This past week was a whirlwind experience for former Liberty County and Tennessee basketball player Jordan McRae.
First, he set an NBA D-League record by scoring 61 points for the Delaware 87ers in Tuesday’s 130-123 overtime win over the Canton Charge.
McRae surpassed the record once held by Pierre Jackson, who scored 58 points in a game in 2004, according to CBS Sports. According to Liberty Ballers, McRae also had 11 rebounds and seven assists in the win and was 16 of 18 at the line.
According to Arizona Sports, that prompted the Phoenix Suns to call McRae the next day and sign him to a 10-day contract.
Friday night, McRae and the Suns were at Madison Square Garden facing the New York Knicks. Making his NBA debut, McRae scored 12 points and had four assists and two rebounds in 25 minutes played in the Suns’ 102-84 loss.
He was also 3 of 4 at the line and had a highlight-reel slam dunk, which has been making the rounds online.
McRae was the 58th overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft by the San Antonio Spurs. He was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers and joined the summer league that year, where he averaged 21 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1 assist and 1.8 steals per game.
For the 2014-15 season McRae played for Melbourne United and finished third in scoring, 11th in steals, 12th in blocks and 13th in assists in Australia’s National Basketball League.
In March 2015, McRae was acquired by the Delaware 87ers of the NBA D-League, where he played out the season.
He was reacquired by the 87ers for this season, has played in 28 games to date and is averaging 23.1 points per game.
Arizona Sports reported that McRae looked comfortable reading the defense and attacking the basket against the Knicks and was brought off the bench for his NBA debut in the first quarter. He promptly had three straight assists and a steal.