As a junior, Patterson helped lead the Panthers back to the NCAA tournament. Once there, however, Pitt lost to eventual Final Four participant Wichita State. Patterson returned for his senior season as the Panthers moved to the Atlantic Coast Conference. Patterson enjoyed a breakout season as he was one of the top players in the league, raising his scoring average to 17.1 from 10.0 as a junior.[3] At the close of the season, Patterson was named second team All-ACC by both the league's coaches and media.[4]
Professional career
Tofas (2014–2015)
On June 26, 2014, Patterson was selected with the 48th overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft by the Milwaukee Bucks. He was later traded to the Atlanta Hawks on draft night.[5][6] In July 2014, he joined the Hawks for the 2014 NBA Summer League.[7] On August 5, 2014, he signed with Tofaş of the Turkish Basketball League (TBL).[8] In 29 TBL games for Tofaş in 2014–15, he averaged 11.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.0 steals per game.
Atlanta Hawks (2015–2016)
On July 24, 2015, Patterson signed with the Atlanta Hawks after averaging 13.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.6 steals in seven Summer League games for the team.[9] On October 27, 2015, he made his NBA debut, recording five points and two assists in a loss to the Detroit Pistons.[10] During his rookie season, using the flexible assignment rule, Patterson received multiple assignments to the Austin Spurs and Canton Charge of the NBA Development League.[11] On July 12, 2016, he was waived by the Hawks.[12]
On July 15, 2016, Patterson was claimed off waivers by the Sacramento Kings.[13] On October 19, 2016, he was waived by the Kings after appearing in four preseason games.[14]
Reno Bighorns and Atlanta Hawks (2016–2017)
On October 31, 2016, Patterson was acquired by the Reno Bighorns of the NBA Development League as an affiliate player of the Kings.[15] On January 29, 2017, Patterson signed a 10-day contract with the Atlanta Hawks, returning to the franchise for a second stint.[16] On February 8, 2017, he signed a second 10-day contract with the Hawks.[17] On February 18, 2017, after the second 10-day contract expired, Patterson returned to Reno.[18] Six days later, Patterson signed a multi-year contract with the Hawks.[19] However, on February 26, he was waived again; the team and Patterson agreed to his release to allow Patterson to address a personal matter.[20] Two days later, he was reacquired by the Bighorns.[18] On March 18, 2017, Patterson was waived by the Bighorns.[21]
Santeros de Aguada (2017)
In June 2017, Patterson joined Puerto Rican team Santeros de Aguada.[22] In 14 games, he averaged 15.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game.
Auxilium Pallacanestro Torino (2017–2018)
On July 31, 2017, Patterson signed with Italian team Fiat Torino.[23] In March 2018, he was released by Torino.[24]
On October 31, 2018, Patterson signed with the Brisbane Bullets for the rest of the 2018–19 NBL season.[27] He was named to the All-NBL First Team and averaged 17.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.3 steals, in 24 games.
In May 2019, Patterson returned to China to play for Wuhan Dangdai.[28] In five games, he averaged 22.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game.
On July 31, 2019, Patterson re-signed with the Brisbane Bullets for the 2019–20 NBL season.[29] He was named to the All-NBL First Team.[30]
On August 4, 2020, Patterson signed with the New Zealand Breakers for the 2020–21 NBL season, returning to the Australian NBL for a third season.[34] He struggled early for the Breakers and appeared out of prime playing condition. He averaged 10.8 points and 3.7 rebounds in six games—down from a career 18.7 points per game—and shot just 37 percent from the floor before going down with a knee injury[35][36] that kept him out for the final seven games of the NBL Cup.[37] He was released by the Breakers on March 16, 2021.[38]
Brisbane Bullets, NBL1 and Puerto Rico (2021–2024)
On March 17, 2021, Patterson signed with the Brisbane Bullets for the rest of the 2020–21 NBL season.[39] In his first game back for the Bullets on April 7, he fouled out in the third quarter with just four points in an 88–82 win over the Illawarra Hawks.[40] In 17 games, he averaged 14.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Following the NBL season, he joined the Southern Districts Spartans for the rest of the 2021 NBL1 North season.[41][42]
^"Gutsy Bullets send Hawks into freefall". NBL.com.au. April 7, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2021. Brisbane was able to activate replacement import Lamar Patterson, but he fouled out in the third quarter with just four points to his name...
