Hilton Julius Armstrong Jr. (born November 11, 1984)[1] is an American former professional basketball player currently working as an assistant coach for the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA G League. During his college basketball career, he played as a forward and center for the Connecticut Huskies. He is currently married and is the father of four children.

Hilton Armstrong
Armstrong with the Washington Wizards in 2010
Santa Cruz Warriors
PositionAssistant coach
LeagueNBA G League
Personal information
Born (1984-11-11) November 11, 1984 (age 40)
Peekskill, New York
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
High schoolPeekskill (Peekskill, New York)
CollegeUConn (2002–2006)
NBA draft2006: 1st round, 12th overall pick
Selected by the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets
Playing career2006–2020
PositionCenter / power forward
Career history
As player:
20062010New Orleans Hornets[a]
2010Sacramento Kings
2010Houston Rockets
2010–2011Washington Wizards
2011Atlanta Hawks
2011–2012ASVEL Basket
2012Panathinaikos
2013Santa Cruz Warriors
2013Golden State Warriors
2014Santa Cruz Warriors
2014Golden State Warriors
2014–2015Beşiktaş
2015Tüyap Büyükçekmece
2015–2016Denizli Basket
2016–2017Chiba Jets
2017–2018Ryukyu Golden Kings
2018–2019Bnei Herzliya
2019–2020Nagoya Diamond Dolphins
As coach:
2024–presentSanta Cruz Warriors (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference

College career

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After graduating from Peekskill High School, Armstrong started off slowly as a college athlete, averaging under 4 points in each of first 3 seasons at UConn with the Huskies. However, he greatly improved in his senior year, averaging 9.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks, and shooting 61% from the field. He followed after his teammate Josh Boone, and won the Big East Defensive Player of the Year award in the 2005–06 season.

Professional career

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NBA (2006–2011)

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He was declared eligible for the 2006 NBA draft, and was selected by the New Orleans Hornets with the 12th overall pick. Known for his shot-blocking and athleticism, he was anticipated by analysts to be an instant contributor to the Hornets front line, but the team then traded for the Chicago Bulls center Tyson Chandler. Chandler was named the starting center and Armstrong played a reserve role throughout his time with the Hornets.

On January 11, 2010, Armstrong was traded to the Sacramento Kings for a conditional 2016 second-round draft pick.[2]

On February 18, 2010, Armstrong was traded to the Houston Rockets, along with Kevin Martin, for Carl Landry and Joey Dorsey. He was waived by the Rockets on April 10, 2010.

Armstrong signed with the Washington Wizards on July 13, 2010.[3]

On February 23, 2011, Armstrong was traded to the Atlanta Hawks, along with Kirk Hinrich, in exchange for Mike Bibby, Jordan Crawford, Maurice Evans and a first-round pick in the 2011 NBA draft.[4]

France (2011–2012)

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In July 2011, Armstrong signed with ASVEL Basket of the French Pro A League.[5] In 42 games played for ASVEL, he averaged 10.8 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.

Greece (2012)

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In August 2012, he signed with Panathinaikos of the Greek Basketball League. In December 2012, he parted ways with Panathinaikos after appearing in 10 games.[6]

D-League / Return to the NBA (2013–2014)

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In January 2013, Armstrong was acquired by the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA D-League.[7] He played very well for the Warriors, earning 2nd Team All D-League Defensive Team honors.

On September 27, 2013, he signed with the Indiana Pacers.[8] However, he was waived on October 26.[9]

In November 2013, he was re-acquired by the Santa Cruz Warriors.

On December 11, 2013, after playing in six games with Santa Cruz, Armstrong signed with the Golden State Warriors.[10] On December 29, 2013, he was waived by Golden State.[11] On January 3, 2014, he was re-acquired by Santa Cruz.

On February 3, 2014, Armstrong was named to the Futures All-Star roster for the 2014 NBA D-League All-Star Game.[12]

On February 22, 2014, he signed a 10-day contract with the Golden State Warriors.[13] On March 4, 2014, he returned to Santa Cruz after his 10-day contract expired. On March 30, 2014, he signed another 10-day contract with the Golden State Warriors.[14] On April 9, 2014, he signed with Golden State for the rest of the 2013–14 season.[15] He started the final game of the regular season and recorded a double-double. On July 30, 2014, he was waived by Golden State.[16] While playing for Golden State, Armstrong became the first player in NBA history to wear jersey number 57.

Turkey (2014–2016)

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On August 6, 2014, he signed a one-year deal with Turkish team Beşiktaş of the Turkish Basketball Super League.[17] On May 5, 2015, Armstrong recorded a career-high 30 points, shooting 10-of-14 from the field, along with nine rebounds, three assists and three steals in a 74–94 blowout loss to Fenerbahçe.[18]

On July 30, 2015, he signed with Tüyap Büyükçekmece also of Turkey.[19] However, on November 10, 2015, he parted ways with Büyükçekmece and joined Denizli Basket of the Turkish Basketball First League for the rest of the season.[20]

Japan (2016–2018)

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On August 5, 2016, he signed with the Japanese team Chiba Jets of the B.League.[21] In 60 games played for the Jets, Armstrong averaged 10.2 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.4 blocks per game.

On July 28, 2017, he signed with the Ryukyu Golden Kings for the 2017–18 season.[22]

Israel (2018–2019)

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On August 16, 2018, he signed a one-year deal with the Israeli team Bnei Herzliya, joining his former teammate Jeff Adrien.[23] However, on January 10, 2019, Armstrong parted ways with Herzliya after appearing in 13 games.[24]

Return to Japan (2019–present)

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On January 25, 2019, he returned to Japan for a second stint, joining the Nagoya Diamond Dolphins for the rest of the season.[25]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2006–07 New Orleans/Oklahoma City 56 5 11.3 .544 .000 .597 2.7 .2 .2 .5 3.1
2007–08 New Orleans 65 3 11.3 .453 .000 .629 2.5 .4 .2 .5 2.7
2008–09 New Orleans 70 29 15.6 .561 .000 .633 2.8 .4 .4 .6 4.8
2009–10 New Orleans 18 0 13.3 .380 .000 .464 3.4 .9 .4 .4 2.8
2009–10 Sacramento 6 0 9.3 .333 .000 1.000 2.3 .3 .3 .7 1.7
2009–10 Houston 9 0 4.4 .294 .000 .000 .7 .3 .6 .0 1.1
2010–11 Washington 41 2 10.0 .484 .333 .609 2.8 .2 .4 .4 1.9
2010–11 Atlanta 12 0 6.3 .500 1.000 .200 1.4 .3 .3 .4 1.3
2013–14 Golden State 15 1 6.5 .474 .000 .438 3.1 .3 .3 .3 1.7
Career 292 40 11.6 .501 .286 .582 2.6 .3 .3 .5 3.0

Playoffs

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2008 New Orleans 8 0 9.0 .615 .000 .500 2.5 .0 .0 .8 2.6
2009 New Orleans 4 1 13.3 .462 .000 .300 2.0 .3 1.0 .3 3.8
2011 Atlanta 8 0 4.4 .200 .000 .500 1.9 .1 .4 .0 .6
2014 Golden State 7 0 2.4 .500 .000 .000 .6 .3 .0 .3 1.1
Career 27 1 6.6 .487 .000 .393 1.6 .1 .3 .3 1.8

NBA D-League

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Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2012–13 Santa Cruz 29 24 26.3 .628 .000 .694 6.8 .8 1.0 2.2 13.4
2013–14 Santa Cruz 32 23 26.2 .559 .333 .743 7.4 1.9 .7 1.8 12.0
Career 61 47 26.3 .592 .333 .718 7.1 1.4 .8 2.0 12.7
All-Star 1 0 19.0 .625 .000 .000 8.0 1.0 .0 1.0 10.0

Playoffs

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2013 Santa Cruz 6 6 23.2 .667 .000 .531 5.5 1.0 1.2 2.3 10.2
Career 6 6 23.2 .667 .000 .531 5.5 1.0 1.2 2.3 10.2

College

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2002–03 Connecticut Huskies 32 22 10.8 .545 .000 .500 2.8 .7 .2 .7 2.8
2003–04 Connecticut Huskies 35 1 9.1 .500 .000 .388 2.8 .3 .1 .7 2.4
2004–05 Connecticut Huskies 30 0 12.4 .519 .000 .525 3.4 .6 .3 1.2 3.8
2005–06 Connecticut Huskies 34 33 27.7 .608 .500 .692 6.6 .7 .6 3.1 9.7
Career 131 56 15.1 .563 .333 .578 3.9 .6 .3 1.4 4.7

Coaching career

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On October 8, 2024, Armstrong was hired by the Santa Cruz Warriors to be an assistant coach.[26]

Acting career

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Armstrong appeared as himself in the 2015 independent film Four Square Miles to Glory.[27]

Notes

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  1. ^ During the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons, the team was known as the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets during their temporary relocation to Oklahoma City due to Hurricane Katrina.

References

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  1. ^ Hilton Armstrong – IMDb
  2. ^ "KINGS ACQUIRE HILTON ARMSTRONG". NBA.com. January 11, 2010. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
  3. ^ "Wizards Sign Hilton Armstrong". NBA.com. July 13, 2010. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
  4. ^ "Hawks Acquire Hinrich and Armstrong". NBA.com. February 23, 2011. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
  5. ^ Asvel inks big man Armstrong.
  6. ^ ShamSports.com: Hilton Armstrong player profile
  7. ^ Santa Cruz Warriors Acquire Center Hilton Armstrong Archived 2015-03-25 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Pacers sign Hilton Armstrong
  9. ^ Indiana Pacers release Hilton Armstrong
  10. ^ Warriors Sign Hilton Armstrong From D-League's Santa Cruz Warriors
  11. ^ Warriors Waive Hilton Armstrong
  12. ^ Eighth Annual NBA D-League All-Star Game Features 16 Players With NBA Experience Archived 2014-02-07 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ "Warriors Sign Hilton Armstrong from D-League's Santa Cruz Warriors to 10-Day Contract". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. February 22, 2014. Retrieved February 22, 2014.
  14. ^ "Warriors Sign Hilton Armstrong From D-League's Santa Cruz Warriors to 10-Day Contract". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. March 30, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  15. ^ "Warriors Sign Hilton Armstrong for Remainder of the Season". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. April 9, 2014. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  16. ^ "Warriors Waive Hilton Armstrong". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. July 30, 2014. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  17. ^ "Besiktas Integral Forex goes big with Armstrong". Eurocupbasketball.com. August 6, 2014. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
  18. ^ "Fenerbahce Ulker 94 at Besiktas Sompo Japan 74". RealGM.com. May 5, 2015. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  19. ^ "Tuyap Buyukcekmece adds former NBA forward Hilton Armstrong". Sportando.com. July 30, 2015. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  20. ^ "Hilton Armstrong moves from Büyükçekmece to Denizli". Sportando.basketball. November 10, 2015. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  21. ^ "Hilton Armstrong joins Chiba Jets". court-side.com. August 5, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  22. ^ "Hilton Armstrong joins Ryukyu Golden Kings". Sportando.basketball. July 28, 2017. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  23. ^ "Bnei Herzliya signs Hilton Armstrong to replace Shaquille Morris". Sportando.basketball. August 16, 2018. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  24. ^ "בני הרצליה: בנימון במקום ארמסטרונג". basket.co.il (in Hebrew). January 10, 2019. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  25. ^ "ヒルトン・アームストロング選手 2018-19 SEASON新加入のお知らせ". nagoya-dolphins.jp (in Japanese). January 25, 2019. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  26. ^ "Santa Cruz Warriors Announce 2024-25 Coaching Staff". NBA.com. October 8, 2024. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
  27. ^ "Four Square Miles to Glory". IMDb.
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