T
HE BEST ADVICE RJ
Hampton ever got came via DM,
courtesy of Kyrie Irving. The
NBA All-Star followed the high
school All-American on
Instagram a while back, and once they
got to talking, Kyrie dropped a gem. As
Hampton remembers, “He basically said,
‘Be you—don’t let anybody tell you that
you can’t do something. You’re the one
that’s going to define your game.’”
If you’d heard Hampton share this
story when we did, a couple of weeks
before he went on ESPN to announce
the next step on his path to the NBA,
that message from Kyrie would’ve
been echoing in your brain. That was
when Hampton made clear he was
ready to define his game—and his place
in it—and wouldn’t be limited by
precedent or expectation. As he told a
national audience that morning in late
May, he’s bypassing college to play
professionally next season with the
New Zealand Breakers of Australia’s
National Basketball League. With that
decision, one of the top-10 players in the
2019 class—reclassified only weeks
earlier from 2020—signaled he was
ready to begin his professional career,
on his terms.
“Making this jump, for me, it’s
something I’ve always wanted to do,”
Hampton says. “Ever since the start of
this season, I’ve been thinking about
reclassing to 2019—it’s just getting
closer to your main goal, and my main
goal is to get to the NBA. I feel like I’m
just one step closer than I would be if I
was going back to high school.”
It might seem like a drastic transi-
tion—from high school junior at Little Elm
(TX) High to signing an overseas pro
contract in a matter of weeks—but
Hampton is making the jump not only
supremely confident in himself, but withthe full backing of his tight-knit family.
That includes his pops, Rod, who played
college ball at SMU before hooping in the
CBA and Europe; the person most
responsible for pushing RJ to become
great, his mom, Markita; and his younger
brother Ryan. The fam will be joining RJ
on what figures to be a single-season
detour, some 7,500 miles from their
home outside Dallas.
“I feel good about the decision—it’s
finally out, and we can move on,” Markita
says. “I feel like RJ had a great last year
in high school, and I just don’t feel like
there was any more he could do in high
school. He’s really ready for the next
chapter.”
If the next chapter’s anything like the
previous ones, fans in Auckland are in for
a treat. The 6-5 lead guard already has a
pair of international gold medals, one
from the 2017 FIBA Americas U16 squad
and another from the 2018 FIBA U17
World Cup. He earned that hardware (and
a slew of accolades) with a game he
describes as “a fast-paced player who’sgoing to score the ball at a fast rate,
rebound, play defense, pass, just do
everything, and make the game exciting.”
He’s happy to elaborate on the players
and skills he borrows from: Stephen
Curry’s off-ball movement, LeBron’s
passing and leadership, and of course
Kyrie, for the way he uses his dribble to
create space against bigger defenders.
“To do what he’s doing at that size is
incredible,” Hampton says.
Of course, what Hampton’s doing
now is pretty remarkable, too: venturing
into nearly uncharted territory, con-
trolling his own basketball destiny, and
earning fair market value for his work. If
he feels the pressure of being a trailblaz-
er, he doesn’t show it. He knows he’s far
from a finished product—he’s focused on
getting stronger and faster this season,
his first competing against grown men.
But with his family on board and his
sense of humor intact—he says friends
call him “one of the funniest people
they’ve ever met”—Hampton simply
seems to be enjoying the ride. SSLAMONLINE.COM 61OVERSEAS
DRIP
Eighteen-year-old RJ Hampton is blazing his own
trail, bypassing college hoops in favor of playing
in an Australian pro league before heading to the
NBA. And if you’re doubting his decision, the joke
will be on you soon enough.WORDS RYAN JONES // PORTRAITS JAREN COLLINS