ATHENS, Ga. — Former Georgia Bulldog Damien Wilkins has signed a contract with the Indiana Pacers, the franchise announced on Thursday.
Wilkins is an NBA veteran with nine seasons playing for six different franchises but hasn’t played in the regular season since 2013.
“It’s what I’ve been waiting for for a long time,” Wilkins said. “The last time I was in the NBA was with Philadelphia. I was hoping this would come. All I ever wanted was another opportunity. I’ve tried to continue to work hard. Everyone who knows me knows how bad I want this. Some people have told me to ‘give up; you’re tool old; the game has changed.’ I know how difficult it is to get back in the NBA. I kept my faith and kept my work ethic and tried to play in places since then that would allow me to play on stages where people can still see what I can do.”
Wilkins played for the Bulldogs in 2002-03 and 2003-04. He served as Georgia's co-captain as a senior, averaging 12.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.
Wilkins made the Seattle SuperSonics' roster as an undrafted free agent in 2004 and played nine seasons in the NBA with Seattle, Oklahoma City, Minnesota, Atlanta, Detroit and Philadelphia. He played professionally in China and Puerto Rico during the 2013-14 season and then joined Iowa Energy of the NBA D-League in 2014-15. Wilkins finished the season ranked eighth among league scoring leaders (20.2 points per game) and also contributed 5.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game. He helped lead the United States to a bronze medal in the 2015 Pan Am Games before returning overseas to play in Puerto Rico and Venezuela in 2015-16. Last season, he averaged 14.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists for the Greensboro Swarm, the Charlotte Hornets’ D-League franchise.
“Most importantly, I kept my relationships clean and tried not to burn any bridges,” Wilkins said. “(Pacers head coach) Nate McMillan was my coach my rookie year in Seattle. The president of the team (Kevin Pritchard) offered me my first contract after my rookie season when he was coaching Portland, and then Seattle matched it. The GM (Chad Buchanan) was an assistant GM in Charlotte when I was there in training camp two years ago and when I played on Charlotte’s D-League team. Things come full circle. It’s important to keep relationships because you never know where people will land in this league.”
While excited that those within the franchise are familiar with his abilities, Wilkins is anything but overconfident.
“It’s tricky,” Wilkins said. “I still want to go out there and prove everything they see in me and work my butt off. That’s what I’m going to do and work extra hard. I don’t want to let them down. You want to let them know they made the right decision. That’s what I’m focusing on, doing the things they want me to do and working as hard as I possibly can.
“Let’s be honest; it’s not a sexy signing,” Wilkins said. “People have their opinions about it. The people I know are excited and happy for me. Others, from the outside looking in, might ask ‘Why?’ And I’m OK with that. Everyone on your roster is not LeBron or Kevin Durant. You have to have some glue guys like the Craig Hodges and the Malik Roses. All special teams have them. My role is to help the young guys and be ready. People won’t see the value of it until it’s over.”
Wilkins is an NBA veteran with nine seasons playing for six different franchises but hasn’t played in the regular season since 2013.
“It’s what I’ve been waiting for for a long time,” Wilkins said. “The last time I was in the NBA was with Philadelphia. I was hoping this would come. All I ever wanted was another opportunity. I’ve tried to continue to work hard. Everyone who knows me knows how bad I want this. Some people have told me to ‘give up; you’re tool old; the game has changed.’ I know how difficult it is to get back in the NBA. I kept my faith and kept my work ethic and tried to play in places since then that would allow me to play on stages where people can still see what I can do.”
Wilkins played for the Bulldogs in 2002-03 and 2003-04. He served as Georgia's co-captain as a senior, averaging 12.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.
Wilkins made the Seattle SuperSonics' roster as an undrafted free agent in 2004 and played nine seasons in the NBA with Seattle, Oklahoma City, Minnesota, Atlanta, Detroit and Philadelphia. He played professionally in China and Puerto Rico during the 2013-14 season and then joined Iowa Energy of the NBA D-League in 2014-15. Wilkins finished the season ranked eighth among league scoring leaders (20.2 points per game) and also contributed 5.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game. He helped lead the United States to a bronze medal in the 2015 Pan Am Games before returning overseas to play in Puerto Rico and Venezuela in 2015-16. Last season, he averaged 14.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists for the Greensboro Swarm, the Charlotte Hornets’ D-League franchise.
“Most importantly, I kept my relationships clean and tried not to burn any bridges,” Wilkins said. “(Pacers head coach) Nate McMillan was my coach my rookie year in Seattle. The president of the team (Kevin Pritchard) offered me my first contract after my rookie season when he was coaching Portland, and then Seattle matched it. The GM (Chad Buchanan) was an assistant GM in Charlotte when I was there in training camp two years ago and when I played on Charlotte’s D-League team. Things come full circle. It’s important to keep relationships because you never know where people will land in this league.”
While excited that those within the franchise are familiar with his abilities, Wilkins is anything but overconfident.
“It’s tricky,” Wilkins said. “I still want to go out there and prove everything they see in me and work my butt off. That’s what I’m going to do and work extra hard. I don’t want to let them down. You want to let them know they made the right decision. That’s what I’m focusing on, doing the things they want me to do and working as hard as I possibly can.
“Let’s be honest; it’s not a sexy signing,” Wilkins said. “People have their opinions about it. The people I know are excited and happy for me. Others, from the outside looking in, might ask ‘Why?’ And I’m OK with that. Everyone on your roster is not LeBron or Kevin Durant. You have to have some glue guys like the Craig Hodges and the Malik Roses. All special teams have them. My role is to help the young guys and be ready. People won’t see the value of it until it’s over.”
