36 Facts About Sonny Weems

1.

Clarence "Sonny" Weems was born on July 8,1986 and is an American professional basketball player for the Shanxi Loongs of the Chinese Basketball Association.

2.

Sonny Weems played college basketball for the University of Arkansas and the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.

3.

Sonny Weems was selected by the Chicago Bulls in the 2008 NBA draft and shortly thereafter traded to the Denver Nuggets.

4.

Sonny Weems has since played for the Toronto Raptors, Phoenix Suns and Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA, and has had stints in Lithuania and Russia.

5.

Sonny Weems was an All-EuroLeague First Team selection in 2014.

6.

Sonny Weems was born with cleft feet, and as a child, he was told that he might not be able to walk or run.

7.

Sonny Weems stumbled as a youngster and endured painful childhood nights in corrective shoes before finding his stride and becoming a state long-jump and high-jump champion.

8.

Sonny Weems averaged over 20 points per game as sophomore and junior, and 14.0 rebounds per game as a senior.

9.

Sonny Weems was named Honorable Mention All-American and was selected for the all-tournament team.

10.

Sonny Weems signed with the Arkansas Razorbacks as a junior, which was Stan Heath's final season as head coach.

11.

Sonny Weems averaged 11.8 points per game and was named to all-tournament teams at the Old Spice Classic and the SEC Tournament as he helped the Razorbacks to their third consecutive winning season and their second straight NCAA Tournament appearance, losing to the USC Trojans in the first round.

12.

Sonny Weems played his senior season with a new head coach, John Pelphrey, and was named first team All-SEC after averaging 15.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.

13.

Sonny Weems led the Razorbacks to their first NCAA tournament win in nine years with an upset victory of Indiana University.

14.

Sonny Weems finished the game with 31 points, out-dueling the much-heralded freshman Eric Gordon, who was held to only eight points.

15.

Sonny Weems was selected with the 39th overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft by the Bulls, but he was traded almost immediately to the Denver Nuggets for a 2009 second-round pick in a three-team trade involving the Portland Trail Blazers.

16.

Sonny Weems averaged 18.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 10 games for the 14ers.

17.

On January 6,2009, Sonny Weems was recalled by the Denver Nuggets.

18.

Sonny Weems went on to score a career-high 25 points on November 17,2010, against the Philadelphia 76ers.

19.

On July 8,2011, Sonny Weems signed a one-year contract with the Lithuanian team Zalgiris Kaunas.

20.

Sonny Weems's contract was terminated in March 2012, after he suffered a season-ending ankle injury.

21.

Sonny Weems later complained on social media saying that he had to go to US to heal his sore ankle, after not receiving any medical care in Lithuania.

22.

Sonny Weems's signing was largely seen as a replacement to former team leader Andrei Kirilenko.

23.

Sonny Weems was seen as one of the team leaders, a starting small forward who averaged 13.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists over 28 games in the EuroLeague.

24.

In May 2014, Sonny Weems was named the All-EuroLeague First Team of the EuroLeague, for his performances over the season.

25.

On July 4,2014, Sonny Weems extended his contract with the club until 2017.

26.

Over three seasons spent with CSKA, Sonny Weems played in 166 games, averaging 12.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3 assists per game in the EuroLeague and the VTB United League.

27.

On July 17,2015, Sonny Weems signed a two-year deal with the Phoenix Suns.

28.

On March 7,2016, Sonny Weems was claimed off waivers by the Philadelphia 76ers.

29.

On June 14,2016, Sonny Weems signed a two-year contract with Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv.

30.

On January 30,2017, Sonny Weems was released by the club after he failed to complete an anti-doping test.

31.

In July 2017, Sonny Weems signed with the Zhejiang Golden Bulls of the Chinese Basketball Association.

32.

Sonny Weems played 38 games for Zhejiang and averaged 31.7 points, 8 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game.

33.

On February 24,2018, Sonny Weems signed with the Turkish team Anadolu Efes for the rest of the season.

34.

On October 8,2018, Sonny Weems signed with the Guangdong Southern Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association.

35.

In January 2022, after the match between Liaoning Flying Leopards, Sonny Weems was involved in an altercation with Liaoning Flying Leopards player Han Dejun, which resulted in both players being ejected from the match, with Han being fined $31,440 and suspended for seven games, while Sonny Weems was fined $22,008 and suspended for five games.

36.

The Liaoning Flying Leopards fans' behaviour towards Sonny Weems was condemned by the Chinese Basketball Association and basketball player Jeremy Lin.