 2018, after the expiration of his two-way contract, he was waived by the Nuggets.[12]

Hapoel Tel Aviv (2018–2019)

On December 19, 2018, Akoon-Purcell signed with Hapoel Tel Aviv of the Israeli Premier League for the rest of the season.[13] However, on February 19, 2019, Akoon-Purcell parted ways with Hapoel after appearing in eight games.[14]

ESSM Le Portel (2019)

On March 9, 2019, Akoon-Purcell signed with ESSM Le Portel of the French LNB Pro A.[15] In 12 games played for Le Portel, he averaged 9.1 points and 2.5 rebounds per game.

Oklahoma City Blue (2019–present)

On September 30, 2019, Akoon-Purcell signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder.[16] He was cut from the team in the preseason and was signed by their G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue. On January 21, 2020, Akoon-Purcell posted 33 points and 7 rebounds in a 125-116 win over the Austin Spurs.[17] The following game, he scored 38 points while adding eight rebounds, two assists and one steal in a 144-140 loss to the Texas Legends.[18]

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
† Denotes seasons in which he won the championship
* Led the league

NBA

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2018–19 Denver 703.1.300.000.500.5.8.2.01.0
Career 703.1.300.000.500.5.8.2.01.0

Domestic Leagues
Year Team League GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17† Bakken Bears Basketligaen 373227.1.522.455.7995.93.01.8.421.4*
2017–18† 292527.1.484.352.8814.93.81.6.117.3
2018–19 Hapoel Tel Aviv IPL 8722.1.310.240.8262.61.81.1.17.6
2018–19 Le Portel Pro A 12217.2.351.300.6802.51.10.8.09.1

European Competitions
Year Team League GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17 Bakken Bears BCL 141129.0.415.340.8426.61.72.2.317.4
2017–18 FEC 181832.7.415.255.7185.24.31.6.018.6

References
  1. "Illinois State Athletics". goredbirds.com. Retrieved 2018-08-16.
  2. "Illinois State Athletics". goredbirds.com. Retrieved 2018-08-16.
  3. jbenson@pantagraph.com, Jim Benson. "ISU's Akoon-Purcell earns MVC Newcomer of Year award". pantagraph.com. Retrieved 2018-08-16.
  4. "Akoon-Purcell Named Finalist for Riley Wallace Award - Illinois State University". Illinois State University. Retrieved 2018-08-16.
  5. "ISU picked 4th in MVC, Akoon-Purcell named to Valley preseason team". WJBC AM 1230. 2015-10-27. Retrieved 2018-08-16.
  6. "Illinois State Athletics". goredbirds.com. Retrieved 2018-08-16.
  7. "Nuggets Sign DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell To Two-Way Deal". Hoops Rumors. Retrieved 2018-08-16.
  8. "Akoon-Purcell Signs Pro Contract with Danish Team". Goredbirds.com. 17 August 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  9. "Akoon-Purcell Leads Bakken To Danish Title, Named Finals MVP". Goredbirds.com. 5 September 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  10. "Winners of FIBA Europe Cup Fan Vote announced". FIBA.basketball. 19 April 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  11. "Nuggets Sign Rookie DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell to Two-Way Contract - Denver Nuggets". Denver Nuggets. 7 August 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  12. "Denver Nuggets Sign Brandon Goodwin, Waive DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell". NBA.com. December 16, 2018. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  13. "רכש נוסף לאדומים: דבון אקון-פרסל". basket.co.il (in Hebrew). December 19, 2018. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  14. "American forward DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell has left Hapoel Tel Aviv". Sportando.basketball. February 19, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  15. "DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell signs with ESSM Le Portel". Sportando.basketball. March 9, 2019. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  16. "Thunder add four players prior to training camp". OKCThunderWire. September 30, 2019. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  17. "Oklahoma City Blue top Austin Spurs". Austin American-Statesman. January 21, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  18. "DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell: Seeing expanded role". CBS Sports. January 24, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
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