Dionte Christmas

Dionte Lamont Christmas (born September 15, 1986) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for Temple.

High school career Christmas attended Samuel S. Fels High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As a junior in 2002–03, he averaged 17.7 points per game, earning honorable mention all-Public honors. As a senior in 2003–04, he averaged 26.5 points per game, earning first team all-Public League and third team all-City honors.

After completing his education at Samuel Fels, Christmas prepped for a year at Lutheran Christian Academy in 2004–05. He ranked among the Top 40 prep school players in the nation by Hoop Scoop's Clark Francis after averaging 18 points per game while leading his team to a 35–3 record. He was also an all-tournament selection at the 2005 National Prep Invitational held at the University of Rhode Island.

In his sophomore season, he played in all 30 games, starting 29, as he earned second team All-District and All-Atlantic 10 honors, and was named the Atlantic 10's Most Improved Player. He also earned first team All-Philadelphia Big 5, Big 5 Most Improved Player, and picked up Cy Kaselman and Palumbo awards as city-league's top free throw percentage leader and scoring champion, respectively. In 30 games, he averaged 20.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.4 steals per game.

College statistics

Professional career 2009–10 season After going undrafted in the 2009 NBA draft, Christmas joined the Philadelphia 76ers/New Jersey Nets combined team for the Orlando Summer League and the Los Angeles Clippers for the Las Vegas Summer League. On September 28, 2009, he signed with the 76ers. However, he was later waived by the 76ers on October 21, 2009.

On January 4, 2010, he signed with Hapoel Afula of Israel for the rest of the 2009–10 season.

2010–11 season In July 2010, Christmas joined the Sacramento Kings for the 2010 NBA Summer League. On August 4, 2010, he signed with Mersin of Turkey for the 2010–11 season. On January 28, 2011, he parted ways with Mersin.

On February 15, 2011, he signed with ČEZ Basketball Nymburk of the Czech Republic for the rest of the season. In April 2011, he left ČEZ Nymburk and joined P.A.O.K. B.C. of Greece for the rest of the season.

2011–12 season On October 18, 2011, Christmas signed with Rethymno Aegean B.C. of Greece for the 2011–12 season. In 26 games, he averaged 18.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.6 steals per game.

2012–13 season In July 2012, Christmas joined the Boston Celtics for the 2012 NBA Summer League. On July 31, 2012, he signed with the Celtics. However, he was later waived by the Celtics on October 16, 2012.

On October 31, 2012, he signed with CSKA Moscow of Russia for the 2012–13 season. On February 21, 2013, he was waived by CSKA. On April 10, 2013, he signed with Montepaschi Siena of Italy for the rest of the season.

2013–14 season In July 2013, Christmas joined the Utah Jazz for the Orlando Summer League and the Phoenix Suns for the Las Vegas Summer League. On September 13, 2013, he signed with the Suns. On November 1, 2013, he made his NBA debut, recording 9 points and 4 rebounds in an 87–84 victory over the Utah Jazz.

2014–15 season In July 2014, Christmas re-joined the Phoenix Suns for the 2014 NBA Summer League. On July 24, 2014, he was waived by the Suns. On September 26, 2014, he signed with the New Orleans Pelicans. However, he was later waived by the Pelicans on October 17, 2014.

On November 12, 2014, Christmas signed with Paris-Levallois for the rest of the 2014–15 LNB Pro A season.

2015–16 season On October 10, 2015, Christmas signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, he was waived on October 23 after appearing in four preseason games. On December 1, he signed with Hapoel Holon of the Israeli Basketball Premier League. On January 7, 2016, he was released by Holon in order for him to sign with AEK Athens of Greece for the rest of the season. On February 9, he parted ways with AEK after appearing in just four games. On March 27, he signed with Torku Konyaspor of Turkey for the rest of the 2015–16 BSL season.

2016–17 season On October 24, 2016, Christmas signed with the Philadelphia 76ers, but was waived the same day. Five days later, he was acquired by the Delaware 87ers of the NBA Development League as an affiliate of the 76ers. On February 7, 2017, Christmas suffered a right Achilles tendon rupture and was subsequently ruled out for the season. He was waived later that day. In 31 games with the Sevens, he averaged 14.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 31.6 minutes.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

EuroLeague