Dante Exum

Early life and junior career

Exum was born in the Melbourne suburb of East Melbourne to American parents. He played for the Keilor Basketball Association as a junior and attended Lake Ginninderra Secondary College in Canberra where, in conjunction with, also attended the Australian Institute of Sport. Along with basketball, he grew up playing Australian rules football but gave it up to focus on basketball.

In April 2013, Exum participated in the Nike Hoop Summit for the World Select Team, where he recorded 16 points, three rebounds and two assists in a 112–98 win over the USA Junior Select Team. In October 2013, he graduated from Lake Ginninderra and had the option to enroll in college and play college basketball during the 2013–14 season, but he decided against it.

Exum competed for Lake Ginninderra in the Australian National High School Basketball Championships in December 2013, and helped them win the eventual title.

On 28 January 2014, it was announced that Exum signed with agents from Landmark Sports and that he would declare for the 2014 NBA draft.

Utah Jazz (2014–present)

On 26 June 2014, Exum was selected by the Utah Jazz with the fifth overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft. On 11 July 2014, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Jazz. The following day marked the start of the Utah Jazz Summer League, and over five games in the tournament, Exum averaged 7.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.4 steals in 26.7 minutes per game. He made his NBA debut in the Jazz's season opener on 29 October 2014, recording five points, one assist and one steal in 9½ minutes of action in a 104–93 loss to the Houston Rockets. Three days later, he scored 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc in a 118–91 win over the Phoenix Suns. On 22 January 2015, he had a season-best game with 15 points and five assists in a 101–99 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. On 1 April 2015, he had a career-high 12 assists in a 98–84 win over the Denver Nuggets. He appeared in all 82 games (41 starts) as a rookie and averaged 4.8 points, 1.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 22.2 minutes. Exum became only the 10th rookie in Jazz history to play in all 82 games, scoring in double figures in 13 games and leading the team in assists 11 times. He helped the Jazz to a 24–17 record as a starter and was selected to compete in the 2015 Rising Stars Challenge during the NBA's All-Star Weekend in New York.

Exum appeared in one game for the Jazz during the 2015 NBA Summer League before departing the team in order to join the Australian national team for their European tour. On 4 August 2015, Exum sustained a severe knee injury while playing for Australia. Two days later, an MRI determined Exum had sustained a tear of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee. He underwent successful surgery to reconstruct the torn ligament on 3 September 2015, ruling him out of the entire 2015–16 season.

Due to the injury, Exum sat out the 2016 NBA Summer League and the Australian national team's Rio Olympics campaign. After playing in six preseason games for the Jazz, Exum came off the bench in the team's 2016–17 regular season opener against the Portland Trail Blazers on 25 October 2016. In eight minutes of action, he recorded five points and two rebounds in a 113–104 loss. On 17 November 2016, he scored a season-high 14 points in an 85–77 loss to the Chicago Bulls. On 9 January 2017, he spent a day with Utah's D-League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars. On 1 March 2017, he set a new season high with 15 points in a 107–80 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. He surpassed that mark on 11 March 2017, scoring 22 points in a 112–104 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

National team career

Exum played for Australia in the 2012 FIBA Under-17 World Championship and the 2013 FIBA Under-19 World Championship. Exum averaged 18.2 points and 3.8 assists over nine games at the 2013 FIBA U19 tournament, subsequently being named to the All-Tournament team. He was also selected by the Australian Boomers for the 2013 FIBA Oceania Championship, where he played sparingly in both games against New Zealand. In 2014, he competed for the Boomers in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, where he averaged 2.7 points, 1.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists in six games.

Personal life

Exum has a twin sister, Tierra, who is an international elite gymnast. His father, Cecil, played college basketball at the University of North Carolina and won an NCAA championship in 1982, a team which featured Michael Jordan and James Worthy. His mother also attended North Carolina. Cecil was drafted in 1984 by the Denver Nuggets, and later settled in Australia where he played in the National Basketball League for the North Melbourne Giants, Melbourne Tigers and Geelong Supercats. Exum is a passionate supporter of the Essendon Football Club, who compete in the Australian Football League. Exum wore Essendon-inspired shoes at the Rising Stars Challenge over the 2017 NBA All-Star Weekend.