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Jon Elmore NBA debut timeline

This man just made his NBA debut 7 years after he first declared for the draft. Meet Jon Elmore. A 30-year-old rookie who played around the world waiting for the perfect opportunity. In college, he was one of the most accomplished players in Marshall history. He was the first player to have over 2,500 points and over 750 assists and finished as the Conference USA all-time leading scorer and assist leader. When he declared for the 2019 draft, Elmore never heard his name called. The Celtics offered him a spot on their Summer League team, but he never made the final roster. Since then, he's been playing back and forth between the G League and overseas. Elmore played in Italy twice, Greece, Hungary, and Lithuania from 2019 to 2022 before getting a G League opportunity. He found a bit of a home with the Sioux Falls Skyforce for a few years and was even signed by the Heat in 2023 then the Kings in 2025. But both teams waived him a day later. An opportunity opened in Turkey and Canada before he returned to the Stockton Kings as the team's starting PG of their championship roster. In this year's Summer League, Elmore made waves as a 30-year-old balding point guard on the Lakers. He didn't get to play much, but he did do enough to impress the Spurs, who signed him to a training camp deal. A few days ago, his dream finally came true. Elmore made his debut with 6 minutes left in the game and missed both of his attempts. In the Spurs-Jazz game, he made a three and did his signature celly. His odds of getting the Spurs' final roster spot are slim. But if you told him 10 years ago that he'd be on an NBA roster at 30 playing with one of the best stars in the league, he'd tell you he's exactly where he needs to be. Not every NBA dream ends when you miss the cut during the draft. It ends when you stop believing it's possible. For Jon Elmore, he never stopped believing 👏

1h

Yetundejones@yetundejones

Follow

Jon Elmore NBA debut timeline

This man just made his NBA debut 7 years after he first declared for the draft. Meet Jon Elmore. A 30-year-old rookie who played around the world waiting for the perfect opportunity. In college, he was one of the most accomplished players in Marshall history. He was the first player to have over 2,500 points and over 750 assists and finished as the Conference USA all-time leading scorer and assist leader. When he declared for the 2019 draft, Elmore never heard his name called. The Celtics offered him a spot on their Summer League team, but he never made the final roster. Since then, he's been playing back and forth between the G League and overseas. Elmore played in Italy twice, Greece, Hungary, and Lithuania from 2019 to 2022 before getting a G League opportunity. He found a bit of a home with the Sioux Falls Skyforce for a few years and was even signed by the Heat in 2023 then the Kings in 2025. But both teams waived him a day later. An opportunity opened in Turkey and Canada before he returned to the Stockton Kings as the team's starting PG of their championship roster. In this year's Summer League, Elmore made waves as a 30-year-old balding point guard on the Lakers. He didn't get to play much, but he did do enough to impress the Spurs, who signed him to a training camp deal. A few days ago, his dream finally came true. Elmore made his debut with 6 minutes left in the game and missed both of his attempts. In the Spurs-Jazz game, he made a three and did his signature celly. His odds of getting the Spurs' final roster spot are slim. But if you told him 10 years ago that he'd be on an NBA roster at 30 playing with one of the best stars in the league, he'd tell you he's exactly where he needs to be. Not every NBA dream ends when you miss the cut during the draft. It ends when you stop believing it's possible. For Jon Elmore, he never stopped believing 👏

1h