Julian Emil-Jamaal Wright is a former professional basketball player from the United States of America who played as a small forward or a point guard. Wright went to the Homewood-Flossmoor High School where he played for the Vikings in all four seasons. Wright helped the team to second place at the IHSA State AA Tournament in his junior year.
Talented and extremely versatile, Wright was named to the top-10 prospects in his class as well as to the McDonald’s All-American team. Despite his large size, Wright was quite athletic, playing in a number of positions for his high school team.
In 2005, Wright had his first season of NCAA action when he signed up with the University of Kansas. With the Jayhawks, Wright was easily one of the most dominating freshman on the team and was awarded the pre-season Freshman of the Year award for the Big 12 conference. Despite not starting with the team at the beginning of the season, Wright was slowly inducted into the team and powered his way into the spot of power forward.
| Position | Power Forward |
| Height / weight | 2.03 m / 107 kg |
| Born | 20 May 1987 |
| Nationality |
United States
|
| Team History | |
Toronto
|
2010 - 2011 |
New Orleans
|
2007 - 2010 |
Wright just had 8.5 points per game in his freshman season however he was incredibly athletic, creating a lot for his teammates with his agility and speed. He was named to the All-Big 12 Tournament Team as well as the All-Big 12 Freshman Team. He won the honor again, in 2007 along with being named to the All-American Third Team by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. In 2007, at the end of his sophomore year, Wright decided to declare for the NBA Draft, making himself ineligible to return to school by hiring an agent.
At the 2007 NBA Draft, Wright was picked at 13th overall, by the New Orleans Hornets.
He began his NBA career slowly, playing just 57 games in his rookie year, starting just one. His scoring stood at 3.9 points per game while he grabbed 2.1 rebounds per game. In 2008-09, Wright was again played from the bench and although he had fewer appearances (54), he started 19 games with 14.3 minutes per game. His scoring also went up to 4.4 per game while his rebounding rose to 2.8 per game.
In October, 2009, Wright picked up the contractual option to stay with Hornets until the end of 2011.
