Ex Mizzou Guard Jordan Clarkson to Play Internationally at FIBA Qualifiers
Former Missouri Tigers guard and current Utah Jazz standout Jordan Clarkson is set to play for the Philippines in the fourth window of 2023 FIBA qualifiers this August, the Philippines basketball federation, Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, announced Friday.
“Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson is sure to play in the World Cup,” the SBP said in a statement.
Clarkson, whose mother is of Filipino descent, played for the national team in 2018. He has dual citizenship with the Philippines and United States. Clarkson will be considered a "naturalized' played for the Filipinos, as he was not born in the country.
“The one thing Jordan will bring to the team is gravity,” national team head coach Chot Reyes told PlayItRight TV. “Just by being him on the court, the other team is really going to worry about stopping him.”
The Filipino national team finished the second round of the third window of qualifiers with a 2-2 record. The team will take on Lebanon on Aug. 25 and Saudi Arabia on Aug. 29.
Clarkson played just one season at Mizzou after transferring from Tulsa in 2012 and red-shirting his initial year in Columbia. He started all 35 games for the Tigers in his lone season, averaging 17.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.1 steals on 45 percent shooting.
But he used this productive all-around 2013-14 campaign to earn himself a second-round selection in the 2014 NBA Draft. After being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers on draft night, Clarkson would learn under the wing of the legendary Kobe Bryant on his way to being named to the 2015 All-Rookie First Team.
Clarkson played three full seasons with the Lakers before being traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2017-18 season. He was a part of the LeBron James-led Cavs team that made it to the 2018 NBA Finals.
Clarkson has found his footing as one of the league's more underrated bench stars over the past three seasons with the Utah Jazz. Starting just one game with the team in the 2020-21 season, Clarkson averaged a career-high 18.4 points off the bench which helped him earn the 2021 Sixth Man of the Year Award.
After averaging double digits in scoring every year he's been in the league, Clarkson enters his ninth season. But he'll set his sights on the FIBA stage later this summer as he aims to bring international success to the Philippines.
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