Ish Wainright

Ishmail Carzell Wainright (born September 12, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for Hapoel Tel Aviv of the Israel Basketball Premier League (IBPL). He also represents the senior Ugandan national team. He played college basketball for the Baylor Bears, as well as played football as a tight end. Wainright is the grandson of former NBA player Maurice King.

High school career
Wainright played two seasons for head coach Stu Vetter at Montrose Christian School in Rockville, Maryland, helping the team to 19–5 record as senior in 2012–13. He earned 2013 All-MET honors after averaging 8.8 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 8.2 assists for Mustangs. He began his prep career at Raytown South High School in suburban Kansas City, where he averaged 13.6 points and 9.8 rebounds as a sophomore in 2010–11. A consensus top-75 recruit, he was ranked No. 28 in 2013 class by ESPN.com, No. 51 by Scout.com, No. 52 by Rivals.com, and No. 62 by 247Sports.com.

College career
Wainright played four seasons of basketball for the Baylor Bears. He averaged 5.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game as a junior. As a senior, Wainright averaged 5.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.7 steals per game. He was named to the Big 12 All-Defensive Team. He played one season of football after his basketball career, playing tight end. Wainright had four catches for 34 yards and two touchdowns.

After finishing his career at Baylor, Wainright joined the Buffalo Bills of the NFL as an undrafted free agent, but he did not make the final roster.

Nürnberg Falcons (2018–2019)
Wainright returned to basketball and signed with Nürnberg Falcons BC on September 3, 2018. He averaged 12.1 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.

Rasta Vechta (2019–2020)
On July 2, 2019, Wainright signed with Rasta Vechta. Wainright averaged 10.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.4 assist and 1.8 steals per game.

SIG Strasbourg (2020–2021)
On June 17, 2020, he signed with SIG Strasbourg.

Phoenix Suns (2021–2023)
On August 7, 2021, Wainright signed a two-year, non-guaranteed deal with the Toronto Raptors, but was waived by the Raptors on October 17. Five days later, he signed a two-way contract with the Phoenix Suns. Wainright later made his NBA debut on November 19 near the end of a win against the Dallas Mavericks, with him recording his first official points, rebounds, and assist two days later in a blowout win over the Denver Nuggets. On January 30, 2022, Wainright scored a then-season-high 10 points and put up two blocks in 20 minutes of action (including the entirety of the fourth quarter) in a 115–110 win over the San Antonio Spurs. On April 6, he surpassed his season bests with career highs of 20 points and 8 rebounds in a close loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. On April 10, the Suns converted his deal into a standard contract.

Wainright joined the Suns' 2022 NBA Summer League roster. On August 4, 2022, Wainright signed a two-way contract with the Suns. After dealing with lower back pain and then the death of his father, pastor Calvin Wainright, Ishmail Wainright returned to action with the Suns on November 16, hitting a three-pointer in a 130–119 win over the defending champion Golden State Warriors.

On February 24, 2023, Wainwright signed a two-year, $2.5 million deal with the Suns, including a team option for the 2023–24 season. Wainwright previously operated under a two-way contract and was nearing the 50-game limit. On March 5 against the Dallas Mavericks, coach Monty Williams made a decision late in the third quarter to substitute starter Josh Okogie, who had missed all of his eight three-point attempts, with Wainright. Although he had not played in the game up until that point, Wainwright made a significant impact, hitting four of his five three-point attempts, helping the Suns secure a 130–126 victory.

On October 19, 2023, Wainwright was waived shortly before the 2023–24 season.

Portland Trail Blazers (2023–2024)
On October 21, 2023, Wainwright was claimed off waivers by the Portland Trail Blazers. Wainright made his debut with the Trail Blazers on November 14 in a loss to the Utah Jazz during the 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament. On January 6, 2024, he was waived by Portland.

Return to Phoenix (2024)
On March 4, 2024, Wainwright returned to the Phoenix Suns on a two-way contract. In his third season with the Suns, he would only play four total games with them due to him being a late return for the franchise.

Hapoel Tel Aviv (2024–present)
On July 10, 2024, Wainright signed with the Hapoel Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League.

National team career
Wainright plays for the Uganda men's national basketball team. As an American born in Kansas City, Missouri, he was convinced by Uganda coaches George Galanopoulous and Mike Schmitz to become a naturalized Ugandan to help build the team and increase employment opportunities. Wainright scored 36 points and collected 13 rebounds in his national team debut in a win over in November 2020. He was on the roster during AfroBasket 2021.

Personal life
Wainright's father, Calvin Wainright, was born under his mother Marvine Wainright and raised by Marvine and her husband Alvin Joe, while his biological father was former NBA player Maurice King, making him a half-sibling to King's other siblings. During Calvin's adult life, up until his death on October 31, 2022, he was a pastor and youth basketball coach in Kansas City, Missouri. In 2020, he received the Kansas City People's Choice Awards Humanitarian Award for his work in the city. Ish learned who his grandfather from his mother's side of the family was while he was playing for Baylor, which he honored in a match against Kansas University by going under the name of Ishmail King-Wainright throughout the game.

Wainright also has a younger brother named Amaad that also previously played college basketball. Amaad played basketball collegiately at Trinity Valley Community College in the NJCAA, Kansas State University in the NCAA, and Louisiana State University Shreveport in the NAIA. During his only season in Kansas State, Amaad and the Wildcats made it to the 2018 NCAA tournament, going as far as the Elite 8 in their tournament run that season.

Wainright is also the cousin of current Grand Canyon basketball player Tyon Grant-Foster, who went to Grand Canyon University after a recommendation from Wainright and a relationship from Baylor with Grand Canyon's coach, Bryce Drew. Grant-Foster previously played for Indian Hills Community College in the NJCAA, the University of Kansas, and DePaul University before a health scare in a season opener during his only game with DePaul against Coppin State University had him risk not playing basketball altogether at one point. During his only season at Grand Canyon, Grant-Foster would win the WAC Player of the Year award and reach the All-WAC First Team in 2024, as well as lead the university to their first ever victory in the NCAA tournament by defeating St. Mary's College.