Augsburg College alumnus
Devean George '99 made history for small-college basketball players by thriving during his 11-season (1999-2010) career in the National Basketball Association, playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Maverick and the Golden State Warriors.
In 1999, the Minneapolis native (Benilde-St. Margaret HS) became the first Division III player ever selected in the first round of the NBA Draft, when the Los Angeles Lakers made him the 23rd overall selection. He became one of only seven players in NBA history to be a member of championship squads in each of his first three seasons in the league, as his Lakers squads won three straight titles (2000-02).
George spent his first seven professional seasons (429 games, 66 starts) with the Lakers, averaging 6.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game (18.9 minutes per game). He also appeared in 75 playoff games (26 starts) in his Lakers career. During the 2005-06 season with the Lakers, he appeared in 71 games, with per-game averages of 6.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.0 assists (21.7 minutes per game).
In 2006, he signed a free-agent deal with the Dallas Mavericks,
re-signed with the Mavericks in July 2007, and
re-signed with the Mavericks for a two-year deal in July 2008 before being traded to the Toronto Raptors on July 9, 2009.
On July 30, 2009, George was traded from the Raptors to the Golden State Warriors. In his three seasons with the Mavericks (156 games, 38 starts), he averaged 4.6 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.5 assists in 18.0 minutes per-game.
In his NBA regular-season career (630 games, 108 starts), George averaged 5.6 points and 3.1 rebounds in 18.5 minutes per-game. In eight playoff appearances (86 games, 27 starts), he averaged 5.0 points and 2.7 rebounds in 17.2 minutes per-game.
George's college jersey number, 40, was retired by Augsburg in 2003. He wore No. 3 while with the Lakers, but returned to his old college number when he joined the Mavericks. He wore No. 19 with the Warriors.
He is one of only 11 players who played NCAA Division III basketball to see playing time in the NBA, and he was the first player who played Division III basketball to ever play in the NBA Finals.
(Duncan Robinson, who played at Division III Williams (Mass.) before transferring to Michigan, has played in the the 2020 and 2023 Finals with Miami.)Â [Jack Sikma (Illinois Wesleyan '77, Seattle in the finals 1978-79) and Terry Porter (Wisconsin-Stevens Point '85, Portland in the finals 1990-92) played at what are now NCAA Division III schools, but those schools were members of the NAIA during those players' careers.]
George was the third Augsburg player to ever be drafted by an NBA team (Augsburg was an NAIA school prior to 1985), and the second to play professionally at the sport's highest level. Dan Anderson '65 was drafted in the 12th round by the Philadelphia 76ers in 1965. He later played in the ABA with the New Jersey Americans (later New Jersey Nets) from 1967-70. Greg Boone '81, who played for the Auggies from 1979-81, was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers as a 10th-round pick in 1981, but never played in the NBA.
In his career at Augsburg, George led the Auggies to two Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular-season championships and berths in the NCAA Division III national playoffs (1997-98 and 1998-99), earning conference MVP honors both times. He earned multiple Division III All-American honors his senior season.
He finished his college career with 2,258 career points and 868 career rebounds, both second in school history. While playing in just 96 career games, he fell only 13 points short of the school's scoring record, held by Brian Ammann (1981-85), of 2,271 in 106 games (21.4 per game). George finished his career with a 23.5 points-per-game average, best in school history. Anderson (1961-65) holds the school's career rebounding record with 1,211 (11.5 per game). George finished his career with a 9.0 rebounds-per-game average.
As a pro, he was a member of Lakers teams that won NBA titles in 1999-2000 (4-2 over Indiana), 2000-01 (4-1 over Philadelphia) and 2001-02 (4-0 over New Jersey). The Lakers also appeared in the NBA Finals in 2003-04, falling in five games to Detroit. His playing time increased throughout his career, from being a role player off the bench in his early years to playing in all 82 games and starting 48 (including 19 starts in 22 playoff games) in the 2003-04 season. He struggled with injuries in the 2004-05 season before returning to a role as a key reserve in the 2005-06 season.
LINKS TO MORE DEVEAN GEORGE INFORMATION
Augsburg's Devean George college career summary (PDF)
1999 Augsburg Now feature story -- "Dreams Lost, Dreams Found"
1999 --
Devean invited to attend Portsmouth Invitational |
Devean makes Portsmouth Invitational All-Tournament Team
1999 --
Devean invited to play with Harlem Globetrotters |
Devean plays 3 games with Harlem Globetrotters
1999 NBA Draft coverage on SI.com |
1999 ESPN.com NBA Draft coverage on Devean
1999 --
Devean George drafted by Los Angeles Lakers |
Quotes from NBA Draft night
1999 --
Devean signs with the Lakers |
D3hoops.com feature on Devean George
2000 --
Devean George's homecoming in Minnesota | D3hoops.com feature on Devean's homecoming
2002 --
Devean George wins third NBA title in a row with LA Lakers
2002 --
Devean signs four-year contract with LA Lakers
2003 --
Devean George Weekend at Augsburg -- his No. 40 college jersey is retired |
Devean George Weekend photos
2006 --
Devean George signs free-agent deal with Dallas Mavericks
2007 --
Devean George signs one-year deal with Dallas Mavericks
2008 --
Devean George remains with Dallas Mavericks, signs 2-year deal
SELECT COMPANY
The list of players who have been a member of championship teams in each of their first three seasons in the NBA:
Whitey Skoog, Minneapolis Lakers, 1952-54
K.C. Jones, Boston Celtics, 1959-66 (eight straight seasons)
Gene Guarilia, Boston Celtics, 1960-63 (four straight seasons)
Tom Sanders, Boston Celtics, 1961-66 (six straight seasons)
Larry Siegfried, Boston Celtics, 1964-66 (he was drafted in 1961, but played his first two seasons in a rival league before playing his first season in the NBA in 1963-64 with the Celtics).
Scott Williams, Chicago Bulls, 1991-93
Devean George, Los Angeles Lakers, 2000-02
THE DIVISION III LIST
All-time NBA players who have played at least part of their careers at the NCAA Division III level (schools were members of the NCAA Division III when these players played college basketball):
Phil Walker, Millersville (Washington, 1977-78)
Sam Pellom, SUNY-Buffalo (Atlanta, 1979-83, Milwaukee, 1982-83)
Michael Harper, North Park (Portland, 1980-82)
Hutch Jones, Buffalo State/Vanderbilt (San Diego Clippers, 1982-84)
Derrick Rowland, Potsdam State (Milwaukee, 1985-86)
Clinton Wheeler, William Paterson (Portland, 1988-89; Miami, 1988-89)
Bob McCann, Upsala/Morehead State (Dallas, 1989-90; Detroit, 1991-92; Minnesota, 1992-93; Washington, 1995-96; Toronto, 1997-98)
Greg Grant, Trenton State (now College of New Jersey), (Phoenix, 1989-90; New York, 1990-91; Charlotte, 1990-91; Philadelphia, 1991-93 and 1994-95; Denver, 1994-95; Washington, 1995-96; Denver, 1995-96)
Lamont Strothers, Christopher Newport (Portland, 1991-92; Dallas, 1992-93)
Devean George, Augsburg (Los Angeles Lakers, 1999-2006; Dallas, 2006-09; Toronto, 2009; Golden State, 2009-10)
Andy Panko, Lebanon Valley (Atlanta, 2000)
Horace Jenkins, William Paterson (New Jersey, 2004-05)
Duncan Robinson, Williams/Michigan (Miami, 2018-present)
AUGGIE NBA/ABA LIST
Devean George '99, who was the first-ever NCAA Division III player drafted in the first round by an NBA team, is the third Augsburg player to be drafted by an NBA/ABA team (Augsburg was an NAIA school prior to 1985).
Dan Anderson '65 was drafted in the 12th round by the Philadelphia 76ers in 1965. He later played in the ABA with the New Jersey Americans (later New Jersey Nets) from 1967-70.
Greg Boone '81, who played for the Auggies from 1979-81, was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers as a 10th-round pick in 1981, but never played in the NBA.
