Ian Clark (basketball) facts for kids
Clark with the Golden State Warriors in 2017
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| No. 21 – Cangrejeros de Santurce | |
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| Shooting guard | |
| Personal information | |
| Born | March 7, 1991 Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. |
| High school | Germantown (Germantown, Tennessee) |
| Listed weight | 79 kg (174 lb) |
| Career information | |
| College | Belmont (2009–2013) |
| NBA Draft | 2013 / Undrafted |
| Pro career | 2013–present |
| League | Baloncesto Superior Nacional |
| Career history | |
| 2013–2015 | Utah Jazz |
| 2013–2014 | →Bakersfield Jam |
| 2015 | →Idaho Stampede |
| 2015 | Denver Nuggets |
| 2015–2017 | Golden State Warriors |
| 2017–2019 | New Orleans Pelicans |
| 2019–2021 | Xinjiang Flying Tigers |
| 2022 | Sydney Kings |
| 2022–2023 | Adelaide 36ers |
| 2023–2025 | Melbourne United |
| 2025–present | Cangrejeros de Santurce |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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Ian Patrick Clark (born March 7, 1991) is an American professional basketball player. He currently plays for Cangrejeros de Santurce in Puerto Rico. Ian played college basketball for the Belmont Bruins. During his senior year, he was named the Ohio Valley Conference Co-Player of the Year.
Clark played six seasons in the NBA, including two with the Golden State Warriors. He won an NBA championship with the Warriors in 2017. After playing two seasons in China, Ian joined the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) in 2022. He won a championship with the Sydney Kings that same year.
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Early Life and High School Basketball
Ian Clark was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He went to Germantown High School in Germantown, Tennessee. He played varsity basketball for four years there.
In his last three seasons, Ian was the top scorer for his team. In his senior year, he averaged 23 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists per game. He was chosen as an all-metro player three times by The Commercial Appeal. In 2009, he was also selected for the all-region team. Ian was known in high school as a very skilled guard who could help his team on both offense and defense.
College Basketball Journey
Starting Strong at Belmont
Ian Clark started at Belmont University in 2009. At that time, the school was part of the Atlantic Sun Conference (A-Sun). He quickly made a big impact. He was named the A-Sun Freshman of the Year and also made the A-Sun Second Team.
Ian averaged 14.9 points and 3.3 rebounds per game in his first year. He was also recognized as a Mid-Major Freshman All-American by CollegeInsider.com.
Conference Championships and NCAA Tournaments
The next year, Ian was named to the A-Sun First Team. His team, the Bruins, had an amazing season, winning 19 out of 20 games in the conference. They won the A-Sun regular season championship and then the conference tournament championship. Ian was part of the all-tournament team.
Winning the conference tournament gave the Bruins a guaranteed spot in the NCAA Tournament. However, they lost to Wisconsin in the first round.
In the 2011–12 season, Ian was again named to the A-Sun's First Team. The Bruins won both the regular season and conference tournament championships again. They qualified for the NCAA Tournament but lost in the first round once more. In Belmont's final season in the Atlantic Sun Conference, Ian averaged 12.7 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.0 steals per game.
Senior Year Success
For his final college season in 2012–13, Belmont moved to the Ohio Valley Conference. Ian led his team to their third straight regular season and conference championships. This earned them another guaranteed spot in the NCAA Tournament.
In the 2013 OVC championship game, Ian played exceptionally well against Isaiah Canaan, who was the OVC Player of the Year in 2012. The Bruins won a close game 70–68 in overtime. However, they lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Arizona.
For the year, Ian averaged 18.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.6 steals. He also shot 45.9% from beyond the three-point line, which was one of the best percentages in the country. At the end of the season, Ian was named the Co-OVC Player of the Year along with Canaan. He also won the OVC's Defensive Player of the Year award.
Ian Clark started every single game throughout his college career. On January 8, 2025, Belmont University announced that Ian's No. 21 jersey would be retired. He is only the third Belmont men's basketball player to receive this special honor.
Professional Basketball Career
Joining the NBA: Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets
After college, Ian Clark was not chosen in the 2013 NBA draft. However, he got to play in two NBA Summer Leagues, first for the Miami Heat and then for the Golden State Warriors. He played so well that he was named the Most Valuable Player of the Las Vegas Summer League championship game. He scored 33 points, helping the Warriors beat the Phoenix Suns 91–77.
On July 29, 2013, Ian signed a two-year contract with the Utah Jazz because of his great performance in Las Vegas. During his time with the Jazz, he was sometimes sent to play for their minor league team, the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League, to get more playing time. The Jazz later released him in March 2015.
Two days later, on March 28, 2015, the Denver Nuggets picked him up. He played a few games for them before the season ended.
Winning an NBA Championship with the Golden State Warriors
On September 25, 2015, Ian Clark signed with the Golden State Warriors. On December 30, 2015, he scored a career-high 21 points in a game against the Dallas Mavericks. On April 13, 2016, the Warriors made history by winning 73 games in a single season, breaking the record set by the 1995–96 Chicago Bulls.
The Warriors reached the 2016 NBA Finals after making an amazing comeback from being down 3-1 against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals. Ian played in his first NBA Finals game, which the Warriors won. However, the Warriors lost the series to the Cleveland Cavaliers in seven games, even though they had been leading 3-1.
On July 8, 2016, Ian re-signed with the Warriors. He continued to improve, scoring a new career-high of 22 points on November 1, 2016, against the Portland Trail Blazers. He topped that with 23 points on December 17, and then set a new career high of 36 points on March 11, 2017, against the San Antonio Spurs.
The Warriors finished the 2016-17 season as the top team in the Western Conference with a 67–15 record. They had an incredible playoff run, winning their first 12 games. They became the first team in NBA history to start the playoffs 12–0. Ian Clark won his first NBA championship when the Warriors defeated the Cavaliers in five games during the 2017 NBA Finals. The Warriors ended the playoffs with a 16–1 record, which is the best winning percentage in NBA postseason history.
Playing for the New Orleans Pelicans
On August 3, 2017, Ian Clark signed with the New Orleans Pelicans. On January 30, 2018, he scored a season-high 20 points in a game against the Sacramento Kings. He re-signed with the Pelicans on July 9, 2018, and played another season with them.
International Play: China and Australia
On August 19, 2019, Ian signed with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers in the Chinese Basketball Association. The 2019–20 season was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and he only played three games in January 2020. He returned to the Xinjiang Flying Tigers for the 2020–21 season, playing 14 games between March and April 2021.
On February 12, 2022, Ian signed with the Sydney Kings in the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). He helped the Kings win the NBL championship in May 2022.
Back to the NBL and Puerto Rico
On December 20, 2022, Ian signed with the Adelaide 36ers for the rest of the 2022–23 NBL season.
On August 4, 2023, Ian joined Melbourne United for the 2023–24 NBL season. He re-signed with United for the 2024–25 NBL season on July 25, 2024. On March 4, 2025, he scored a career-high 38 points in a close 113–112 win over the Perth Wildcats in a semi-finals game.
In April 2025, Ian Clark signed with Cangrejeros de Santurce in Puerto Rico.
Career 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 | Bold | Career high |
NBA
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013–14 | Utah | 23 | 0 | 7.5 | .388 | .355 | .714 | .8 | .7 | .3 | .1 | 3.0 |
| 2014–15 | Utah | 23 | 0 | 7.0 | .341 | .360 | 1.000 | .6 | .4 | .3 | .1 | 1.9 |
| 2014–15 | Denver | 7 | 0 | 4.4 | .364 | .200 | 1.000 | .4 | .3 | .4 | .1 | 1.9 |
| 2015–16 | Golden State | 66 | 1 | 8.8 | .441 | .357 | .824 | 1.0 | 1.0 | .3 | .2 | 3.6 |
| 2016–17† | Golden State | 77 | 0 | 14.8 | .487 | .374 | .759 | 1.6 | 1.2 | .5 | .1 | 6.8 |
| 2017–18 | New Orleans | 74 | 2 | 19.7 | .448 | .318 | .763 | 1.7 | 1.5 | .4 | .1 | 7.4 |
| 2018–19 | New Orleans | 60 | 6 | 16.2 | .394 | .327 | .893 | 1.5 | 1.6 | .4 | .1 | 6.7 |
| Career | 330 | 9 | 13.7 | .439 | .340 | .804 | 1.3 | 1.2 | .4 | .1 | 5.6 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Golden State | 16 | 0 | 9.6 | .491 | .333 | .800 | 1.1 | 1.0 | .5 | .0 | 4.1 |
| 2017† | Golden State | 16 | 0 | 13.7 | .506 | .361 | .941 | 1.6 | .7 | .4 | .0 | 6.8 |
| 2018 | New Orleans | 9 | 0 | 21.1 | .424 | .357 | 1.000 | 1.1 | 1.2 | .9 | .2 | 7.8 |
| Career | 41 | 0 | 13.7 | .475 | .354 | .903 | 1.3 | .9 | .5 | .0 | 6.0 | |
College
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009–10 | Belmont | 31 | 31 | 29.6 | .453 | .402 | .775 | 3.3 | 2.2 | 1.1 | .3 | 14.9 |
| 2010–11 | Belmont | 35 | 35 | 24.6 | .482 | .431 | .818 | 2.3 | 1.8 | 1.2 | .2 | 12.2 |
| 2011–12 | Belmont | 34 | 33 | 27.6 | .451 | .405 | .822 | 2.6 | 2.4 | 1.0 | .1 | 12.7 |
| 2012–13 | Belmont | 33 | 32 | 33.4 | .543 | .459 | .833 | 3.3 | 2.4 | 1.6 | .2 | 18.2 |
| Career | 133 | 131 | 28.7 | .484 | .425 | .810 | 2.9 | 2.2 | 1.2 | .2 | 14.4 | |
See also
In Spanish: Ian Clark para niños
