James Nunnally

James William Nunnally (born July 14, 1990) is an American professional basketball player who most recently played for AEK Athens of the Greek Basketball League (GBL). He played college basketball for the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos.

Early life and education Nunnally was born in San Jose, California, and attended Weston Ranch High School in Stockton, California. As a sophomore, he averaged 10 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. As a junior, he averaged 19 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game as he was named Stockton Record Player of the Year, All-State, All-CIF Sac-Joaquin Section and All-Valley Oak League.

In November 2007, Nunnally signed a National Letter of Intent to play college basketball at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

As a senior, he averaged 22.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.9 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game as he helped Weston Ranch to a perfect 14–0 record in the Valley Oak League. He was named All-State, Valley Oak League Most Valuable Player, All-CIF Sac-Joaquin Section, first-team All-Valley Oak League, and Stockton Record Player of the Year. He was a McDonald's All-American nominee.

In his sophomore season, he was a second-team All-Big West choice and a Big West All-Tournament team selection. In 29 games, he averaged 14.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 29.9 minutes per game. In October 2012, he left Kavala, after just three games.

On November 2, 2012, he was selected in the second round of the 2012 NBA D-League draft, by the Bakersfield Jam.

2013–14 season In July 2013, Nunnally joined the Miami Heat for the 2013 NBA Summer League. On September 28, 2013, he signed with the Phoenix Suns. However, he was later waived by the Suns on October 24, 2013.

In November 2013, he was re-acquired by the Bakersfield Jam. On January 11, 2014, he signed a 10-day contract with the Atlanta Hawks. On January 22, 2014, he signed a second 10-day contract with the Hawks. On February 1, 2014, the Hawks did not offer him a rest of season contract after his second 10-day contract expired and returned to the Bakersfield Jam. On February 13, 2014, he was named to the Prospects All-Star team for the 2014 NBA D-League All-Star Game, as a replacement for Chris Johnson.

On February 20, 2014, he was traded to the Texas Legends. On March 17, 2014, he signed a 10-day contract with the Philadelphia 76ers. On March 27, 2014, he signed a second 10-day contract with the 76ers. On April 6, 2014, the 76ers did not offer him a contract for the remainder of the season after his second 10-day contract expired.

On May 6, 2014, he signed with Cangrejeros de Santurce of Puerto Rico for the rest of the 2014 BSN season. On May 26, 2014, he was waived by Cangrejeros after just six games.

2014–15 season In July 2014, Nunnally joined the Indiana Pacers for the Orlando Summer League and the Miami Heat for the Las Vegas Summer League. On September 17, 2014, he signed with Tuenti Móvil Estudiantes of Spain for the 2014–15 season. In November 2014, he left Estudiantes after appearing in seven games. On December 1, 2014, he signed with Maccabi Ashdod of Israel for the rest of the season.

2015–16 season In July 2015, Nunnally re-joined the Indiana Pacers for the 2015 NBA Summer League. On August 22, 2015, he signed with Sidigas Avellino of Italy for the 2015–16 season. He led the club to a 26–14 record and averaged 18.4 points (third highest scorer in the competition), 4.2 rebounds, and 2.5 assists while shooting 90.8% from the free throw line (tops in the league) over those 40 games. He subsequently earned Italian league MVP honors.

Fenerbahçe (2016–2018) In July 2016, Nunnally joined the Philadelphia 76ers for the Utah Summer League and the Washington Wizards for the Las Vegas Summer League. On July 28, 2016, Nunnally signed with Fenerbahçe of Turkey for the 2016–17 season.

In the 2017–18 EuroLeague season, Fenerbahçe made it to the 2018 EuroLeague Final Four, its fourth consecutive Final Four appearance. Eventually, they lost to Real Madrid, by a score of 85–80, in the EuroLeague Final. Over 29 EuroLeague games, he averaged 9.3 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game, while shooting above 54% overall from the field, and 55.4% on three-point shot attempts.

2018–2019 season On August 8, 2018, Nunnally signed a two-year deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves. On January 7, 2019, he was waived by the Timberwolves after appearing in only 13 games.

On January 16, 2019, Nunnally signed a 10-day contract with the Houston Rockets. Nunnally was waived on January 21 to make room for Kenneth Faried.

On January 27, 2019, Nunnally signed a one-and-a-half-year contract with the AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milan, of the Italian Serie A and EuroLeague. On August 12, 2019, Nunnally left the club on a mutual agreement.

Shanghai Sharks / Return to Fenerbahçe (2019–2020) On August 12, 2019, Nunnally signed with Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association. On December 3, he was replaced by Ray McCallum Jr. He averaged 22.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.2 steals per game.

On January 3, 2020, Nunnally returned to Fenerbahçe.

Maccabi Tel Aviv (2021–2022) On June 27, 2021, Nunnally signed a two (1+1) year contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Premier League and the EuroLeague.

Partizan (2022–2024) In the summer of 2022, Nunnally signed a contract with the Serbian team Partizan. During the 2022–23 season, Partizan was eliminated from the Real Madrid in a tight playoffs series. Over the season, Nunnally averaged 9.2 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. Partizan ended the 2022–23 season by lifting the ABA League championship trophy, after a 3–2 score against Crvena Zvezda in the Finals series.

Over the 2023–24 season, he averaged 12.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists over 32 EuroLeague games. The season was deemed unsuccessful for Partizan as they finished the season without lifting any trophy.

Zhejiang Lions (2025) In January 2025, Nunnally signed with Zhejiang Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association.

AEK Athens (2026) On January 1, 2026, Nunnally joined AEK Athens of the Greek Basketball League (GBL) and the FIBA Champions League.

Personal life Nunnally is the son of Deanna Johnson. Married to wife, Jen, the two recently celebrated their marriage with a vow renewal. They have two daughters and a son.

Career statistics

NBA

EuroLeague † Denotes seasons in which Nunnally won the EuroLeague

Domestic leagues Year Team League

College