Former Tennessee forward Josiah-Jordan James is headed to New Zealand for the next stop in his basketball career.
James signed a one-year deal this week with the New Zealand Breakers, the lone New Zealand team in Australia’s National Basketball League. The move keeps the former Volunteers standout overseas after he spent last season with Hapoel Jerusalem in the Israeli Basketball Premier League.
“Josiah-Jordan James is the exact type of import we wanted to bring into our system for NBL27,” BNZ Breakers President of Basketball Operations Dillon Boucher said in a statement. “He plays with immense physical toughness, defends multiple positions at an elite level, has a sweet shooting touch and brings high-level European and collegiate experience.”
James carved out a major role at Tennessee across five seasons, finishing with 1,270 points, 844 rebounds, 297 assists and 183 steals during one of the program’s most successful stretches. He arrived as the first five-star commit in Rick Barnes’ tenure and helped the Vols win an SEC Tournament title, an SEC Regular-Season Championship, and reach both the Sweet 16 and the Elite Eight.
The 6-foot-6 wing never strayed far from the same lane statistically, averaging between 7.4 and 10.3 points in each of his five seasons in Knoxville. His strongest year came in 2021-22, when he posted 10.3 points, 6 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.1 blocks per game.
What made James valuable at Tennessee was never just scoring. His defensive range and all-around game made him the kind of player Rick Barnes often pointed to as a “fix-it” presence on that end of the floor.
After his college career ended, James signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Indiana Pacers and spent the season with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in the G-League. The Breakers will open their season on Sunday, Sept. 20.
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