“What I experienced and everything I did was like a tornado. » Dante Exum actually had an unusual journey for a fifth pick in the Draft. He arrived in the league in 2014, the same year as Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, Joel Embiid and Zach LaVine and Nikola Jokic.
But after playing his entire first season with the Jazz, he injured his cruciate knee ligament during the summer with the Australian national team. His 2015/16 season is therefore blank. The next one went well, before another setback and an injury in pre-season, which blocked him from only 14 matches in 2017/18.
“He experienced relapses with injuries”, recalls his coach Jason Kidd.
Between Utah and Cleveland, Dante Exum only played 83 matches over the 2018/19, 2019/2020 and 2020/21 seasons… Without a club, he then had opportunities in the G-League to get back on track. However, he refuses, believing that it is not “not the way” that he wants to follow.
A profitable bet
He then turned to Europe and FC Barcelona. “It was a way of staying in the light without being there”confides the Australian, who will average 8.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 21 minutes in the Spanish championship, as well as 6.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 17 minutes in the Euroleague.
In 2022, he joined Serbia and Belgrade by joining Partizan. It is a success since, under the orders of Zelkjo Obradovic, he is gaining momentum, notably with 13.3 points per game in the Euroleague. Partizan was certainly eliminated by Real Madrid, future winner of the competition, but the club won the Adriatic League.
“I was focused on winning, on what I did every day”he says. “If the NBA happens, then it happens. And I think that helped me live in the moment. »
The Mavericks will pick him up during the last offseason, allowing him to validate his career choice with currently his best season in the NBA. He has never been so prolific or adept at shooting (8.3 points on average at 55% shooting success and 50% at 3-points).
“It’s always risky because few people go to Europe and then come back. It's hard to come back”, thus delivers the 28-year-old player, on this completely successful bet. “The experience in Europe, playing and fighting to come back, helped him a lot,” notes Jason Kidd. “He is perfect to play next to Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. He plays at a high level, shooting 3-pointers and defending. »
| Dante Exum | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2014-15 | UTH | 82 | 22 | 34.9 | 31.4 | 62.5 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 2.4 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 4.8 |
| 2016-17 | UTH | 66 | 19 | 42.7 | 29.5 | 79.5 | 0.5 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 2.2 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 6.2 |
| 2017-18 | UTH | 14 | 17 | 48.3 | 27.8 | 80.6 | 0.3 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 3.1 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 8.1 |
| 2018-19 | UTH | 42 | 16 | 41.9 | 29.0 | 79.1 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 2.6 | 1.6 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 6.9 |
| 2019-20 * | All Teams | 35 | 14 | 47.1 | 34.9 | 74.4 | 0.3 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 4.5 |
| 2019-20 * | KEY | 24 | 17 | 47.9 | 35.1 | 73.2 | 0.4 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 5.6 |
| 2019-20 * | UTH | 11 | 8 | 43.5 | 33.3 | 100.0 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 2.2 |
| 2020-21 | KEY | 6 | 19 | 38.5 | 18.2 | 50.0 | 0.3 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 2.2 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 3.8 |
| 2023-24 | DAL | 43 | 19 | 55.2 | 50.0 | 76.6 | 0.5 | 2.1 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 8.5 |
| Total | 288 | 19 | 43.1 | 33.0 | 76.4 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 1.7 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 6.1 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
