| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1987-02-07)7 February 1987 (age 38) Farnham,Surrey, England |
| Listed height | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) |
| Listed weight | 248 lb (112 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College | Farnborough College of Technology |
| NBA draft | 2006: 1st round, 30th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Portland Trail Blazers |
| Playing career | 2005–2017 |
| Position | Power forward /center |
| Career history | |
| 2005–2006 | Gran Canaria B |
| 2006–2009 | Gran Canaria |
| 2009–2012 | Unicaja Málaga |
| 2012–2015 | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 2012 | →Idaho Stampede |
| 2015–2017 | CSKA Moscow |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Joel Daniel Freeland (born 7 February 1987) is a British former professionalbasketball player who last played forCSKA Moscow of theVTB United League. Standing at 2.10 m (6 ft10+1⁄2 in),[1] he played at thepower forward andcenter positions. He also represented theGreat Britain national basketball team.
Freeland began his career as a youth player with the youth teams of Thames Valley Tigers/Guildford Heat, before joining the Solent Stars. Within a year, he was representing England's Under-18 national team, and soon found himself in Spain, with thefourth division side Gran Canaria II. While playing in the lower level Spanish leagues, Freeland was drafted by thePortland Trail Blazers, becoming the 30th overall pick of the2006 NBA draft, which was the highest rank for a British born player in the history of the draft.[2] The Blazers encouraged Freeland to remain in Europe to learn his trade, and he subsequently signed withGran Canaria, of theSpanish top-tier levelLiga ACB in August 2006.[3]
During the 2006–07 season, while playing with Gran Canaria, Freeland appeared in 16 games in the Liga ACB, and also made his debut in theEuropean-wide 2nd-tier levelULEB Cup (now calledEuroCup). Freeland continued to improve during the 2007–08 season, appearing in 28 games in the Liga ACB, and reaching the quarter-finals of the ULEB Cup. The 2008–09 season saw Freeland become one of Gran Canaria's best players, as he averaged 9.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, in 17.8 minutes per game in the Liga ACB.[4]
In July 2009, Freeland joined the SpanishEuroLeague clubUnicaja Málaga, on a five-year contract worth€4.5 million eurosnet income.[5] During the 2009–10 season, Freeland made his debut inEurope's top-tier level league, theEuroLeague, and also made 37Spanish ACB League appearances. The 2010–11 season was Freeland's best season, as he averaged career-highs of 13.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per game in the Liga ACB,[6] and 13.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in the EuroLeague.[7]
In July 2012, Freeland reached an agreement with Unicaja on a €1.5 million buyout.[8]
On 28 June 2006, he was selected by thePortland Trail Blazers in the first round of the2006 NBA draft as the 30th overall draft pick. However, the Trail Blazers encouraged him to return to European play to further improve his game. On 13 July 2012, Freeland signed a three-year deal with thePortland Trail Blazers.[9] On 14 December 2012, he was assigned to theIdaho Stampede of theNBA D-League.[10] He was recalled on 16 December 2012.[11]
On 26 December 2014, Freeland recorded a career-high 17 rebounds against thePhiladelphia 76ers. On 13 April 2015, he scored a career-high 16 points against theOklahoma City Thunder.[12]
On 13 July 2015, Freeland signed a two-year contract with the Russian clubCSKA Moscow.[13] In a warm-up for a preseason game againstGalatasaray, he suffered a leftcalf injury, which prevented him from play at the start of the season.[14] During his two-year stint with CSKA, he won theEuroLeague in2016 and was a two timeVTB United League champion (2016,2017). Following the expiration of his contract, he left the club at the end of the 2016–17 season.[15]
Freeland represented the seniorGreat Britain national basketball team at theEuroBasket 2009 and theEuroBasket 2011. He also played at the2012 Summer Olympics.[16]
| 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 | PIR | Performance Index Rating |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012–13 | Portland | 51 | 1 | 9.4 | .408 | .000 | .667 | 2.3 | .3 | .3 | .2 | 2.6 |
| 2013–14 | Portland | 52 | 0 | 14.0 | .475 | .000 | .690 | 4.0 | .7 | .2 | .4 | 3.3 |
| 2014–15 | Portland | 48 | 8 | 12.9 | .490 | .000 | .840 | 4.0 | .3 | .2 | .5 | 3.5 |
| Career | 151 | 9 | 12.1 | .459 | .000 | .728 | 3.4 | .4 | .2 | .4 | 3.2 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Portland | 9 | 0 | 2.7 | .000 | .000 | .500 | .9 | .1 | .1 | .1 | .1 |
| 2015 | Portland | 2 | 0 | 3.5 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .5 | .0 | .5 | .0 | .0 |
| Career | 11 | 0 | 2.8 | .000 | .000 | .500 | .8 | .1 | .2 | .1 | .1 | |
| † | Denotes seasons in which Freeland won theEuroLeague |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009–10 | Málaga | 14 | 6 | 19.7 | .484 | .211 | .667 | 5.1 | .7 | .4 | .4 | 10.1 | 9.5 |
| 2010–11 | 15 | 14 | 25.5 | .603 | .273 | .788 | 6.3 | 1.3 | .7 | .6 | 13.9 | 17.5 | |
| 2011–12 | 14 | 12 | 25.8 | .510 | .250 | .667 | 6.8 | .6 | .2 | .1 | 12.6 | 11.4 | |
| 2015–16† | CSKA Moscow | 12 | 6 | 15.8 | .593 | — | .500 | 4.4 | .3 | .3 | .4 | 6.8 | 7.6 |
| 2016–17 | 15 | 4 | 5.2 | .529 | — | .385 | 1.2 | .1 | .2 | .1 | 1.5 | 1.3 | |
| Career | 70 | 42 | 18.4 | .540 | .239 | .658 | 4.8 | .6 | .4 | .3 | 9.0 | 9.5 | |