BIO: Rj Hampton was born in Little Elm, Texas (USA) and attended Little Elm High School.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Rj Hampton made his NBL debut with the New Zealand Breakers at 18 years of age. He scored seven points in his first game.

After finishing sixth with a 12-16 record under Kevin Braswell the previous season, New Zealand appointed Dan Shamir as coach and Director of Basketball. Shea Ili (to Melbourne), Shawn Long (to Melbourne) and Tai Wesley (to South East Melbourne) departed, while general manager Dillon Boucher and assistant coach Michael Fitchett also left the club. Rob Loe (via Cairns) returned to New Zealand, while Scotty Hopson (via Hapoel Holon), Sek Henry (via Pınar Karşıyaka) and Brandon Ashley (via APOEL Nicosia) were added alongside highly-rated American guard RJ Hampton (via Little Elm High School) through the NBL’s Next Stars program. The 18-year-old announced his decision live on ESPN’s Get Up on May 28 after receiving offers from Duke, Kansas and Kentucky, with LaMelo Ball following him to the NBL three weeks later when he announced his signing with Illawarra live on ESPN’s The Jump. “My dream has never been to play college basketball. My dream has always been to get to the next level and play in the NBA,” he said.

Following an impressive FIBA World Cup campaign, Corey Webster sought a release to join Darüşşafaka in Turkey, offering $100,000 towards his own buyout while the Turkish club offered another $25,000, but New Zealand rejected the deal. Reports that co-owner Matt Walsh had described Webster as the “worst statistical starting shooting guard in the NBL” added to the dispute, although Walsh later clarified the comment related to statistical comparisons from the previous season.

New Zealand opened its season against Sydney at Qudos Bank Arena on October 18, where the Next Star (7 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block) made his professional debut in a 96-91 loss. Hopson (27 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals) and Webster (21 points, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block) led New Zealand, while Casper Ware (27 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists) led Sydney. Hampton (8.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.1 steals across 15 games) became a regular part of Shamir’s rotation and one of the NBL’s biggest attractions as NBA scouts followed his first professional season.

The attention peaked against Illawarra at Spark Arena on October 24 when he faced fellow Next Star Ball for the first time. Hampton (8 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks) set the tone with an early block on Ball and helped New Zealand overwhelm the Hawks 103-72, with Henry (21 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals), Hopson (17 points and 10 rebounds) and Webster (17 points and 6 assists) leading a Breakers team which made 17 three-pointers. Aaron Brooks (19 points) led Illawarra while Ball (10 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals) was held in check. Sixteen NBA scouts attended the game, while the crowd of 8,338 was New Zealand’s biggest home attendance since 2013. The matchup became the most-watched game in NBL history, attracting 1.9 million views globally on Facebook and an estimated five million additional views from highlights shared across Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

Hampton’s best game of the season came two days later against Melbourne, where Hampton (14 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block) made five of his ten shots and two three-pointers without committing a turnover. Ashley (24 points and 7 rebounds), Hopson (17 points and 8 rebounds) and Webster (17 points and 6 assists) also produced strong games, but Shawn Long (27 points and 11 rebounds), Chris Goulding (24 points) and Melo Trimble (24 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists) led Melbourne to a 104-98 victory.

Hampton produced his season-high scoring performance against Cairns on October 31, making four three-pointers and finishing with 18 points and 3 steals as New Zealand defeated the Taipans 93-85. Webster (23 points, 3 rebounds, 8 assists, and 2 steals) and Ashley (14 points and 11 rebounds) provided support, while Cameron Oliver (23 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 blocks) led Cairns. The victory came despite Hopson suffering a split ligament in his knee during the second quarter, beginning an extended absence for the Breakers’ leading import.

Against Melbourne on November 7, Hampton (16 points and 7 rebounds) produced another of his best games as New Zealand recovered from 21 points down and got within two points during the final minute before losing 104-101. Injury replacement Glen Rice Jr (26 points) produced the second-highest scoring NBL debut at the time and Webster (20 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists) also helped the comeback, while Goulding (24 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists) and Long (22 points and 8 rebounds) led Melbourne.

Two days later against South East Melbourne, Hampton was ejected after only 4:04 following an altercation involving John Roberson, receiving a technical foul and an unsportsmanlike foul after retaliating to a push. He finished scoreless with one assist as the Phoenix defeated New Zealand 103-78 behind Mitchell Creek (21 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists), while Webster (22 points and 5 rebounds), Rice Jr (19 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 steals) and Ashley (17 points, 12 rebounds, and 2 blocks) led the Breakers. “I regret it for my team because I let my team down,” he said after the game. Walsh was also involved in a verbal altercation with NBL commissioner Jeremy Loeliger during the game and was subsequently fined $5,000 and suspended for two weeks, with the suspension later reduced on appeal.

New Zealand fell to 2-8 following a 117-100 loss to Adelaide on November 24, despite Hampton (15 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists) producing another strong all-around performance. Henry (18 points) led the Breakers, while Eric Griffin (24 points) and Daniel Johnson (19 points and 11 rebounds) led Adelaide. Webster (14 points) injured his ankle during the second quarter and was taken to hospital, adding to a growing injury list which had already included Hopson, Finn Delany and Loe. Even at 2-8, the Breakers were leading the league with 11.3 three-pointers per game.

The second meeting with Illawarra came at Spark Arena on November 30, where Hampton (12 points and 4 rebounds) helped New Zealand defeat the Hawks 91-79 and end a five-game losing streak. Henry (25 points, 3 steals, and 2 blocks) and Delany (20 points and 10 rebounds) led the Breakers, while Ball (25 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists) recorded his second consecutive triple-double for Illawarra.

Against Cairns on December 6, Hampton (4 points and 3 rebounds) suffered a hip flexor injury during New Zealand’s 108-90 loss. Rice Jr (30 points, 11 rebounds, and 8 assists) and Henry (19 points and 4 assists) led the Breakers, while Scott Machado (22 points and 7 assists), Majok Deng (20 points) and DJ Newbill (20 points) led Cairns. Hampton was prescribed rest and expected to miss approximately four weeks, forcing him out of the Breakers’ next six games.

Hampton returned against South East Melbourne on January 5 after being medically cleared for full contact, coming off the bench for 11 points as New Zealand defeated the Phoenix 97-92 and collected its fifth consecutive victory. Thomas Abercrombie (24 points and 4 rebounds), Hopson (19 points and 8 assists) and Delany (18 points and 6 rebounds) led the Breakers, while Roberson (31 points and 8 assists) and Dane Pineau (17 points and 20 rebounds) led South East Melbourne.

He played two more games after returning, with his final appearance coming against Brisbane on January 12. Hampton (4 points) played 12 minutes as the Bullets defeated New Zealand 95-85, with Abercrombie (17 points and 4 rebounds) and Henry (17 points) leading the Breakers and Lamar Patterson (18 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists) leading Brisbane. The hip problem continued to affect his back and he missed New Zealand’s next five games before the club announced on February 4 that Hampton (to United States) would return home to continue his rehabilitation and prepare for the 2020 NBA Draft, meaning he was also unavailable for the final two games of the regular season. “As our first Next Star signing, RJ brought excitement and fanfare to the club and the league,” Walsh said.

Injuries had contributed to New Zealand slipping as low as 4-10, with Rice Jr (25 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.3 steals across 3 games) signed as Hopson’s injury replacement before being suspended and later released following off-court incidents. Webster (19.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 4.3 assists across 11 games) was bought out of his contract in December (to China), while Hopson (18.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists across 21 games), Henry (13.2 points and 3.4 assists across 26 games), Abercrombie (11.8 points and 4.3 rebounds across 28 games), Delany (11.8 points and 5.7 rebounds across 20 games), Ashley (10.5 points and 6.3 rebounds across 28 games), Loe (9.3 points and 4 rebounds across 20 games) and Jarrad Weeks (5.6 points across 25 games) were the team’s other major contributors. Abercrombie became the first New Zealander and only the second NBL player after Daniel Kickert to complete a 50-40-90 season and was named the Breakers’ MVP and Defensive Player of the Year, while Hopson earned All-NBL Second Team honours and was named the Members Choice MVP. Hampton received 23 votes in Rookie of the Year voting, finishing third.

After falling to 4-10, New Zealand reached 8-10 following a four-game winning streak and won 11 of its final 14 games, with the late-season surge seeing the Breakers dubbed “the team no one wants to play in the playoffs.” New Zealand finished sixth with a 15-13 record and missed the playoffs on points percentage.

Rj Hampton played one season in the NBL. He averaged 8.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists in 15 NBL games.