E._J._Liddell
E. J. Liddell
American basketball player (born 2000)
Eric "E. J." Liddell Jr. (born December 18, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA).[1] He played college basketball for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Liddell with Ohio State in 2022 | |
| No. 32 – New Orleans Pelicans | |
|---|---|
| Position | Power forward |
| League | NBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (2000-12-18) December 18, 2000 (age 23) Belleville, Illinois, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) |
| Listed weight | 240 lb (109 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Belleville West (Belleville, Illinois) |
| College | Ohio State (2019–2022) |
| NBA draft | 2022: 2nd round, 41st overall pick |
| Selected by the New Orleans Pelicans | |
| Playing career | 2022–present |
| Career history | |
| 2022–present | New Orleans Pelicans |
| 2023–2024 | →Birmingham Squadron |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Stats  at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
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Liddell was raised in Belleville, Illinois, and went to high school at Belleville High School-West.[2] He averaged 20.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game as a junior, won the 2018 Illinois Mr. Basketball award,[3] shared the 2018 St. Louis Post Dispatch Player of the Year with Courtney Ramey,[4] and won the Illinois 4A class state championship.[5] As a senior, he averaged 20.2 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.8 blocks per game. For the second year in a row, he won Illinois Mr. Basketball,[6] the St. Louis Post Dispatch Player of the Year,[7] and the Illinois 4A class state championship.[3]
Recruiting
Liddell was a consensus four-star recruit and ranked the best player in the state of Illinois. On October 1, 2018, Liddell committed to playing college basketball for Ohio State over scholarship offers from teams such as Illinois, Missouri, and Wisconsin.[8]
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E. J. Liddell PF |
Belleville, IL | Belleville West (IL) | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Oct 1, 2018 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 89 | ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 41 247Sports: 60 ESPN: 38 | ||||||
Sources:
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Liddell came off the bench during his freshman year, averaging 6.7 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. He played in all 31 games and was second on the team with 29 blocks.[3][9] He had a double-double in a win against Illinois.[10]
During the early parts of his sophomore season, he contracted mononucleosis, which led to Liddell being out for several games.[11] He had another good game against Illinois during his sophomore year, scoring a season-high 26 points in a win.[12] Liddell averaged 16.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game during his sophomore season.[9] After Ohio State's Round of 64 loss to Oral Roberts, Liddell received threats from basketball fans via social media. After he posted screenshots of the threats on Twitter, Ohio State reached out to law enforcement regarding the threats.[13]
On March 31, 2021, Liddell declared for the 2021 NBA draft while maintaining his college eligibility.[14] He later withdrew from the draft and announced that would return to Ohio State for his junior season. On January 9, 2022, Liddell scored a career-high 34 points in a 95–87 win against Northwestern.[15] He was named to the First Team All-Big Ten.[16] As a junior, he averaged 19.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.6 blocks per game. On March 25, 2022, Liddell declared for the 2022 NBA draft, forgoing his remaining college eligibility.[17]
New Orleans Pelicans (2022–present)
Liddell was drafted in the second round of the 2022 NBA draft by the New Orleans Pelicans. During an NBA Summer League game against the Atlanta Hawks on July 11, 2022, Liddell suffered a torn ACL.[18] On October 16, he signed a two-way contract with the Pelicans.[19]
On July 6, 2023, Liddell signed a multi-year deal with the New Orleans Pelicans.[20]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | 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 |
NBA
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023–24 | New Orleans | 8 | 0 | 2.9 | .167 | .000 | 1.000 | .6 | .1 | .3 | .3 | .5 |
| Career | 8 | 0 | 2.9 | .167 | .000 | 1.000 | .6 | .1 | .3 | .3 | .5 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | New Orleans | 1 | 0 | 2.5 | — | — | — | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 |
| Career | 1 | 0 | 2.5 | — | — | — | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | |
College
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019–20 | Ohio State | 31 | 0 | 16.6 | .464 | .192 | .718 | 3.8 | .5 | .4 | .9 | 6.7 |
| 2020–21 | Ohio State | 29 | 29 | 29.4 | .474 | .338 | .746 | 6.7 | 1.8 | .7 | 1.1 | 16.2 |
| 2021–22 | Ohio State | 32 | 32 | 33.2 | .490 | .374 | .765 | 7.9 | 2.5 | .6 | 2.6 | 19.4 |
| Career | 92 | 61 | 26.4 | .480 | .341 | .749 | 6.1 | 1.6 | .5 | 1.6 | 14.1 | |
- Emerson, Jack (9 September 2020). "Men's Basketball: E.J. Liddell gets more opportunity to shine in sophomore campaign". The Lantern.
- "E.J. Liddell-Ohio State Men's Basketball". Ohio State Athletics. 8 July 2019.
- Kvidahl, David (March 31, 2018). "All-Metro boys basketball co-players of the year: Ramey, Liddell cemented legacies". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
- Harrison, Phil (17 March 2019). "Ohio State basketball recruit E.J. Liddell's team wins Illinois state championship". Buckeyes Wire.
- Criddle, Dean. "Two players have won Mr. Illinois Basketball twice. West's Liddell is now one of them". Belleville News–Democrat.
- Kvidahl, David (31 March 2019). "All-Metro boys basketball player of the year: Belleville West's Liddell leaves a legacy few can rival". St. Louis High School Sports.
- Criddle, Dean. "EJ Liddell picks Ohio State over Illini, Missouri". Belleville News-Democrat.
- "E.J. Liddell College Stats". Sports Reference.
- Murphy, Patrick. "EJ Liddell puts it together in breakout performance vs. Illinois". Bucknuts.
- Jardy, Adam. "Ohio State's E.J. Liddell full-steam ahead for Big Ten play after playing through illness". BuckeyeXtra.
- "E.J. Liddell fuels No. 21 Ohio State past No. 14 Illinois". Reuters. 16 January 2021.
- "Source: Ohio State reaches out to police after E.J. Liddell received threatening tweets following NCAA tournament loss". ESPN.com. March 20, 2021. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
- Zucker, Joseph. "Ohio State's E.J. Liddell Will Enter Name in 2021 NBA Draft". Bleacher Report.
- "Liddell leads No. 13 Ohio State past Northwestern 95–87". ESPN. Associated Press. January 9, 2022. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
- "2021-22 Big Ten Men's Basketball Postseason Honors Announced" (Press release). Big Ten Conference. March 8, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
- Chavkin, Daniel (March 25, 2022). "Ohio State Star Forward E.J. Liddell Announces Decision to Enter NBA Draft". SI.com. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
- "Pelicans sign E.J. Liddell to two-way contract". NBA.com. October 16, 2022. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
- "Pelicans sign E.J. Liddell to a multi year contract". NBA.com. July 6, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
