In the world of basketball, the fortunes of some players are a rollercoaster of ups and downs and twists. Jimmer Fredette's story is one such dramatic journey.
He was once the MVP of college basketball but suffered setbacks on the NBA stage, eventually found his place in the CBA and pursued his Olympic dream at the age of 35.
Fredette's basketball journey began with a middle-class family full of love and basketball. Since he was a child, he has competed with his brother on the backyard basketball court, and he has shown his love and talent for basketball early. Despite not being physically advantageous, he began thinking about how to become a professional player in high school with his accurate outside shooting. His answer: work the three-point shot. This decision eventually led him to Brigham Young University, where he was named the NCAA scoring champion and Player of the Year in his senior year averaging 29 points per game.
However, Fredette's path to the NBA has not been smooth. After being drafted by the Kings to the NBA in 2011, he never adapted to the rhythm and style of the league. His best performance during his days with the Kings was in his rookie season, averaging 7.6 points per game that didn't live up to expectations. As time went on, his opportunities in the NBA became less and less, and he was eventually abandoned by the team.
After the disappointment in the NBA, Fredette moved to the CBA and joined the Shanghai Sharks. Here, he found his own stage. In his first season, he won the CBA scoring title with an average of 36.9 points per game and won the honor of foreign player MVP. He shined on the CBA arena and became the "lonely god" in the hearts of fans.
On November 11, 2018, in a game against North Control, Fredette scored 75 points, setting the second-highest score record in CBA history, and in the final quarter of the game, he scored 40 points alone, setting a new single-quarter scoring record in league history at that time.
Despite his huge success in the CBA, Fredette did not give up his dream of returning to the NBA while playing in the CBA, and he used the break to play for the Knicks, Suns, Warriors and other teams, but fate always seemed to play a joke on him, and these teams did not give him consistent playing time.
In 2021, after playing for the Denver Nuggets in Summer League, Fredette completely faded out of the league, and then he moved to European basketball, but it was not successful.
After some consideration, Fredette decided to continue his basketball dream in a different way, choosing to step onto the 3x3 stage to represent Team USA internationally, and in October 2022, he and his teammates proved his strength and determination by winning gold in the Triple America's Cup.
Now 35 years old, Fredette has one goal in mind: to represent the United States in 3x3 at the Olympics and help his country reach the top of the podium.