Joel Freeland
Personal information
Born (1987-02-07) 7 February 1987
Farnham, Surrey, England
Listed height6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight248 lb (112 kg)
Career information
CollegeFarnborough College of Technology
NBA draft2006: 1st round, 30th overall pick
Selected by the Portland Trail Blazers
Playing career2005–2017
PositionPower forward / center
Career history
2005–2006Gran Canaria B
2006–2009Gran Canaria
2009–2012Unicaja Málaga
2012–2015Portland Trail Blazers
2012→Idaho Stampede
2015–2017CSKA Moscow
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

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

Early years

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

In July 2009, Freeland joined the Spanish EuroLeague club Unicaja Málaga, 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

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

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

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

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  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high
† Denotes season in which Freeland's team won the EuroLeague

NBA

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2012–13 Portland 5119.4.408.000.6672.3.3.3.22.6
2013–14 Portland 52014.0.475.000.6904.0.7.2.43.3
2014–15 Portland 48812.9.490.000.8404.0.3.2.53.5
Career 151912.1.459.000.7283.4.4.2.43.2

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2014 Portland 902.7.000.000.500.9.1.1.1.1
2015 Portland 203.5.000.000.000.5.0.5.0.0
Career 1102.8.000.000.500.8.1.2.1.1

EuroLeague

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2009–10 Unicaja 14619.7.484.211.6675.1.7.4.410.19.5
2010–11 151425.5.603.273.7886.31.3.7.613.917.5
2011–12 141225.8.510.250.6676.8.6.2.112.611.4
2015–16† CSKA Moscow 12615.8.593.000.5004.4.3.3.46.87.6
2016–17 1545.2.529.000.3851.2.1.2.11.51.3
Career 553822.0.541.239.6845.7.7.4.411.111.7

References

  1. ↑ Joel Freeland #19 Height: 210 cm Weight: 112 kg.
  2. ↑ Joel Freeland recalls Farnham roots on NBA debut.
  3. ↑ Freeman jugará en la ACB con el Gran Canaria Grupo Dunas (in Spanish).
  4. ↑ JOEL FREELAND Basic Statistics.
  5. ↑ Unicaja bulks up with Joel Freeland,
  6. ↑ JOEL FREELAND Basic Statistics.
  7. ↑ FREELAND, JOEL EuroLeague 2010-11 STATISTICS.
  8. ↑ Joel Freeland heading to the Blazers
  9. ↑ "TRAIL BLAZERS SIGN BRITISH FORWARD JOEL FREELAND". NBA.com. 13 July 2012. Archived from the original on 15 July 2012. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
  10. ↑ CLAVER, FREELAND ASSIGNED TO STAMPEDE Archived 29 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ↑ Blazers Recall Claver, Freeland
  12. ↑ Joel Freeland 2014-15 Game Log
  13. ↑ "CSKA returns Joel Freeland back to Europe". cskabasket.com. 13 July 2015. Archived from the original on 13 July 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  14. ↑ "CSKA Moscow's Joel Freeland will miss the beginning of the season". sportando.com. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  15. ↑ "Thank you, Joel!". cskabasket.com. 17 June 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  16. ↑ Joel FREELAND (ENG) participated in 8 FIBA / FIBA Zones events.
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