The 34th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft is back in Lyon after spending four years in the U.S.
ASVEL brings Theo Maledon back home
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LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne fans will get to see one of its former prodigies suit up for the team next season after Theo Maledon signed a deal to return to the Lyon-based club.
Maledon (1.93 meters, 23 years old) made quite the impact in his first and only Turkish Airlines EuroLeague campaign five years ago, averaging 7.4 points, 1.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 22 games for ASVEL in 2019-20.
More recently, the French point guard split last season between the Charlotte Hornets and Phoenix Suns in the NBA. With Charlotte, he posted 4.2 points, 1.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists in over 15 minutes per game across 13 appearances. He then averaged 1.3 points, playing just three minutes per night, for Phoenix in four games.
Following an impressive breakout EuroLeague season in the 2019-20 campaign, Maledon was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 34th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft before having his draft rights traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in December 2020.
Maledon's rookie season in the NBA, 2020-21, proved to be his most productive as he averaged 10.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 65 games for the Thunder. His numbers then dropped a little in his second year, posting 7.1 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 51 appearances as more of a backup.
His next stop saw him head to the Hornets, where he averaged 6.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 44 games in 2022-23, but again in more of a backup role. After starting the 2023-24 season with Charlotte, he finished the campaign with Phoenix.
Now that he is back in his native France and at a club he knows well, having played at ASVEL between 2017 and 2020, Maledon will be hoping to reach his potential upon his return to the EuroLeague.
Just 23 years old, the French point guard still has time on his side and will get to spend the coming season learning from one of his country's greatest-ever players, Nando De Colo.