Sundiata Gaines

One collector is trying to find a single signature from every man who ever played for the Jazz — all 370 of them, from the 1974 New Orleans team to today. For many of them, this page is the only one on the internet. Here is Sundiata Gaines: what he did on the floor, a few things most people never knew, and every card that carries his name. If you own something he signed — or you know who might — there is a note at the foot of this page.

One shot bought him a place in Jazz lore. Five games into his NBA life on a 10-day contract, Gaines hit a buzzer-beating three — the first of his career — to beat Cleveland 97–96 on January 14, 2010, and Utah signed him for the rest of the season. The Queens native had been a two-time All-SEC pick at Georgia before going undrafted in 2008.

The rest was a suitcase career: short stints with Minnesota, Toronto and New Jersey, then Italy, China, Turkey, Venezuela, Israel and the Salt Lake City Stars. In 2017 he even led the Washington Generals with 22 points in their lone game of The Basketball Tournament.

HOW HE CAME & WENTUtah called him up from Idaho on a 10-day contract on January 5, 2010 — days later he beat Cleveland and LeBron James with a buzzer-beating three — and waived him that October.

Full name

Sundiata Kofi Gaines

Utah Jazz tenure

2009–10

Position

Guard

Born

1986, Queens, New York

Height

6′1″ (185 cm)

Weight

185 lb (84 kg)

College

Georgia

Drafted

undrafted