The NBA All-Star Break is coming to a close so before the second half tips off, here’s an update on the players that played high school hoops in Illinois.
In the first half of the season, 19 players hit the court. For the next three day, I will fill you in on six at a time.
Today’s players have the least amount of NBA experience and five of the six have split time between the NBA and G League this season.
*Side note: Matas Buzelis (Hinsdale Central) was missed for this round. He’s in Round 3.
RayJ Dennis
RayJ Dennis (Oswego) started the season with the San Diego Clippers (G-League of the Los Angeles Clippers). He played a bit for them and averaged 16.7 points in 18 games before signing a two-way contract with the Indiana Pacers on January 3.
For the Pacers, he’s appeared in just six games and is averaging less than a point a game. He scored his first points in his NBA career with two made free throws in a loss to Cleveland on January 14. His first made field goal was a 3-pointer in a win against Detroit.
Dennis has played very well for the Indiana Mad Ants. Through 10 games, he averring 23 points on shooting splits of .503/.366/.818 with 5.2 rebounds, nine assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.8 blocks in 40.3 minutes per game. His career-high in points right now is 32, for rebounds it is 10, and in assists it is 13.
Antonio Reeves
Antonio Reeves (Simeon) was drafted by the Orlando Magic in the second round of last year’s NBA Draft with the 47th pick. He was immediately traded to New Orleans Pelicans for future draft picks.
Reeves has spent split the first half between there Pelicans and their G League affiliate Birmingham Squadron. He made his first appearance in the first game of the season on October 23 but his first made field goal did not come for another week. He made a 3-pointer in a loss to the Atlanta on November 3. His best performance came on his birthday in a blowout loss to Cleveland on November 20. Reeves had a career-high 34 points (14-25, 4-12 3PT, 2-2 FT) with five rebounds, three assists, and no turnovers in just under 40 minutes.
He’s played in 24 NBA games and is averaging 4.2 points on splits of .402/.314/.875 with 1.2 rebounds and 0.8 steals in 10.6 minutes per game.
Reeves has played nine games for Birmingham so far and puts up some big numbers. He averaging 25.3 points on splits of .474/.418/.800 with 6.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.4 steals in 39 minutes per game.
Cam Christie
Cam Christie (Rolling Meadows) was taken the pick before Reeves (46th) by the Los Angeles Clippers. Much like Reeves, he seen some NBA minutes but also has spent time in the G League.
Christie’s NBA debut came on December 4 against the Minnesota Timbewovles. He had five points, three rebounds, and two steals in the loss. He’s appeared in just six NBA games and is averaging 1.8 points and one rebound per game for the Clippers. He did get to suit up against his older north Max Christie ahead of a Los Angeles Lakers-Clippers showdown. Made for a great photo-op.
Much of his time so far has been with the San Diego Clippers. Christie used to share the court with RayJ Dennis before he signed with the Pacers. Between the tip-off tournament and the regular, Christie has played 26 games. He averaging 16.4 points on splits of .409/.296/.830 with 4.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.1 steals in 31.7 minutes per game. The 11 regular season games, Christie has improved his shooting a bit. During that stretch he’s averaging 20.3 points on 43.6 percent shooting from the field and is shooting 33.3 percent from beyond the arc.
Terrence Shannon Jr.
Minnesota Timberwolves took Terrence Shannon Jr. (Lincoln Park) with their 27th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. This season, he split time with the Timberwolves and their G League affiliate Iowa Wolves.
Shannon Jr. made his first appearance in a loss to San Antonio on November 2 but just five days later he scored his first points in a win against his hometown team. He had four points (2-2 FG) and a steal in a road win against the Chicago Bulls.
This season for Minnesota, he’s played 16 games and is averaging 3.1 points on 46.5 percent shooting. Leading up to the break, he appeared in six straight games off the bench and even had back-to-back games scoring in double-figures including a season-high 13 points against OKC. During that span, he averaging 5.8 points on 43 percent shooting with 2.2 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 13.8 minutes per game.
The rookie missed some time with a sprain foot but looks to have bounced back well.
Shannon has made four starts for the Iowa Wolves and has yet to score under 32 points. He played two games during the Tip-off Tournament and played two more in early January. He had a 47-point performance back on January 9 against the Salt Lake City Stars. He’s averaging 36.5 points on splits of .534/.364/.963 with 4.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and a steal in 36.3 minutes per game for Iowa.
Olivier-Maxence Prosper
Basketball Reference doesn’t list Olivier-Maxence (Lake Forest) Prosper on their page for NBA & ABA Players Who Attended High School in Illinois. From research, he should count but I am still looking into his rise to the league.
Prosper has played in 45 including four starts of the Dallas Mavericks games this season. Last season (rookie year), he played 40 games and started just one game. Leading up to the break, he’s played in 27 straight games and had six double-digit scoring games during that span.
So far this season, Prosper is averring 3.9 points on 41.4 parent shooting with 2.4 assist om 10.8 minutes per game. He matched his career-high in points with 20 against Washington Wizards on January 27.
E.J. Liddell
E.J. Liddell (Belleville West) is in on his second NBA team in third season. He rookie year because he was recovering from a torn ACL that occurred during summer league. His first year was the 2023-2024 season but played just eight games for the New Orleans Pelicans and spent most the year with the Birmingham Squadron
This season, he had his deal from the Chicago Bulls turn into a two-way deal. This allows him to split time with their G-League affiliate Windy City Bulls. Liddell is averaging 16.2 points on splits of .518/.361/.600 with 5.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.8 steals, and 2.5 blocks in 33.6 minutes per game.
He’s made six appearances off the bench for the NBA team. He averaging just 2.5 points on 62.5 percent shooting in 5.2 minutes per game. Liddell’s first NBA game of the year came in a loss to Cleveland on November 15 and his last game played on a NBA court was December 2. He scored his first points of the season and set a season-high in points with six on November 23 against Memphis.
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