Dion Waiters

#3 Dion Waiters

6'4"

215 lbs

Guard

HS: Life Center Academy	Burlington, NJ
HS: South Kent School	South Kent, CT

Born: 12/10/1991

Philadelphia, PA

**Season Stats**
Season	Cl	Pos	G	Min	FG	FGA	%	FT	FTA	%	3Pt	3PA	%	Asst	Reb	DReb	OReb	Fls	DQ	TO	ST	BS	Pts	PPG	APG	RPG
2010-11	Fr	G	34	554	78	190	41.1%	39	48	81.3%	28	85	32.9%	50	53	41	12	46	0	30	38	4	223	6.6	1.5	1.6
2011-12	So	G	37	891	170	357	47.6%	86	118	72.9%	41	113	36.3%	92	85	67	18	69	1	48	67	12	467	12.6	2.5	2.3
Career			71	1445	248	547	45.3%	125	166	75.3%	69	198	34.8%	142	138	108	30	115	1	78	105	16	690	9.7	2.0	1.9

Dion Waiters was a guard for the Syracuse Orange basketball team for two seasons.

Dion Waiters - Syracuse Orange Waiters was part of the regular rotation his freshman season. He was an explosive offensive player with a nice shooting touch and an aggressive move to the basket. He struggled on defense, which limited some of his playing time, but he showed several moments of exciting offense throughout the season. He got into a highly publicized shouting match with coach Jim Boeheim mid-season. He would be benched for a game, and see reduced playing time for a few game, but eventually worked his way back into his playing time. In the season ending loss to Marquette in the NCAA tournament, Waiters was the lone bright spot with 18 points.

Waiters was far more team oriented his sophomore season, and accepted his role as the sixth man on the team. Waiters would not start a game all season, but he would play about the same amount of time as Brandon Triche and Scoop Jardine, and more importantly, Waiters was always on the court at the end of the game. He developed into Syracuse's best offensive weapon, with an nice combination of outside shooting and strong penetration to the basket.

Waiters defense improved dramatically too as he remained focused on it. He would lead the team in steals, and was an integral part of Syracuse's highly efficient fast break offense. He would be second on the team in scoring and had a career high 28 points in the Orange loss to Cincinnati in the Big East Tournament. Waiters played very well in the post season that season, but would be hampered with foul trouble in the NCAA Tournament against Ohio State, eventually fouling out, the only time in his career.

Waiters was named the Big East Sixth Man of the Year his sophomore season, and was also Third Team All Big East. He decided to leave school after his sophomore season to enter the NBA draft.

Waiters was the fourth overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft, selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers, this despite the fact he never started a game at Syracuse.

**NBA Career Statistics**
Season	Team	Pos	G	Min	FG	FGA	%	FT	FTA	%	3FGA	3FGM	%	Asst	Reb	Fls	DQ	TO	ST	BS	Pts	PPG	APG	RPG
2012-13	Cleveland	G	61	1,756	336	815	41.2%	159	213	74.6%	63	203	31.0%	183	149	113		121	59	16	894	14.7	3.0	2.4
2013-14	Cleveland	G	70	2,072	430	993	43.3%	161	235	68.5%	92	250	36.8%	209	195	153		154	63	17	1,113	15.9	3.0	2.8
2014-15	Cle/OKC	G	80	2,208	375	946	39.6%	117	172	68.0%	73	246	29.7%	163	192	155		113	90	21	940	11.8	2.0	2.4
2015-16	Oklahoma City	G	78	2,152	282	706	39.9%	112	157	71.3%	86	241	35.7%	154	202	143		120	81	15	762	9.8	2.0	2.6
2016-17	Miami	G	46	1,384	281	664	42.3%	82	127	64.6%	85	216	39.4%	200	154	95		103	41	20	729	15.8	4.3	3.3
2017-18	Miami	G	30	918	163	410	39.7%	51	69	73.9%	52	170	30.6%	113	77	61		70	23	9	429	14.3	3.8	2.6
2018-19	Miami	G	44	1,138	198	478	41.4%	22	44	50.0%	109	289	37.7%	121	116	72		64	29	9	527	12.0	2.8	2.6
2019-20	Miami/LA Lakers	G	10	1,138	198	478	41.4%	22	44	50.0%	109	289	37.7%	121	116	72		64	29	9	527	11.1	2.0	2.4
Total		G	419	11,835	2,106	5,110	41.2%	718	1,034	69.4%	575	1,660	34.6%	1,163	1,108	813	-	761	391	113	5,505	13.1	2.8	2.6

Waiters would have a solid rookie year for Cleveland, starting most the games, and averaging 14.7 ppg. He would make the NBA All Rookie Team.

Waiters would be traded to Oklahoma City in January 2015 in a three team deal involving the Thunder, Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks. He would join the Miami Heat as a free agent in 2016. He struggled with injuries his first year with the Heat. He did put in an impressive performance for those games he was able to play. Injuries would plague him his first three years in Miami. He would have a series of team issues with Miami in the fall of 2019 and would be included in a three way trade that landed him in Memphis in February 2020. He would be released by the Grizzlies without playing any games. The Los Angeles Lakers signed him in March. Waiters would play early in the playoffs, but an injury kept him out of the later rounds of the post season, including the final. The Lakers would win the World Championship and Waiters would become only the second former Orangemen to win the NBA Championship.

Waiters was often referred to as the cousin of Scoop Jardine. The reality was they were not related, but that they grew up together and their grandmothers were stepsisters.