A Basketball Legend: Zavier Simpson
- Brandon Unverferth
- Feb 9, 2023
- 2 min read
Photo Owned By: Freep.com
If Lima Senior High School were to create a "Mount Rushmore" of boys' basketball, Zavier Simpson would surely be one of the faces included. Zavier's career began at cross-town rival school, Lima Central Catholic, where Simpson would help the Thunderbirds pick up a Division III state championship in 2014. During the 2014 offseason, Zavier received news that his father (Quincey) would take over the head coaching job at Lima Senior. With this announcement in mind, Zavier decided to transfer to Lima Senior for the 2014-15 season to play for his dad. The 2015 season for Zavier was excellent, as he averaged over 20 points per game. Unfortunately, the team lost in regional tournament action, leaving the Spartans absent from the OHSAA state tournament.
In 2016 though, the Spartans would reach the state tournament for just the fifth time in school history and the first time since 1992. In 2016 (senior year) Zavier Simpson was awarded the "Ohio Mr. Basketball Award," which is an award that honors the top-performing basketball player in the state of Ohio each year. On December 15th, 2016, Zavier broke the Lima Senior High School single-game scoring record, scoring an unbelievable 59 points against Three Rivers Athletic Conference (TRAC) opponent Fremont Ross. After graduating from Lima Senior, Zavier attended the University of Michigan, where he played for the Wolverines from 2016-2020. Zavier was a 2019 Big Ten All-Defensive team selection and a two-time second-team All-Big Ten selection (2019 and 2020).
Zavier entered the 2020 NBA Draft, where he was undrafted, but shortly following the draft, he was offered an NBA G League position on the Oklahoma City Blue squad. Zavier would make his NBA appearance for the Oklahoma City Thunder during the 2021-2022 season.
Currently, Zavier plays for the Orlando Magic G League team, the Lakeland Magic.
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