Lamar Patterson

College career

Patterson, a 6'5" swingman from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, starred at J. P. McCaskey High School, then Saint Benedict's Preparatory School in Newark, New Jersey. He chose to play college basketball for the Pitt Panthers. During his freshman year, he suffered an ankle injury in a game against Wichita State in November, 2009 and missed the majority of the season, gaining a medical redshirt. Patterson returned to the court for the 2010–11 season and became a key rotation player for the Panthers. As a redshirt sophomore in 2011–12, Patterson became a starter and raised his scoring average from 2.6 points per game to 9.6. He finished the season on a high note, as he led the team to the 2012 College Basketball Invitational title. Patterson averaged 13.3 points, 6 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game for the tournament and was named MVP.

As a junior, Patterson helped lead the Panthers back to the NCAA Tournament. Once there, however, Pitt lost to eventual Final Four participant Wichita State. Patterson returned for his senior season as the Panthers moved to the Atlantic Coast Conference. Patterson enjoyed a breakout season as he was one of the top players in the league, raising his scoring average to 17.1 from 10.0 as a junior. At the close of the season, Patterson was named second team All-ACC by both the league's coaches and media.

Tofas Bursa (2014–2015)

On June 26, 2014, Patterson was selected with the 48th overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft by the Milwaukee Bucks. He was later traded to the Atlanta Hawks on draft night. In July 2014, he joined the Hawks for the 2014 NBA Summer League. On August 5, 2014, he signed with Tofaş Bursa of the Turkish Basketball League (TBL). In 29 TBL games for Tofaş in 2014–15, he averaged 11.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.0 steals per game.

Atlanta Hawks (2015–2016)

On July 24, 2015, Patterson signed with the Atlanta Hawks after averaging 13.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.6 steals in seven Summer League games for the team. On October 27, 2015, he made his debut for the Hawks, recording five points and 2 assists in a loss to the Detroit Pistons. During his rookie season, using the flexible assignment rule, Patterson received multiple assignments to the Austin Spurs and Canton Charge of the NBA Development League. On July 12, 2016, he was waived by the Hawks.

On July 15, 2016, Patterson was claimed off waivers by the Sacramento Kings. On October 19, 2016, he was waived by the Kings after appearing in four preseason games.

Reno Bighorns and Atlanta Hawks (2016–2017)

On October 31, 2016, Patterson was acquired by the Reno Bighorns of the NBA Development League as an affiliate player of the Kings. On January 29, 2017, Patterson signed a 10-day contract with the Atlanta Hawks, returning to the franchise for a second stint. On February 8, 2017, he signed a second 10-day contract with the Hawks. On February 18, 2017, after the second 10-day contract expired, Patterson returned to Reno. Six days later, Patterson signed a multi-year contract with the Hawks. However, on February 26, he was waived again; the team and Patterson agreed to his release to allow Patterson to address a personal matter. Two days later, he was reacquired by the Bighorns. On March 18, 2017, Patterson was waived by the Bighorns.