Did Jon Scheyer play in the NBA? How Duke head coach’s playing career came to an end
Duke’s NCAA tournament run is already underway when the Blue Devils take down Oral Roberts in the round of 16.
Head coach Jon Scheyer ushers in a new era as the successor to the great Mike Krzyzewski, and Duke runs under his new leader. Scheyer led the Blue Devils to the ACC Tournament Championship in his inaugural season, becoming the first person in conference history to win an ACC title as both a player and coach.
Scheyer was the 2009 ACC Tournament MVP for Duke. He was NCAA Champion and All-American. But has the new Blue Devils head coach ever played in the NBA? The Sporting News dives deeper into his playing career below.
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Has Jon Scheyer ever played in the NBA?
Despite being one of the NCAA’s top guards and leading Duke to a national championship in 2010, Scheyer was not selected in the 2010 NBA draft.
He signed for the Miami Heat’s Las Vegas Summer League team, where his NBA career got off to a strong start.
In Scheyer’s first Summer League game, he showed the same steady hand he had for the Blue Devils, knocking down a game-winning 3-pointer to defeat the New Orleans Hornets.
In his second Summer League game, Scheyer suffered an unusual injury that hampered his NBA forward hopes. In a matchup with the Golden State Warriors, Scheyer was accidentally poked in the eye by Australian forward Joe Ingles.
Jon Scheyer eye injury
The New York Times reported in 2011 that Scheyer’s eye injury was described by doctors as “one in a million.”
He was diagnosed with a torn eyelid, a torn retina, a damaged optic nerve and swelling inside his eye. He had to have surgery to fix his retina.
“I couldn’t look left, I couldn’t look right. I had to keep my head still and look straight ahead and hope it heals,” Scheyer said in the New York Times article. “The optic nerve controls the message from the brain to the eye. If the message doesn’t come through, you can’t see anything.”
Jon Scheyer’s D-League Career
After recovering from his eye injury, Scheyer joined the Houston Rockets midseason in 2011 with D-League affiliate Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
Scheyer played in 16 regular season games, averaging 13.8 points, 4.1 assists, and 3.9 rebounds per game.
The Vipers qualified for the playoffs, where Scheyer helped lead his team to the D-League Finals. He averaged 11.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists in the postseason, but the Vipers fell to Iowa Energy (Bulls/Suns affiliate) in three games in the championship round.
International professional career by Jon Scheyer
After his first season in the D-League, Scheyer signed a two-year deal to play for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the EuroLeague. He only played one season in Israel before signing for Gran Canaria in Liga ACB.
He ended his playing days in 2014 when he joined Duke’s Men’s Basketball Staff as Coach K’s special assistant. He remained on the Duke Staff until he was promoted when Coach K announced his retirement.