At the time of writing, former New York Knicks guard Toney Douglas is still in his thirties. Just about, anyway.
In less than three weeks time, though, Douglas will turn 40. It is an age that is usually a death sentence for a professional athlete, and functionally is the same as turning three million. Douglas, though, is still playing professionally. And although his NBA days are far behind him, he is still playing in a good league, and to a good standard.
Douglas currently finds himself in Israel, where he is playing for Hapoel Galil Elyon, having begun the season with Bnei Herzeliya. He is averaging 11.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game for his new team, with his scoring leading the team. It is Douglas’s second stint in Israel, but his professional career outside of the NBA has now gone on for even longer than his career inside of it did – and has arguably gone better.
Knicks Guard’s Indian Summer
Douglas moved to Israel this season after three consecutive years in Portugal. The Portuguese league is not amongst Europe’s best, or most financially lucrative, but Douglas took advantage of this to win two domestic league titles, as well as two Portuguese cups.
Prior to going to Portugal, Douglas has also spent time in Turkey, Spain, Italy and Greece, hitting up almost all of the best leagues on the European market. He has consistently posted some of the best assist numbers on the continent, along with being an impactful defender at the point of attack.
Despite his relatively long NBA career, Douglas never broke through to the highest plateaus, falling somewhere between the guard positions without quite having the skillset of either, and without the size, athleticism and elite jump shot to overcome that. When he did get his best opportunity with the Knicks, Jeremy Lin took it instead. Nevertheless, he is a very seasoned and accomplished scorer, playmaker and defender. And now that he is outside of the frenetic pace of the NBA, he has been able to extend his career long past the age where most have given up.
The veteran drops the defender, sinks the clutch 3 & qualifies FC Porto for the #FIBAEuropeCup Second Round!
Douglas’s NBA Career
Douglas was selected 29th overall in the 2009 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers, and his draft rights were immediately traded to the Knicks in exchange for a 2011 second-round pick (later used on Andrew Goudelock) and cash. Over his first three seasons, with New York, he established himself as a rotation guard, averaging 9.0 points and 2.5 assists per game while playing enthusiastic defence.
After this third season, the Knicks traded Douglas to the Houston Rockets – along with Josh Harrellson, Jerome Jordan, two future second-round picks later used on Nick Johnson and Montrezl Harrell, and cash – in a package deal for the returning Marcus Camby. He was then acquired by the Sacramento Kings in February 2013 along with Cole Aldrich and Patrick Patterson) in exchange for Francisco García, the late Tyler Honeycutt and Thomas Robinson, then signed with the Golden State Warriors for the 2013-14 season, and was subsequently traded on one more time to the Miami Heat in January 2014 as part of a salary-dump deal of Joel Anthony.
Following his stint with the Heat, Douglas later signed with the New Orleans Pelicans, initially on a pair of 10-day deals before signing a multi-year deal in February 2015. In the 2016–17 season, he signed with the Memphis Grizzlies, before being waived in March 2017, ending his NBA career. Across it, Douglas posted regular season per-game averages of 7.6 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 394 games, shooting 40.4% from the field and 35.4% from the three-point line.
Former Knicks Guard Still Gets Buckets – Aged 40