The Texas Legends acquired Emoni Bates from the Delaware Blue Coats in exchange for Charles Bassey, swapping a young scoring forward for a former Spurs big man coming off an injury-affected stint.
The Texas Legends have acquired forward Emoni Bates from the Delaware Blue Coats in exchange for center Charles Bassey, who had been awarded to Texas off league waivers earlier this week.
Emoni Bates
Emoni Bates
Position: SF
Age: 21
Height: 203 cm
Weight: 77 kg
Birth place: Michigan, United States of America
Bates, 21, was selected 49th overall in the 2023 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He has appeared in 26 NBA games over two seasons, averaging 3.0 points and 0.8 rebounds in 8.0 minutes per contest.
In the NBA G League, Bates holds career averages of 19.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.1 assists across 57 games with Cleveland and Delaware.
This season, he's producing 19.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 30.6 minutes per game while shooting 43.4% from the field.
Bates was a consensus top-five, five-star recruit who reclassified to the Class of 2021 after a standout high school career.
He won a state championship as a freshman at Lincoln High School and later transferred to Ypsi Prep Academy, where he averaged 32.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists as a sophomore.
Credit AFP – Scanpix
Bassey, 25, owns G League career averages of 20.2 points and 9.9 rebounds through three seasons.
Philadelphia drafted him 53rd overall in the 2021 NBA Draft as a long-term frontcourt investment. He appeared in 23 games for the 76ers in 2021–22, averaging 3.0 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 0.7 blocks in 7.3 minutes.
The 76ers waived both Bassey and Isaiah Joe on October 13, 2022, for salary-cap reasons—a move widely criticized by fans. Nine days later, Bassey signed a two-way contract with the San Antonio Spurs.
Bassey spent three seasons with San Antonio, averaging 4.7 points on 63% shooting and 4.7 rebounds across 90 games. His Spurs tenure was hampered by injuries, most notably a torn left ACL suffered during the 2023–24 season.
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