St. John’s basketball standout JaKarr Sampson remains with Pacers

St. John’s basketball standout JaKarr Sampson is remaining with the Indiana Pacers for the upcoming season.

After apparently finding a home with the Indiana Pacers, former St. John’s basketball standout JaKarr Sampson will remain in the Hoosier state.

Sampson agreed to a one year, fully guaranteed veteran minimum deal with the Indiana Pacers, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Despite posting his rather pedestrian numbers in the 34-game regular season, Sampson came on strong for the Pacers inside the NBA Bubble in Orlando, Florida, despite seeing his team swept in the first round by the eventual Eastern Conference Champion Miami Heat.

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Through his short regular season, Sampson started 12 games, averaging 4.6 points and 2.6 rebounds per game while shooting 59.1 percent from the floor and a lowly 15.4 percent from 3-point range.

The 2020-21 season will mark the second time the undrafted product from Queens will start the season with the same franchise as the previous season, the only other time was in his first two NBA season (2014-15 and 2015-16) with the Philadelphia 76ers.

The St. John’s basketball product is no stranger to jumping teams

Sampson has spent time with the 76ers, Denver Nuggets, Sacramento Kings, Chicago Bulls, and Pacers in his five seasons in the NBA.

In his two years at St. John’s, the 6-foot-7 forward averaged 13.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 1.0 blocks per game while shooting 46.9 percent from the field and being named to Big East All-Freshman Team.

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Indiana ended the regular season and restart games with a 45-28 record and its sweep in the playoffs by the Heat which resulted in the firing of head coach Nate McMillan.

JaKarr Sampson and the Indiana Pacers will be back on the court shortly as the NBA begins training camp on December 1 and the league is targeting December 22 to open its season although schedule has been released.