Bonzie Colson facts for kids

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Bonzie Colson
No. 50 – Fenerbahçe Beko
Colson with Fenerbahçe in 2025
Small forward / power forward
Personal information
Born	(1996-01-12) January 12, 1996 (age 29) Washington, D.C., U.S.
High school	St. Andrew's School (Barrington, Rhode Island)
Listed height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight	225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
College	Notre Dame (2014–2018)
NBA Draft	2018 / Undrafted
Pro career	2018–present
League	BSL EuroLeague
Career history
2018–2019	Canton Charge
2019	Milwaukee Bucks
2019	→Wisconsin Herd
2019–2020	Darüşşafaka
2020–2021	Strasbourg
2021–2022	Pınar Karşıyaka
2022–2024	Maccabi Tel Aviv
2024–present	Fenerbahçe

Career highlights and awards
EuroLeague champion (2025) FIBA Champions League MVP (2021) All-FIBA Champions League First Team (2021) FIBA Champions League Top Scorer (2021) Turkish Basketball League champion (2025) Turkish Cup winner (2025) 2× Israeli League champion (2023, 2024) Israeli League Cup winner (2022) LNB Pro A MVP (2021) All-LNB Pro A Team (2021) Third-team All-American – AP, SN (2017) First-team All-ACC (2017)

Bonzie Alexander Colson II, born on January 12, 1996, is an American professional basketball player. He plays for Fenerbahçe in Turkey's top league, the Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL), and also in the EuroLeague. Before becoming a pro, he played college basketball for the University of Notre Dame.

Bonzie Colson's Early Basketball Journey
- Developing His Skills
- Choosing Notre Dame
Bonzie Colson's College Career at Notre Dame
Bonzie Colson's Professional Basketball Journey
Bonzie Colson's Unique Playing Style
- Playing Like a Center
- Adding New Skills
Career Statistics
See also

Bonzie Colson's Early Basketball Journey

Bonzie Colson's dad was a basketball player for Rhode Island and later became a college coach. Bonzie grew up playing high school basketball at St. Andrew's School in Barrington. He also played for the Boston Area Basketball Club in the AAU.

Developing His Skills

Even though Bonzie was shorter than most players in his position, he was very good at playing close to the basket. In 2013, he was measured at about 6 feet 4.5 inches tall with shoes on. Despite his height, he was incredibly effective. A special statistic called "player efficiency rating" (PER) showed he was the best among frontcourt players in Nike's Elite Youth Basketball League.

Choosing Notre Dame

Many big college teams didn't notice Bonzie because of his height. But Notre Dame assistant coach Martin Ingelsby saw something special. He noticed Bonzie's long arms, which stretched to about 6 feet 11.5 inches. When Bonzie visited Notre Dame in September 2013, the coaches showed him the PER study. They convinced him that Notre Dame's focus on efficient offense would be perfect for his playing style. He decided to join Notre Dame that October.

Bonzie Colson's College Career at Notre Dame

Bonzie Colson played college basketball for the University of Notre Dame. He showed great skill and improved a lot during his time there.

Freshman and Sophomore Years

In his first year at Notre Dame, Bonzie usually came off the bench. He scored 17 points in a big win against Duke in the ACC Tournament semi-final. He was named Notre Dame's Newcomer of the Year. In his second year, he started 24 out of 36 games. He scored 30 points in a game for the first time, helping Notre Dame beat Duke at their home court, Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Junior Year Success

During his junior year, Bonzie became Notre Dame's top scorer, averaging 17.8 points per game. He also led the ACC conference in rebounds, grabbing 10.1 per game. He was the first player shorter than 6 feet 7 inches to lead the ACC in rebounding since 1958. Because of his amazing performance, he was named to the All-ACC first team.

Senior Year and Injuries

Before his senior season, Bonzie was named the preseason ACC Player of the Year. He was also chosen as a first-team preseason All-American. However, he broke his foot during the season and missed 15 games. Sadly, he broke his left foot again in a tournament game against Penn State. In his senior year, he still managed to average 19.7 points and 10.1 rebounds per game.

Bonzie Colson's Professional Basketball Journey

After college, Bonzie Colson started his professional basketball career, playing for several teams in different leagues.

Starting with Canton Charge (2018–2019)

On September 18, 2018, Bonzie signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was later moved to their NBA G League team, the Canton Charge. In his very first G League game, he scored 23 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. For the Canton Charge, he averaged 15.5 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.

Time with the Milwaukee Bucks (2019)

On January 15, 2019, Bonzie signed a special "two-way contract" with the Milwaukee Bucks. This meant he could play for both the Bucks in the NBA and their G League team, the Wisconsin Herd. He made his NBA debut on February 25, 2019, playing against the Chicago Bulls. On March 31, he started his first NBA game against the Atlanta Hawks, scoring 15 points and getting 16 rebounds in 41 minutes. He was waived by the Bucks on July 21, 2019.

Playing in Turkey with Darüşşafaka (2019–2020)

On July 30, 2019, Bonzie moved to Turkey to play for Darüşşafaka. He averaged 12.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per game in the Turkish League. He left the team on April 24, 2020.

Success in France with SIG Strasbourg (2020–2021)

On August 31, 2020, Bonzie signed with SIG Strasbourg in France. He was named "player of the week" in October after scoring 24 points and grabbing nine rebounds in a game. He averaged 18.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. He was even named the Most Valuable Player for the 2020–21 Basketball Champions League season.

Back to Turkey with Pınar Karşıyaka (2021–2022)

On July 10, 2021, Bonzie returned to Turkey to play for Pınar Karşıyaka in the Turkish Super League. He averaged 15.9 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. He was among the top players in the league for points, rebounds, steals, and blocks.

Playing in Israel with Maccabi Tel Aviv (2022–2024)

Bonzie Colson playing in 2022

On June 22, 2022, Bonzie signed with Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel's top basketball league. He helped them win the Israeli League championship twice, in 2023 and 2024. He also helped them win the Israeli League Cup in 2022.

Joining Fenerbahçe (2024–present)

Bonzie Colson with Fenerbahçe in 2024

On June 28, 2024, Bonzie Colson signed a three-year deal with the strong Turkish team, Fenerbahçe Beko. On May 25, 2025, he helped Fenerbahçe win their second EuroLeague championship in Abu Dhabi.

Bonzie Colson's Unique Playing Style

In 2016, a writer from Sports Illustrated called Bonzie Colson "one of college basketball's greatest anomalies." This means he was very unusual and special.

Playing Like a Center

Even though Bonzie was only about 6 feet 5 inches tall with a 7-foot wingspan, Notre Dame often played him as a center. This was surprising because centers are usually much taller. He was very good at finding ways to score and played with a lot of determination because many big schools had overlooked him.

Adding New Skills

In his last two years at Notre Dame, Bonzie started shooting three-pointers. This allowed him to also play as a "stretch four," which means he could shoot from far away and spread out the defense. He learned this skill by training with NBA player Jared Dudley in the summer of 2016.

Career Statistics

Here are some of Bonzie Colson's career statistics from different leagues.

NBA Statistics

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	PIR	Performance Index Rating
Bold	Career high

Regular Season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2018–19	Milwaukee	8	2	12.3	.333	.238	.889	3.8	.4	.6	.1	4.9
Career		8	2	12.3	.333	.238	.889	3.8	.4	.6	.1	4.9

EuroLeague Statistics

†	Won the league

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG	PIR
2022–23	Maccabi Tel Aviv	39	31	26.1	.506	.376	.775	5.6	.6	1.3	.7	10.7	13.1
2023–24	Maccabi Tel Aviv	40	40	28.5	.489	.387	.794	5.3	.6	1.3	.4	12.6	14.1
2024–25†	Fenerbahçe Beko	39	35	18.3	.478	.357	.658	3.5	.5	.6	.1	6.7	6.8
Career		118	106	24.2	.545	.375	.763	4.8	.6	1.1	.2	10.0	11.3

EuroCup Statistics

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG	PIR
2019–20	Darüşşafaka	16	9	22.4	.404	.459	.849	5.0	.6	.9	.9	10.8	11.1
Career		16	9	22.4	.404	.459	.849	5.0	.6	.9	.9	10.8	11.1

Basketball Champions League Statistics

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2020–21	SIG Strasbourg	14	14	29.5	.455	.324	.814	5.9	1.7	1.1	.6	18.1
2021–22	Karşıyaka	9	9	34.7	.446	.342	.917	7.2	2.1	1.7	.8	15.0
Career		23	23	31.5	.452	.330	.843	6.4	1.9	1.3	.7	16.9

Domestic Leagues Statistics

†	Denotes seasons in which Colson won the domestic league

Year	Team	League	GP	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2018–19	Canton Charge	G League	23	28.9	.489	.385	.667	7.8	1.6	.7	1.5	15.5
2018–19	Wisconsin Herd	G League	23	32.8	.420	.288	.773	6.0	1.5	.9	.8	14.3
2019–20	Darüşşafaka	TBSL	23	22.2	.515	.368	.900	5.2	1.0	1.4	.6	12.2
2020–21	SIG Strasbourg	LNB Élite	35	29.2	.521	.342	.839	5.1	2.0	1.2	.6	18.1
2021–22	Karşıyaka	TBSL	32	32.7	.494	.364	.724	7.0	1.5	1.5	.8	16.2
2022–23 †	Maccabi Tel Aviv	Ligat HaAl	27	22.0	.515	.385	.804	4.5	.8	1.2	.6	10.8
2023–24 †	Maccabi Tel Aviv	Ligat HaAl	22	25.2	.455	.311	.848	5.0	.5	1.0	.4	11.9
2024–25 †	Fenerbahçe	TBSL	25	19.9	.585	.424	.710	3.9	1.0	.8	.2	8.3

College Statistics

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2014–15	Notre Dame	32	1	12.1	.595	.143	.754	2.7	.4	.6	.7	5.6
2015–16	Notre Dame	36	24	25.3	.532	.333	.774	6.7	.9	.9	1.0	11.1
2016–17	Notre Dame	36	36	32.1	.526	.433	.783	10.1	1.6	1.1	1.4	17.8
2017–18	Notre Dame	21	21	32.4	.503	.293	.761	10.1	.9	1.7	2.2	19.7
Career		125	82	25.1	.528	.350	.772	7.2	1.0	1.0	1.2	13.1