EXUM Dante

General
TURNING PRO
He had originally intended to attend college in the United States of America, but chose to bypass college and turn professional after finishing high school in 2013. He was selected by the Utah Jazz as the fifth overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. "I was planning on going to College and then it all happened so fast. Two of my strongest childhood dreams were to represent the Australian Boomers and play in the NBA. In the past six weeks [2014], both those dreams have come true." He played in more than 200 games for the Jazz over five seasons, before he was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in December 2019, where he remained until January 2021 when he was traded to the Houston Rockets. (nba.com, 21 Apr 2021; forbes.com, 27 Aug 2019; sneakerfreaker.com, 06 Aug 2014)

FATHER'S INFLUENCE
He said his father Cecil, who was part of the same team as US basketballer Michael Jordan at University of North Carolina and played professionally in Australia, has helped guide him throughout his career. "Anyone that has a basketball coach as a dad, you would know that it's after those Friday night games, getting in the car after just playing a bad game, you don't wanna hear about it the whole ride home. So I always loved travelling to games with my mum. It was just him [dad] trying to make me a better player, and I realised that when I was growing up. He showed me a couple of things on tape, but it was all about him getting on the court and really showing me what he did, what worked for him and how he was able to play over such a long, career. He talked about Michael Jordan's incredible work ethic and how he didn't get to be the greatest by luck. That's one thing I try and take into my game everyday and always try to improve on. Maintaining that work ethic and being able to work hard everyday." (sneakerfreeker.com, 06 Aug 2014)