| Joey Baker | |
| Position: | Small forward / power forward |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 7 |
| Weight Lbs: | 205 |
| League: | NBA G League |
| Team: | Grand Rapids Gold |
| Number: | 45 |
| Birth Date: | 13 September 2000 |
| Birth Place: | Fayetteville, North Carolina, U.S. |
| High School: | Trinity Christian School (Fayetteville, North Carolina) |
| College: | |
| Draft Year: | 2023 |
| Career Start: | 2023 |
| Years1: | 2023–2024 |
| Team1: | Pieno žvaigždės Pasvalys |
| Years2: | 2024–present |
| Team2: | Grand Rapids Gold |
Joseph William Baker (born September 13, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the Grand Rapids Gold of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils and the Michigan Wolverines. Baker was a four-star recruit in high school and the number 3 player in North Carolina according to ESPN.
Baker attended Trinity Christian School in Fayetteville, North Carolina.[1]
Baker was a four-star recruit and one of the top players in the 2019 class, before reclassifying to the 2018 class.[2] He was ranked No.41 overall recruit in the class of 2018.[3] [4]
On October 29, 2017, Baker committed to playing college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils over offers from Kansas, Tennessee and UCLA.[5] Baker would join a recruiting class that featured future NBA players RJ Barrett, Cam Reddish, and Zion Williamson,[6] as well as Tre Jones for the 2018–19 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team.[2] During his freshman year, Baker was set to redshirt for the entire season, until Coach K put him into the game against Syracuse to fill in for the injured Williamson on February 23, 2019.[7] [8]
On December 19, 2019, Baker put up a career high in points scored with 22 against the Wofford Terriers.[9]
As a junior, Baker appeared in 23 games only averaging 2.9 points and 1.2 rebounds per game.[10]
On October 11, 2021, Mike Krzyzewski named Baker team captain alongside Wendell Moore Jr. for the 2021–22 season.[11] As a senior, Baker averaged 4.5 points and 1.2 rebound per game.[12] On May 8, 2022, Baker completed his undergraduate degree in Political Science and graduated from Duke University.[13] [14]
On June 18, 2022, Baker transferred to the University of Michigan as a graduate transfer for his final year of college basketball eligibility.[15] [16] During the offseason Baker had offseason hip surgery.[17] Baker didn't celebrate Senior night with the 2021-22 Duke Blue Devils, because he anticipated playing his fifth year there, but he did celebrate it with the 2022–23 Michigan Wolverines on February 26 against Wisconsin.[18] In the opening round of the 2023 National Invitation Tournament, against Toledo on March 14, 2023, Baker posted season-highs in points (21), field goals made (eight), and three-pointers made (five) on 8 - 11 shooting.[19] Following the game, he announced that he was pursuing a retroactive redshirt from his freshman season for the 2018-19 Duke Blue Devils.[20] Baker later decided to hire an agent and pursue professional opportunities.[21] [22]
After going undrafted in the 2023 NBA draft, Baker signed his first professional contract with Pieno žvaigždės Pasvalys of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) on September 14, 2023.[23]
On March 4, 2024, Baker joined the Grand Rapids Gold of the NBA G League.[24]
|-| style="text-align:left;"|2018–19| style="text-align:left;"|Duke| 4 || 0 || 4.5 || .250 || .500 || .000 || 1.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.3 || 0.8|-| style="text-align:left;"|2019–20| style="text-align:left;"|Duke| 28 || 3 || 12.1 || .410 || .394 || .917 || 0.9 || 0.8 || 0.5 || 0.2 || 5.0|-| style="text-align:left;"|2020–21| style="text-align:left;"|Duke| 23 || 1 || 11.5 || .310 || .314 || .750 || 1.2 || 0.4 || 0.3 || 0.3 || 2.9|-| style="text-align:left;"|2021–22| style="text-align:left;"|Duke| 34 || 0 || 11.9 || .432 || .405 || .778 || 1.2 || 0.4 || 0.4 || 0.0 || 4.5|-| style="text-align:left;"|2022–23| style="text-align:left;"|Michigan| 34 || 5 || 16.4 || .393 || .391 || .686 || 2.2 || 0.4 || 0.4|| 0.2 || 5.7|- class="sortbottom"| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career| 123 || 9 || 12.9 || .393 || .383 || .756 || 1.4 || 0.5 || 0.4 || 0.2 || 4.5
His father, Michael Baker, served in the United States Army. His mother, Jennifer Baker, is a Special Education teacher.[25]