.jpg) Mays withFenerbahçe Beko in 2024 | |
| No. 4 – Budućnost | |
|---|---|
| Position | Point guard |
| League | Prva A Liga ABA League EuroCup |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1997-09-05)September 5, 1997 (age 28) Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Listed weight | 205 lb (93 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school |
|
| College | LSU (2016–2020) |
| NBA draft | 2020: 2nd round, 50th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Atlanta Hawks |
| Playing career | 2020–present |
| Career history | |
| 2020–2022 | Atlanta Hawks |
| 2021–2022 | →College Park Skyhawks |
| 2022–2023 | Delaware Blue Coats |
| 2023 | Mexico City Capitanes |
| 2023–2024 | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 2024 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 2024 | →South Bay Lakers |
| 2024–2025 | Fenerbahçe |
| 2025 | Iowa Wolves |
| 2025–present | Budućnost |
| Career highlights | |
| |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Skylar Justin Mays (born September 5, 1997) is an American professionalbasketball player forBudućnost of the MontenegrinPrva A Liga, theABA League and theEuroCup. He playedcollege basketball for theLSU Tigers.
Mays grew up inBaton Rouge, Louisiana and attended theLouisiana State University Laboratory School (U-High), where he began playing on the varsity basketball team in eighth grade.[1] He dunked for the first time as a freshman.[2] He was named first-team All-State in his sophomore and junior seasons as he helped lead the Cubs to back to back state championships. As a junior, he averaged 9.1 points, 8.1 assists and 3.2 rebounds.[1] Mays transferred toFindlay Prep inHenderson, Nevada before his senior year and averaged 10.9 points, 5.3 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 2.7 steals in his only season with the Pilots.[3] Rated a three-star recruit, Mays initially committed to playcollege basketball atLouisiana State during his sophomore year before re-opening his recruitment to other schools shortly before he transferred to Findlay. Mays eventually re-committed to LSU after considering offers fromBaylor,UNLV,Oklahoma State,Memphis,California andStanford.[4]
Mays became the Tigers' starting point guard during his freshman year, averaging 8.3 points, 2.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.3 steals over 31 games (25 starts).[5] As a sophomore, Mays averaged 11.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists as well as 1.6 steals per game.[6] He averaged 13.4 points, 3.3 rebounds 2.1 assists and 1.9 steals per game as a junior and was named second team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the conference's scholar-athlete of the year.[7][8] Mays scored his 1,000th career point on February 26, 2019, againstTexas A&M.[9] After the season, Mays declared for the2019 NBA draft but ultimately opted to return to LSU.[10]
Mays was named preseason first team All-SEC and to the watchlists for theJerry West and theNaismith Player of the Year awards.[11] He was also named the 45th-best collegiate basketball player going into the 2019–20 season byCBS Sports.[12] Mays scored a career-high 30 points on November 22, 2019, in an 80–78 loss toUtah State.[13] Mays tied his career high with 30 points along with eight assists and seven rebounds on February 8, 2020, in a 91–90 overtime loss toAuburn.[14] At the end of the regular season he was again named a first team Academic All-American and was selected as theAcademic All-American of the Year as well as First Team All-SEC and was named the scholar-athlete of the year for a second straight season.[15][16] Mays averaged 16.7 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.[17]
On November 18, 2020, Mays was selected with the 50th pick in the2020 NBA draft by theAtlanta Hawks.[18] Mays signed atwo-way contract with the team on November 24, 2020, meaning he would split time between the Hawks and theirNBA G League affiliate, theCollege Park Skyhawks.[19] On February 13, Mays scored a career-high 20 points against theSan Antonio Spurs, cutting a 45-point deficit to just 11 in the second half.
Mays played for the Hawks in the2021 NBA summer league, scoring 13 points in 30 minutes on 4-of-11 shooting at his debut in an 85–83 loss against theBoston Celtics.[20] On August 26, 2021, Mays signed a second two-way contract with the Hawks.[21] On April 7, 2022, the Hawks converted his previously signed two-way contract into a standard NBA contract.[22]
On November 4, 2022, Mays was named to the opening night roster for theDelaware Blue Coats.[23]
On February 4, 2023, Mays was traded along withJustin Robinson andRaphiael Putney to theMexico City Capitanes in exchange forJahlil Okafor,Shabazz Napier,Bruno Caboclo, andMatt Mooney.[24]
On March 30, 2023, Mays signed a 10-day contract with thePortland Trail Blazers[25] and on October 1, he signed atwo-way contract with them.[26] After a strong showing in an overtime loss to the Sacramento Kings on November 9 in which Mays scored 18 points and had 11 assists in 37 minutes off the bench[27] he started 5 games for the injury depleted Trail Blazers in which he averaged 12 points and 8.2 assists per game.[28] On November 12, he signed a standard contract with Portland.[29] On January 6, 2024, he was waived by Portland.[30]
On January 8, 2024, Mays signed atwo-way contract with theLos Angeles Lakers.[31]
On September 25, 2024, Mays signed with theMinnesota Timberwolves,[32] but was waived on October 15.[33]
On October 18, 2024, Mays signed withFenerbahçe Beko until the end of the season.[34] On January 31, 2025, Mays was released by the Turkish powerhouse.[35]
On February 5, 2025, Mays signed withIowa Wolves of theNBA G League.[36]
On July 31, 2025, Mays signed withKK Budućnost of the MontenegrinPrva A Liga.[37]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020–21 | Atlanta | 33 | 0 | 8.2 | .449 | .350 | .880 | 1.1 | .9 | .4 | .1 | 3.8 |
| 2021–22 | Atlanta | 28 | 5 | 7.9 | .500 | .320 | .889 | .9 | .6 | .3 | .0 | 2.9 |
| 2022–23 | Portland | 6 | 6 | 31.5 | .500 | .462 | .923 | 3.2 | 8.3 | 1.0 | .2 | 15.3 |
| 2023–24 | Portland | 21 | 5 | 17.0 | .384 | .286 | .765 | 1.8 | 3.6 | .7 | .1 | 6.3 |
| L.A. Lakers | 17 | 0 | 4.5 | .476 | .400 | — | .4 | .6 | .4 | .1 | 1.3 | |
| Career | 105 | 16 | 10.6 | .445 | .345 | .859 | 1.2 | 1.7 | .5 | .1 | 4.3 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Atlanta | 7 | 0 | 2.4 | .800 | — | — | .3 | .1 | .3 | .0 | 1.1 |
| 2022 | Atlanta | 2 | 0 | 4.5 | 1.000 | — | — | .5 | .5 | .5 | .0 | 1.0 |
| Career | 9 | 0 | 2.9 | .833 | — | — | .3 | .2 | .3 | .0 | 1.1 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–17 | LSU | 31 | 25 | 22.9 | .411 | .328 | .812 | 2.2 | 3.6 | 1.3 | .1 | 8.3 |
| 2017–18 | LSU | 33 | 30 | 31.1 | .443 | .351 | .837 | 4.0 | 2.9 | 1.6 | .2 | 11.3 |
| 2018–19 | LSU | 35 | 35 | 33.1 | .421 | .313 | .860 | 3.3 | 2.1 | 1.9 | .2 | 13.4 |
| 2019–20 | LSU | 31 | 31 | 34.4 | .491 | .394 | .854 | 5.0 | 3.2 | 1.8 | .2 | 16.7 |
| Career | 130 | 121 | 30.5 | .445 | .345 | .845 | 3.6 | 2.9 | 1.6 | .2 | 12.4 | |
Mays' best friend andLSU teammate,Wayde Sims, was killed by a gunshot wound to the head and neck on September 28, 2018. Mays served as the pallbearer at the funeral.[38] He gave an 11-minute speech in Sims's honor at an on-campus vigil outside thePete Maravich Assembly Center in front of a crowd of hundreds.[2] Mays wore customized Nike basketball shoes by artist Michael Anderson during the 2019 SEC Tournament in honor of Sims.[39]