Last Updated on August 7, 2026 by Mat Diekhake

Jimmer Fredette is a high-scoring basketball guard whose deep three-point shooting, long-range shot creation, and prolific college career at BYU translated into NBA opportunities with the Sacramento Kings, Chicago Bulls, New Orleans Pelicans, New York Knicks, and Phoenix Suns. His scoring-guard archetype, fearless perimeter offense, and elite shooting range also fueled a decorated international career beyond the NBA.

Here is the detailed profile of Jimmer Fredette:

Player Profile

  • Full Name: James Taft Fredette
  • Nationality: American
  • Age: Born on February 25, 1989
  • Hometown: Glens Falls, New York, USA
  • Height: 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 meters)
  • Weight: 195 pounds (88 kg)
  • Wingspan: 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 meters)
  • Shoe Size: Size 13 (US)
  • Number: 7, 32, 8
  • Position: Shooting guard / Point guard
  • High School: Glens Falls High School (Glens Falls, New York)
  • College: Brigham Young University (BYU) (2007–2011)
  • NBA Draft: 2011, 1st round, 10th overall pick by the Milwaukee Bucks (rights traded to the Sacramento Kings)
  • Teams Played For:
    • Sacramento Kings (2011–2014)
    • Chicago Bulls (2014)
    • New Orleans Pelicans (2014–2015)
    • New York Knicks (2016)
    • Phoenix Suns (2019)
    • Played internationally, including in China (Shanghai Sharks) and Greece (Panathinaikos)
  • Championship Rings: None
  • Kids: Jimmer Fredette has three children, two sons and a daughter, with his wife Whitney Wonnacott.
  • Siblings: He has two older siblings, including a brother named TJ Fredette, who helped train him in basketball.

Player Archetype / Play Style

Jimmer Fredette’s player archetype was that of a microwave scoring guard, a shot-making lead guard whose value came from instant offense, deep range, and the ability to heat up quickly. Defensively, his role was limited, as his lack of size, length, and NBA-caliber lateral quickness made him more of a player teams tried to protect within the scheme than one they leaned on at the point of attack. Offensively, he was built to space the floor, fire off the catch or dribble, handle some secondary playmaking, and manufacture points well beyond the arc, with his jumper always driving his appeal. Physically, Fredette had a sturdy frame for a guard but lacked ideal burst, length, and top-end athletic tools, which narrowed his margin for error against bigger, faster NBA backcourts. His overall play style was aggressive, confident, and score-first, blending pull-up shooting, long-range touch, and creative shot-making, but it translated more cleanly as a specialist scorer than as a complete two-way rotation guard. (NBADraft)

Scouting Report

Watching Jimmer Fredette, the first thing that jumps out isn’t simply the shooting range—it’s how eager he is to weaponise it. Defenders are forced to pick him up well beyond the three-point line, and that changes the geometry of the floor before the offence has really started. He thrives coming out of high pick-and-rolls, using the threat of the pull-up to freeze big men just long enough to create a sliver of space, and he’s comfortable flowing straight into another screen if the first action doesn’t produce an opening. That’s where he is at his most dangerous. He doesn’t need much daylight to get the ball away, and his confidence never seems tied to whether the previous shot went in. The trade-off is that the same aggressive scoring mindset can narrow his vision. There are possessions where the roller or weak-side shooter arrives a fraction before he recognises it because he’s already committed to hunting his own jumper. Defensively, opponents naturally target him. Bigger guards can dislodge him with physicality, and quicker ball handlers often force him into difficult recovery situations through repeated screening actions, making it hard for him to consistently navigate the point of attack without help. It’s easy to overlook that he competes and generally understands where he should be within the scheme, but understanding rotations isn’t the same as possessing the physical tools to finish them. His ideal role is alongside a larger primary creator who can absorb the toughest defensive assignments while allowing Fredette to function as an off-ball movement shooter and secondary pick-and-roll scorer rather than the offensive hub. To me, there are elements of Ben Gordon in the fearless shot-making and ability to erupt quickly, while his willingness to launch from well beyond the arc and stretch defensive coverages also recalls a less dynamic version of Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf. When the offence is built to maximise his gravity instead of asking him to manufacture everything himself, his strengths become far more difficult to contain.

Player Insights

Jimmer Fredette was a standout in college playing for BYU but was never given a large role during any of the NBA seasons that he played. Fredette was an outstanding scorer at BYU where put up as many as 49 points in a single game. However, that outside shooting prowess never worked in the NBA. It’s ironic because more outside shooting has occurred in the NBA every passing year since the 90s. I’m concerned that the third overall pick for the Houston Rockets in the 2024 Draft, Reed Sheppard, is going to suffer a similar fate. 2/25/2025

Sources:

NBADraft.net — Jimmer Fredette
NBA.com — Jimmer Fredette is Grateful and Motivated by Second Chance in NBA
Deseret News — The Kings and I: Jimmer Fredette’s trying to make it in the NBA on a young, hungry team
ESPN — Would Celtics want Jimmer Fredette?