Michael Kevin Holyfield (born November 18, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Hsinchu Toplus Lioneers of the Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL). He played college basketball at Sam Houston State.

Michael Holyfield
No. 55 – Hsinchu Toplus Lioneers
PositionCenter
LeagueTaiwan Professional Basketball League
Personal information
Born (1992-11-18) November 18, 1992 (age 32)
Albuquerque, New Mexico
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight268 lb (122 kg)
Career information
High schoolManzano (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
CollegeSam Houston State (2011–2015)
NBA draft2015: undrafted
Playing career2015–present
Career history
2015–2016Iowa Energy
2016Los Angeles D-Fenders
2016–2017Illawarra Hawks
2017Beijing Eastern Buck
2017–2018South Bay Lakers
2018Hunan Jinjian Rice Industry
2018Pauian
2019Hong Kong Eastern
2019Beijing Buck
2019–2020Hong Kong Eastern
2021Ionikos Nikaias
2021–2022Hapoel Afula
2022Tycoon
2022–2023Hapoel Hevel Modi'in
2023Changsha Wantian Yongsheng
2023–presentHsinchu Toplus Lioneers
Career highlights and awards
  • Israeli National League Cup winner (2021)
  • Third-team All-Southland (2015)
  • Southland Defensive Player of the Year (2015)
  • Southland All-Defensive Team (2015)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

High school career

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Holyfield attended Manzano High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico. As a junior in 2009–10, he averaged 12.2 points and 10.3 rebounds per game, and helped the Monarchs win the district championship. He started every game as a junior on team with seven seniors, earning second-team All-District honors. As a senior in 2010–11, he led the Monarchs to a 22–9 record, a No. 4 state ranking and the Class AAAAA state finals. He subsequently earned All-State, All-District and All-Metro selection, and was named the district's Defensive Player of the Year.[1]

College career

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Holyfield played four seasons of college basketball for Sam Houston State University. He had a minor role over his first two seasons, coming off the bench for much of his freshman and sophomore campaigns and averaging just 15 minutes per game. As a junior in 2013–14, he increased his numbers in every statistical category, averaging 6.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 17.6 minutes per game, while starting all 35 contests.[2] His 61 blocks was the fourth highest season total at SHSU. He scored in double figures in seven games, including a season-high 20 points against Northwestern State.[1]

As a senior in 2014–15, Holyfield set the school's single-season blocks record with 86 and subsequently earned Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors.[3] He also earned third-team All-Southland Conference honors after averaging 8.5 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in 17.9 minutes per game, as he started in 34 of 35 games.[2]

Holyfield completed his career as Sam Houston's fourth all-time leader in blocked shots (105) and fifth all-time in rebounds (769).[4]

Professional career

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NBA Summer League and preseason

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After going undrafted in the 2015 NBA draft, Holyfield joined the Memphis Grizzlies for the 2015 Orlando Summer League.[5] He helped the Grizzlies win the Orlando Summer League title,[4] and over five games for the team, he averaged 6.4 points and 4.2 rebounds in 14.3 minutes per game. He later joined the Boston Celtics for the Las Vegas Summer League, where he appeared in one game.[6] On September 28, 2015, he signed with the Grizzlies,[7] but was later waived by the team on October 7 after appearing in one preseason game.[8]

NBA D-League

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On October 31, 2015, Holyfield was acquired by the Iowa Energy of the NBA Development League as an affiliate player of the Grizzlies.[9] He appeared in 22 games for Iowa in 2015–16 before being traded to the Los Angeles D-Fenders on January 29, 2016.[10] In the D-Fenders' regular season finale on April 2, Holyfield had a season-best game with 19 points and 15 rebounds in a 128–121 loss to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.[11] He helped the D-Fenders reach the 2016 D-League Finals, where they were defeated 2–1 by the Sioux Falls Skyforce. In 24 games for the D-Fenders, he averaged 4.1 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.[12]

Illawarra Hawks

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On August 11, 2016, Holyfield signed with the Illawarra Hawks for the 2016–17 NBL season.[13][14] He made his debut for the Hawks in their season opener on October 7, 2016, recording 14 points, six rebounds and two blocks off the bench in a 122–88 win over the Adelaide 36ers.[15] Holyfield appeared in all 34 games for the Hawks in 2016–17, averaging 4.1 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.

China

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In June 2018, Holyfield signed with Hunan Jinjian Rice Industry of the Chinese NBL.[16]

Zhejiang Lions signed Holyfield in April 2020.[17] As the 2020 CBA season was still halted due to the COVID-19 at the time, he discontinued the contract and left the team shortly after.[18]

Greece

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Holyfield spent the latter half of the 2020–2021 season with Greek club Ionikos Nikaias.

Israel

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In 2021, Holyfield signed with the Israeli basketball team, Hapoel Afula. He recorded 11 points and 12 rebounds in his debut against the Elitzur Ashkelon.[19]

Taiwan

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On August 21, 2024, Holyfield re-signed with the Hsinchu Toplus Lioneers of the Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL).[20]

Career statistics

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Professional

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Legend
  GP Games played  MPG  Minutes per game  FG%  Field goal percentage
 3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game
 PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high     Led the league
Year Team League GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17 Illawarra Hawks NBL-Australia 34 11.0 .557 1.000 .630 4.0 .3 .2 .5 4.1
2016–17 Beijing Eastern Buck NBL-China 24 43.4 .644 .333 .540 23.6 1.0 1.0 2.2 27.2
2017–18 Hunan Jinjian Rice Industry NBL-China 35 36.6 .651 .000 .541 17.7 1.0 .8 1.4 18.0
2018–19 Tauoyuan Pauian Taiwan League 8 21.5 .574 .000 .575 10.8 1.1 .4 1.0 11.6
2018–19 Beijing Buck NBL-China 21 42.4 .621 .333 .573 21.9 1.1 1.5 1.7 24.8
2018–19 Hong Kong Eastern Long Lions ASEAN League 10 30.9 .600 .000 .569 16.4 .6 .5 2.9 15.5
2019–20 Hong Kong Eastern Long Lions ASEAN League 10 29.2 .571 .000 .500 14.6 .3 .6 2.0 12.7
Career All Leagues 142 30.7 .626 .250 .557 15.3 .8 .7 1.5 16.3

References

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  1. ^ a b "Michael Holyfield Bio". GoBearkats.com. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  2. ^ a b "#35 Michael Holyfield". WashingtonPost.com. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  3. ^ "HARD WORK PAYS OFF FOR DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF YEAR". GoBearkats.com. March 10, 2015. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  4. ^ a b "HOLYFIELD HELPS GRIZZLIES TO NBA SUMMER TITLE". GoBearkats.com. July 10, 2015. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  5. ^ "Grizzlies announce 2015 Orlando Pro Summer League Roster". NBA.com. July 1, 2015. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  6. ^ Conte, Rich (July 15, 2015). "Boston Celtics rout Miami Heat in Vegas Summer League Action". CLNSRadio.com. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  7. ^ "Grizzlies announce 2015 training camp roster". NBA.com. September 28, 2015. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  8. ^ "Memphis Grizzlies waive Michael Holyfield". NBA.com. October 7, 2015. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  9. ^ "Energy Announce Returning, Affiliate & Tryout Players". NBA.com. October 31, 2015. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  10. ^ "D-Fenders Acquire Lazar Hayward and Michael Holyfield In Two Separate Trades". NBA.com. January 29, 2016. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
  11. ^ "Threatt Sparks Vipers Over D-Fenders". NBA.com. April 2, 2016. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  12. ^ "Michael Holyfield D-League Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  13. ^ "MICHAEL HOLYFIELD TO ADD MUSCLE TO HAWKS". Hawks.com.au. August 11, 2016. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  14. ^ Jennings, Mitch (August 11, 2016). "Hawks sign man-mountain". IllawarraMercury.com.au. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  15. ^ "IRRESISTIBLE HAWKS CRUSH SIXERS, SET SCORING RECORD". NBL.com.au. October 7, 2016. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  16. ^ "Regular Season Round 1: Hunan – Hubei 110–105". EuroBasket.com. June 10, 2018. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  17. ^ "Michael Holyfield (ex Hong Kong ELL) agreed terms with Zhejiang Guangsha Lions". asia-basket.com. 3 April 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  18. ^ "又一外援离队!曝广厦队霍利菲尔德已返回美国 (Another foreign player leaves the team, Zhejiang Lions' Holyfield has returned to the USA)". sina.com.cn (in Chinese). 26 April 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  19. ^ "Elitzur Ashkelon 77 – Hapoel Afula 76". EuroBasket.com. October 13, 2021. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
  20. ^ "攻城獅宣布續約霍立飛 盼他能發揮禁區硬漢實力". Liberty Times Net. August 21, 2024. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
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