Andre Ingram

Andre Ingram (born November 19, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player who played two seasons for the Los Angeles Lakers. He played college basketball for American University, where he finished his four-year career as the school's fifth all-time leading scorer with 1,655 points. He made his NBA debut with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018. Ingram is the NBA G League's career leader in three-point field goals and games played. He has also scored the third-most points in league history and won the D-League 3-Point Contest in 2010 and 2016.

As a pro, Ingram spent four seasons with the Utah Flash between 2007 and 2011, and four seasons with the Los Angeles D-Fenders between 2012 and 2016. After a short stint in Australia with the Perth Wildcats, Ingram returned to the D-Fenders in March 2017. He continued on with the renamed South Bay Lakers for the 2017–18 season, before joining the Los Angeles Lakers in April 2018, and finally making his NBA debut.

Early life Ingram was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, and grew up in a tight-knit family of four. He loved basketball from an early age, and by the time he turned 12, he was beating his older brother by seven years, Lucius, in one-on-one.

Ingram attended Highland Springs High School in Highland Springs, Virginia, where he led the basketball team to the Group AAA championship as a senior in 2002–03, the first title in school history. That year, he averaged 22.8 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 49 percent from three-point range. He was subsequently named the Associated Press Group AAA Player of the Year for his division. He left Highland Springs as a two-time Capital District Player of the Year and First-Team All-Metro, and as a senior was a First-Team All-State and First-Team All-Central Region pick.

College career Freshman year As a freshman at American University in 2003–04, Ingram started in all 31 games and led the team with 13.6 points per game, which ranked fifth best in the league. He was subsequently named Patriot League Freshman of the Year, becoming the first American player to win the award. He had 16 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals against Maryland on November 22, 2003, in his first collegiate game. On January 14, 2004, he made eight shots from behind the arc in a 27-point effort against Navy, which ties the second best single-game three-point total in AU history. In addition, his 15 three-point attempts against Navy is tied for the highest single-game attempt total for an Eagle. He went on to score a career-high 30 points on 10-of-19 shooting against Lafayette on February 28.

Ingram finished his collegiate career as American's fifth all-time leading scorer with 1,655 points, as he led the team in scoring all four years.

Ingram had a career-best year in 2009–10, as he won the Jason Collier Sportsmanship Award and participated in 2010 NBA D-League All-Star festivities in Dallas, where he took home the Three-Point Shooting Competition Championship. Ingram made noteworthy contributions in game as well, starting 49 of the team's 50 games, and averaging 12.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.5 steals in 34.0 minutes. He scored in double figures 36 times, including a season-high 24 points in a 104–99 road victory over the Bakersfield Jam on December 5, 2009.

Following the 2010–11 season, the Flash suspended operations and left Ingram without a team for the 2011–12 season.

Los Angeles D-Fenders (2012–2016) On March 22, 2012, Ingram was acquired by the Los Angeles D-Fenders. He spent the rest of the 2011–12 season with the D-Fenders, playing in six regular season games and seven playoff games.

After sitting out the entire 2012–13 season, Ingram returned to the D-Fenders for the 2013–14 season. In 45 games (11 starts) with the D-Fenders in 2013–14, Ingram posted averages of 9.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists, while shooting .447 from three-point range and helping the D-Fenders to a West Division Championship.

Ingram did not return to the D-Fenders for the start of 2014–15 season. He missed the first two months of the season before joining the team on January 12, 2015.

Perth Wildcats (2016) On October 18, 2016, Ingram signed with the Perth Wildcats for the rest of the 2016–17 NBL season, marking his first stint overseas. However, he managed just two games for the Wildcats before requesting his release from the club a week after landing in Perth, citing mental health reasons for the sudden decision.

Return to D-Fenders / South Bay Lakers (2017–2018) On March 6, 2017, Ingram returned to the Los Angeles D-Fenders to play out the 2016–17 season. He returned to the team, now called the South Bay Lakers, for the 2017–18 season. Ingram averaged 9.1 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 47 games (seven starts) for the South Bay Lakers in 2017–18, shooting a league-best 47.5 percent from three-point range.

Los Angeles Lakers (2018) On April 9, 2018, Ingram signed with the Los Angeles Lakers for the final two games of the 2017–18 NBA season. At 32 years old, Ingram became the second oldest American rookie in the NBA since at least Pablo Prigioni’s 2012 rookie season at 35 years of age. His 19 points were the most by a Laker in his first career game since Nick Van Exel had 23 in 1993. For players making their NBA debut after the All-Star break, Ingram's 19 points were the most in a debut in 50 years, and the most scored by a Laker since Danny Finn's 28 points in 1953. In the Lakers' season finale on April 11, Ingram scored five points on 2-of-9 shooting, including 1 of 4 from 3-point range, and had six assists and three rebounds in 35 minutes in a 115–100 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. Ingram reportedly earned $13,824 for his three days with the Lakers, after making just $19,000 for the entirety of his G League season.

Third stint with South Bay (2018–2019) Returning to the South Bay Lakers for the 2018–19 season, Ingram appeared in his 402nd career game in the NBA G League in January 2019, becoming the league's all-time leader for games played.

Return to Los Angeles (2019) On March 11, 2019, Ingram signed a 10-day contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, returning to the franchise for a second stint. With Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram out for the remainder of the season due to injuries, the Lakers roster required bolstering.

Fourth stint with South Bay (2019–2022) After his 10-day contract expired, Ingram returned to South Bay for their final two games of the season.

Ingram once again returned to South Bay for the 2019–20 season. On February 7, 2020, he was removed from the active roster due to a season-ending injury. He suffered a right pectoralis tendon tear on January 22 and never fully recovered.

In October 2020, Ingram was named as the inaugural president of the G League Players Union, known as the Basketball Players Union (BPU).

On October 23, 2021, Ingram was named to the training camp roster for the South Bay Lakers, returning to the franchise for a fifth stint.

On December 19, 2021, Ingram was re-elected as President of the NBA G-League's union, following his stint as interim inaugural president. On April 10, 2022, he received his second Jason Collier Sportsmanship Award.

Fifth stint with South Bay (2023) On March 8, 2023, Ingram was reacquired by the South Bay Lakers. Ingram is considered to be retired but, he has expressed interest in returning to professional basketball.

Career statistics

NBA

NBA G League

Regular season

Playoffs

College

Filmography + Year Title Role