Antoine Domonick Wright is a professional American basketball player who was born in Jamaica. The shooting guard, who swings as a small forward as well, was a student at the Lawrence Academy, Wright was a key component of the team that won the Independent School League Basketball Championships.
During his three seasons at Lawrence Academy, Wright was a regular starter from his sophomore year, playing 115 games with over 1800 points, 500 rebounds, 170 steals, 200 blocked shots and 350 assists. During his sophomore season, Wright won All-ISL honours and was also named as the team MVP award. In his junior year, he took a step further and was named as the MVP for the 2001 playoffs along with All-ISL and All-Scholastic honours.
Wright averaged 23 points per game with 9 rebounds and 3 assists per game in his junior year, taking his team to a 23-2 record. In his senior season, Wright was scoring at 26.5 points per game with 11 rebounds and 4 assists per game. For the second year in a row, Wright was named as the MVP of the playoffs along with being handed All-ISL and All-Scholastic honours for the second year in a row, taking his school up to the fourth rank in the country. Wright was named to the All-American Third Team and was also named as the number one prep shooting guard prospect.
| Born | 6 Feb 1984 |
| Nationality |
United States
|
| Team History | |
Dallas
|
2008 - 2009 |
New Jersey Nets
|
2005 - 2008 |
In 2002, Wright was picked to represent Team USA at the Junior World Championships. He was part of the team that won the bronze medal at the championships and qualified for the World Championships. The 2003 FIBA Junior World Championships saw him play for Team USA again.
Wright was sought out by a number of colleges and eventually decided to choose Texas A&M University, the team that had sought him out before anyone else. In his very first year at Texas A&M, Wright was phenomenal. He won the Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Year after leading his team in blocks per game (0.7), steals per game (1.3), three pointers per game (2.3) and rebounds (6.6). He was second in scoring with 14.5 points per game, but became only one of five freshman to manage 14 points and over 6 rebounds in that season.
Wright won an honourable mention in the All-Big 12 teams by leading the Aggies in scoring with 13.5 points per game, with 47 3-pointers as well as 98 blocked shots. Wright, suspended during the course of the season for returning late from a weekend trip, watched his team mates go through the drills during off-season.
Wright’s junior season at the Texas A&M University would be his last with the college, one where he would be named to the All-Big 12 First Team by the Associated Press. The team bounced back, on Wright’s shoulders, to put in a wonderful season as well as their best post-season since 1982. Wright took the teams to the quarterfinals and that would be his last game with the team.
Wright left Texas A&M with 1,338 points, ranked at 10th on the all-time high scorers’ list. He had 181 3-pointers to put him in second place along with 50 blocks that put him in 11th. Wright was considered as a top-12 pick however he was picked at 15th overall, by the New Jersey Nets, making him the first Texas A&M player since Sonny Parker in 1976, to get picked in the first round. However, Wright did beat Parker’s 17th position with his 15.
Wright began his rookie season with just 39 games, playing just 9.5 minutes per game. The season began on the inactive list and as the year progressed, the 2005-06 season came to a close for Wright without too many memories or significant moments. The following season, Wright became a little more-prominent in the lineup although it was primarily due to a Richard Jefferson injury that allowed Wright to take the starting spot. 8.5 points per game with 4.5 rebounds from the bench resulted in a good year that ended 8-games early after Wright injured his ankle.
Along with Jason Kidd and Malik Allen, Wright was also traded out to the Dallas Mavericks while Devin Harris, DeSagana Diop, Trenton Hassell, Maurice Ager, Keith Van Horn as well as a future draft pick.
After 3 seasons at New Jersey, things didn’t change much for Wright who played just 15 games in 2007-08. In 2008-09, he moved into a more prominent role in the starting lineup. Starting 53 games out of 65 appearances, Wright scored at 7.3 points per game with 2.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.
In 2010, Wright moved over to the Toronto Raptors where he was part of a massive 4-way deal involving 4 teams.
