Harry Giles (basketball)
Harry Lee Giles III is an American professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association. He played one season of college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils.
High school career
Freshman & Sophomore seasons
Giles attended Wesleyan Christian Academy in High Point, North Carolina. As a freshman, Giles averaged 12.5 points per game and 9.5 rebounds per game after leading Wesleyan Christian to a 2013 NCISAA 3A State Championship alongside current New York Knicks shooting guard Theo Pinson. Giles missed his entire sophomore year due to a left knee injury. during the 2014 summer, Giles participated in the Under Armour Elite 24 game in Brooklyn, New York, where he finished the game with 16 points and 11 rebounds and earning Co-MVP honors.Junior season
In his junior year, Giles and Wesleyan was ranked the No.2 team in the Nation by USA Today. On November 14, 2014 In his second game back since his injury, Harry scored a career high 38 points and grabbed 19 rebounds in an 82-58 win over Northside Christian Academy. On December 24, Giles tallied 24 points and 14 rebounds in a 51–47 win over Trinity High School. Giles and the Trojans then played in the 2014-15 High School OT Holiday Invitational Tournament at Needham B. Broughton High School in Raleigh, North Carolina. On December 28, Giles scored 22 points and 12 rebounds in a 72–56 victory over the Carlisle School. On December 29, Giles and Wesleyan defeated Word of God Christian Academy behind Giles 31 points and 17 rebounds to advance to the championship game. On December 30, 2014, Giles went head to head against an Orangeville Prep team that featured former #1 player in 2016 Thon Maker. The Wesleyan trojans would defeat Orangeville Prep with Giles scoring 26 points and 14 rebounds while Maker scored 24 points and 11 between the two. On January 15, 2015, Giles scored 17 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 assist to help the Trojans defeat Malik Monk and Bentonville High School. On the season, Giles averaged 23.9 points per game,12.5 rebounds per game, 2.0 assist per game, and 3.0 blocks per game while leading the Wesleyan Trojans to a record and a NCISAA 3A state championship game appearance, losing to in state rival Greensboro Day School.At the end of his junior season, Giles earned first-team All-USA honors by USA Today. During the summer of 2015, Giles would join his AAU Team, CP3 All Stars, sponsored by fellow Winston-Salem native and NBA superstar Chris Paul of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Harry led the CP3 All Stars to the 2015 Nike Elite Youth Basketball League Peach Jam semifinals against the St. Louis Eagles featuring future Duke teammate Jayson Tatum. Team CP3 would lose by a game winning buzzer beater. Giles averaged 18.2 points per game and 12.0 rebounds per game in 16 games on the EYBL circuit, earning first-team All-EYBL honors. In August 2015, Slam Magazine would name Giles to its Summer All-American Team.
Senior season
Before his senior season, Giles decided to attend and play for the high school basketball powerhouse Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia.Giles dominated the majority of his high school career; however, his senior year ended with a torn ACL in his right knee. The injury occurred during his first scrimmage game with Oak Hill. Weeks later, Giles enrolled to Forest Trail Academy in Kernersville, North Carolina to take online courses to finish his senior year of high school while rehabbing from his knee injury. On November 6, 2015, Giles made his verbal commitment to attend Duke University and play for the Duke Blue Devils live on ESPN joining Fellow five-star 2016 recruits Tatum and Frank Jackson. He was selected to play in the 2016 Jordan Brand Classic and Nike Hoop Summit but was unable due to injury.
Giles was rated as a five-star recruit and considered the best player in the 2016 class. Giles ranked as the No.1 overall recruit and No.1 power forward in the 2016 high school class by ESPN, while Scout.com and Rivals ranked him No. 2 in the Class of 2016 only behind Josh Jackson.
College career
Before the start of the 2016–17 season, Giles was selected to both Naismith and John R. Wooden Award preseason watchlists, While also finishing third in voting for ACC Preseason Rookie of the Year. On October 3, 2016 it was announced Giles would likely miss up to six weeks to have surgery on his knee. On December 19, 2016, Giles made his college debut in a win against Tennessee State. On January 4, 2017, He recorded his first Double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds in a win over Georgia Tech. On March 10, 2017 in the ACC Tournament semi-finals against rival North Carolina, Giles had 4 blocks,7 rebounds, and 6 points in a win.At the conclusion of his freshman season, Giles announced that he would forgo his final three years of collegiate eligibility at Duke and enter the 2017 NBA draft.
Professional career
Sacramento Kings (2017–present)
Draft year injury (2017–18)
On June 22, 2017, Giles was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 20th overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft. His rights were later traded to the Sacramento Kings on Draft night. Giles would sit out the entire 2017 NBA Summer League. On July 8, 2017, Giles signed his rookie scale contract with the Kings. On October 6, 2017, it was announced Giles would be out of action and will make his NBA debut in January 2018. On January 18, 2018, it was announced that Giles would "not be introduced to NBA gameplay during the 2017–18 season but focus on more vigorous practice activity and individual workouts tailored to continue developing overall strength and aid ACL injury prevention."Rookie Season (2018–2019)
On May 14, 2018, The Sacramento Bee announced that Giles would participate in the California Classic Summer League on July 2,3, and 5 in Sacramento. Giles would join the Kings for the 2018 NBA Summer League. On July 7, 2018 in his Vegas Summer League debut, Giles scored 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 steals in a loss against the Phoenix Suns. Before the start of the 2018–19 season, there were high expectations set for Giles and the Kings, which also mentioned Giles as a possible candidate for rookie of the year. In his NBA debut on October 17, 2018, Giles scored 2 points in a 123–117 season opening loss against the Utah Jazz. On November 10, 2018, Giles was assigned to the Stockton Kings, the G-League affiliate of the Kings, where he scored 30 points in his debut for team. On November 11, 2018, Giles was recalled by the Kings. On November 12, 2018, Giles scored 12 points and 6 rebounds in a 104–99 win against the San Antonio Spurs. On January 31, Giles scored a career-high 20 points and 7 rebounds in a 135–113 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. On March 4, Giles tallied 17 points and 7 rebounds in a 115–108 win over the New York Knicks. On March 17, Giles scored 16 points and 6 rebounds in a 129–102 victory over Chicago Bulls. On April 3, the Kings shut down Giles for the remainder of the season.Sophomore Season
On October 31, 2019 the Kings declined Giles's option for the 2020-21 season worth $4 million. After the Kings signed centers Dewayne Dedmon and Richaun Holmes as free agents in the offseason, Giles saw himself on the periphery of the teams's big man rotation, not appearing in game action from November 30th to December 28th. With injuries to Holmes and former No. 2 pick Marvin Bagley and the team trading Dedmon to the Atlanta Hawks, Giles found himself as the team's starting center on February 7, 2020 against the Miami Heat. Giles scored a season-high 19 points in Sacramento's 112-108 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on February 27, 2020. Giles scored in double figures in four consecutive games from February 22nd to 28th.