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San Antonio Spurs Release Jimmer Fredette, Ending NBA Dream

By Michael Dunlap

Jan 18, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; New Orleans Pelicans guard Jimmer Fredette (32) against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. The Pelicans beat the Raptors 95-93. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 18, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; New Orleans Pelicans guard Jimmer Fredette (32) against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. The Pelicans beat the Raptors 95-93. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jimmer Fredette has been released by the San Antonio Spurs, could be done with the NBA

What time is it? I can tell you what time it isn’t — Jimmer time. The San Antonio Spurs have announced that they’ve released Jimmer Fredette, which could effectively be the end of the NBA road for the 26-year-old BYU product with a sweet shooting stroke.

Fredette was originally drafted 10th overall in the 2011 NBA Draft after a terrific senior season at BYU. Jimmer won the AP Player of the Year, the John R. Wooden Award and the Naismith Men’s College Player of the Year Award after averaging 28.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. It was thought that his ticket to the NBA would be his shooting stroke, as his four years in college produced a sterling .455/.394/.882 shooting line.

Unfortunately, teams keyed in on the fact that Fredette was a one-trick pony and once they took away his ability to shoot the three, the rest of his weaknesses were brought to light. In his rookie year, Jimmer allowed a 17.9 PER to opposing point guards, while putting up just 10.3 himself. At the shooting guard position, the disparity was worse — allowing 16.5 while putting up just 8.6 himself.

Fredette would shoot just .386 from the field (.361 from three) in his rookie season with the Sacramento Kings, who tried to turn him into a point guard. The point guard experiment would worsen in his sophomore year, as Fredette was such a defensive liability (21.1 PER against) that they couldn’t keep him on the floor.

He would find his shooting rhythm in limited time, peaking at .476 from the 3-point line in 2013-14, but his inability to do much else left teams so vulnerable that it wasn’t enough to keep him on the court. He’d make stops in Chicago and New Orleans before the Spurs gave him a training camp invite.

This preseason, Fredette appeared in just two games, combining to be a minus-25 in 26 minutes of play. He made just two of 10 shots and didn’t make a 3-point shot.

We’ll never say never in the NBA — especially with continued D-League expansion — but it appears Jimmer time is over.

Next: NBA Draft: Best Player Ever Selected in all 60 Spots

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