Former Ohio State Star Signs Surprising NBA Contract
Former Ohio State Buckeyes star Jamison Battle has landed a new contract with the Toronto Raptors.
Battle began the 2024-25 NBA campaign on a two-way deal, but has now agreed to sign a three-year standard pact with the Raptors, via Shams Charania of ESPN.
The 23-year-old has played in 35 games off the bench for Toronto this season, averaging 5.4 points over 12.6 minutes per game while shooting 45.8 percent from the floor and 41.7 percent from three-point range.
Battle has posted three double-digit scoring efforts during his rookie campaign, including a season-high 24 points in a win over the New Orleans Pelicans in late November. He drained six three-pointers in the performance.
The Robbinsdale, Mn. native spent one season at Ohio State last year, registering 15.3 points and 5.2 rebounds across 31.4 minutes a night on 46.9/43.3/92.6 shooting splits. He actually led the Big Ten in free-throw percentage last year.
Battle began his collegiate career at George Washington in 2019-20 and spent two seasons with the Revolutionaries, establishing himself as a star in the Atlantic-10.
After his second year, Battle transferred to Minnesota and proceeded to hook up with the Golden Gophers for the next couple of campaigns before finally moving on to to the Buckeyes.
Battle was productive throughout his entire NCAA tenure, playing a significant role for each of his three schools.
He ended his collegiate career with averages of 14.6 points and 5.2 rebounds through 34.8 minutes per game while making 43.1 percent of his field-goal attempts, 36.9 percent of his triples and 83.3 percent of his foul shots.
Battle went undrafted last June and eventually signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Raptors the following month. He then inked a two-way deal back in October.
