No Spartan had ever been named Associated Press National Player of the Year until Valentine won it in 2016, averaging 19.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists as a Michigan State senior. Chicago drafted him 14th that June, and he gave the NBA six seasons with the Bulls, Cavaliers and Jazz, finishing with Utah in 2021-22.
Basketball is the family business. His father Carlton played at Michigan State and coached him at Lansing's Sexton High, where Denzel teamed with future Spartan Bryn Forbes. Valentine has kept his career going overseas with APU Udine in Italy's Serie A.
HOW HE CAME & WENTHe signed a 10-day contract on January 10, 2022 under the COVID hardship exception and played twice before it ran out.
No photograph of this signature is online yet.
| SEASON | TEAM | G | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021–22 | UTA | 2 | 9.0 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | .500 | .333 | — |
| JAZZ TOTAL | 1 SEASON | 2 | 9.0 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | .500 | .333 | — |
Season by season, regular season, with this franchise only. More info: Basketball-Reference ↗ · Wikipedia ↗