Glens Falls’ Jimmer Fredette Living Up to Potential Overseas
In 2011, if a sports fan said the name "Jimmer" out loud, everyone would know exactly who they were talking about.
Ten years later, in the United States, his name is synonymous not with current glory, but rather with past potential. Overseas, however, Jimmer Fredette's name is mentioned with a bit more excitement.
An NCAA scoring leader with BYU during his senior year, Fredette was Steph Curry before Steph Curry became popular. He became known for attempting, and making, three-pointers from anywhere and everywhere on the court. He led BYU to the third round of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1981, and was picked 10th overall in the NBA Draft that same year.
Unfortunately, his scoring touch never transferred to the professional game in America. He bounced between franchises from 2011 through 2016, never averaging more than 7.6 points per game, a feat he accomplished his rookie year. He took his talents to the Chinese Basketball Association beginning in 2016, and promptly lit the league on fire.
Don't believe me? Check these stats out...
LOOK AT THE POINTS PER GAME NUMBERS! These are Jordan-esque, if not better.
There has never been any doubt that Glens Falls native Jimmer Fredette is an incredible shooting talent. In my mind, however, he struggled to be effective in other areas of his game, making him less valuable as a bench player in the NBA. While the CBA doesn't possess the same talent as the NBA, it is still an extremely competitive league, one which helps fringe NBA players become legitimate stars.
Fredette is a star in the league, and has already started breaking records. He became the Shanghai Sharks (his team's) all-time leader in three pointers made on December 29, 2020, and currently sits at 781 made threes with his current team. In addition to that, he's grown into more of a complete player, with over five assists and over six rebounds-per-game last season.
So, while the name "Jimmer'' doesn't reverberate around gyms in the States with as much clout as it did a decade ago, gyms in China are still chanting his name.