Charles Gaines (basketball) facts for kids

Charles Wayne Gaines, born on October 15, 1981, is an American professional basketball player. He played as a forward or center. His last team was the Anhui Dragons in China's National Basketball League.

Charles started his basketball journey in high school in Houston, Texas. He then played college basketball for two years at Southwest Missouri State. Later, he transferred to Southern Miss for his final two college seasons.

After college, Charles began his professional career. He played in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) in the USA, where he was the top rebounder. He then spent several years playing in Europe, including Italy, France, Spain, and Turkey. He also played in the NBA D-League and in Israel.

Charles found great success when he moved to the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). In China, he became an All-Star. He was the top scorer in 2011 and led the league in rebounding twice, in 2014 and 2015.

Charles Gaines: A Basketball Journey

Early Days in High School

Charles Gaines grew up in Houston, Texas. He went to Klein Forest High School and played on the varsity basketball team. He improved a lot during his last two years there. In his junior year, he scored 38 points in one game, which tied a school record.

By his senior year, Charles was 6 feet 7 inches tall and weighed 200 pounds. He averaged 20.6 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 3 blocks per game. His strong play helped his team achieve a 20–12 record. He was also named the district's Most Valuable Player (MVP) that year.

College Basketball Adventures

Starting at Southwest Missouri State

Charles Gaines decided to play college basketball for Southwest Missouri State. He was the first player signed by the new coach, Barry Hinson. Charles was a versatile player who could play different positions, mostly as a forward.

In his first year, he played in 32 games. He scored 11 points against Texas Christian and 12 points against Wichita State. He also grabbed 9 rebounds in a game against Creighton. He finished his freshman year averaging 3 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. He played all his games coming off the bench.

His second year started strong with 16 points against New Orleans. In the next game, he set a new personal best with 15 rebounds against North Texas. Charles was the team's best rebounder in 10 of the 29 games he played. He also led the team in blocks with 1.1 per game. He averaged 8.3 points and 6.2 rebounds in his sophomore year.

Moving to Southern Miss

After his second year, Charles decided to transfer to Southern Miss. He had to sit out one year because of NCAA transfer rules. During that year, he trained with the team and worked on getting stronger.

He was ready to play in the 2002–03 season and became a starter. In his first year at Southern Miss, he collected 278 total rebounds. This was one of the best rebounding seasons in Southern Miss history. He scored 33 points against Alcorn State and then a career-high 34 points against Jackson State. He led his team in scoring with 15.1 points per game and in rebounding with 9.6 per game. He was also named to the All-Conference USA third team.

In his senior year (2003–04), Charles had his best college season. He played about 31 minutes per game. He averaged 15.7 points, 10.4 rebounds, 1.2 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game. He led his team in both scoring and rebounding again. He scored 36 points against Georgia Southern, which was another top scoring game for Southern Miss. For the second year in a row, he was chosen for an all-conference team, this time the All-Conference USA second team.

Playing Pro Basketball Around the World

First Steps in the CBA and Europe

After college, Charles Gaines was eligible for the 2004 NBA draft but was not chosen by any team. He then joined the Michigan Mayhem in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA). In the 2004–05 season, he played 44 games and averaged 18.3 points and 11.4 rebounds. He was named a CBA All-Star and led the league in rebounding.

After that, he moved to Italy and played for Viola Reggio Calabria. He played 9 games, averaging 14.4 points and 8.8 rebounds. In 2005, he also played briefly for the Minot Minutemen in another league.

In the 2005–06 season, Charles moved to France to play for ASVEL. He played 33 games, averaging 13.6 points and 8.1 rebounds. He also played in the 2005–06 ULEB Cup, averaging 12 points and 8.1 rebounds.

In 2006, he played in the Orlando Summer League for the Indiana Pacers. He then moved to Spain and joined Joventut Badalona. He played 34 games, averaging 11.1 points and 7.8 rebounds. He was named the ACB Player of the Month in March 2007. He also played in the Euroleague for the first time, averaging 10.3 points and 6.3 rebounds in 20 games.

In the summer of 2007, Charles played in the Orlando Summer League for the Orlando Magic. Later that year, he signed with Galatasaray in Turkey. He played 28 games, averaging 12.9 points and 8.1 rebounds. He also played in the 2007–08 ULEB Cup, averaging 12.4 points and 7.3 rebounds.

Time in the D-League and Israel

On October 1, 2008, Charles Gaines signed with the San Antonio Spurs. However, he did not make their final team roster. He was then sent to the Austin Toros, which was the Spurs' D-League team. He played 23 games for the Toros, averaging 15.1 points and 10.4 rebounds.

In 2009, he joined Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel. He played 9 games in the Israeli league, averaging 8.8 points and 5 rebounds. He also played 5 games in the 2008–09 Euroleague, averaging 8 points and 6.4 rebounds. In the summer of 2009, he played for the Houston Rockets in the Las Vegas Summer League.

Becoming a Star in China

Charles Gaines signed with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers in China in 2009. He played 10 playoff games in the 2008–09 Chinese Basketball Association season, averaging an impressive 29.5 points and 10.4 rebounds. He stayed with the team for the 2009–10 season. He averaged 30.4 points and 10.7 rebounds in 43 games. On February 26, 2010, he scored a career-high 47 points against the Qingdao Eagles. He was the second-highest scorer in the league that season and was named to the All-CBA First Team.

In 2010, Charles signed with the Qingdao Eagles for the 2010–11 CBA season. On December 15, 2010, he scored 43 points and grabbed 16 rebounds against the Beijing Ducks. He finished the season as the league's top scorer, averaging 33.2 points per game. He also averaged 13.1 rebounds and 2.4 steals. He was again named to the All-CBA First Team.

In 2011, he moved to the Shanxi Brave Dragons for the 2011–12 season. He was chosen for his first and only CBA All-Star team in 2012. In the All-Star game, he had 24 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. On February 28, 2012, Charles had a "20–20" game, scoring 29 points and getting 23 rebounds against the Shanghai Sharks. He finished the season averaging 29.1 points and 14.3 rebounds.

On January 2, 2013, Charles Gaines had an amazing game against the Zhejiang Golden Bulls. He scored 60 points and grabbed 29 rebounds, both personal bests. In the 2012–13 season, he was named Foreign Player of the Week three times. He also made the All-CBA second team, averaging 31.5 points, 15.2 rebounds, and 2.2 steals.

In the 2013–14 season, he was the league's top rebounder with 14.1 rebounds per game. He achieved this again in the next season, averaging 16.4 rebounds per game while playing for the Zhejiang Golden Bulls. In the 2015–16 season, he was the 8th best rebounder in the league.

Winning a Championship in China

In 2017, Charles Gaines joined the Shaanxi Wolves in the National Basketball League (NBL), which is the second-highest basketball league in China. He helped his team win the league championship! In the final game of the series against Anhui, he scored 31 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.

In the following season (2018), he signed with the Anhui Dragons. He continued to play well, averaging 33.8 points, 17.5 rebounds, and 2.4 steals per game.

Career statistics

Here are some of Charles Gaines's statistics from his professional career in different leagues.

See also

In Spanish: Charles Gaines para niños