Ish Wainright

Ishmail Carzell Wainright (born September 12, 1994) is an American-Ugandan professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract.

He also represents the senior Ugandan national team.

He played college basketball for the Baylor Bears, as well as played football as a tight end.

Wainright is the grandson of former NBA player Maurice King.

He began his prep career at Raytown South High School in suburban Kansas City, where he averaged 13.6 points and 9.8 rebounds as a sophomore in 2010–11.

Wainright played two seasons for head coach Stu Vetter at Montrose Christian School in Rockville, Maryland, helping the team to 19–5 record as senior in 2012–13.

He earned 2013 All-MET honors after averaging 8.8 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 8.2 assists for Mustangs.

A consensus top-75 recruit, he was ranked No. 28 in 2013 class by ESPN.com, No. 51 by Scout.com, No. 52 by Rivals.com, and No. 62 by 247Sports.com.

Wainright played four seasons of basketball for the Baylor Bears.

He averaged 5.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game as a junior.

As a senior, Wainright averaged 5.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.7 steals per game.

He was named to the Big 12 All-Defensive Team.

He played one season of football after his basketball career, playing tight end.

Wainright had four catches for 34 yards and two touchdowns.

After finishing his career at Baylor, Wainright joined the Buffalo Bills of the NFL as an undrafted free agent, but he did not make the final roster.

Wainright returned to basketball and signed with Nürnberg Falcons BC on September 3, 2018.

He averaged 12.1 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.

On July 2, 2019, Wainright signed with Rasta Vechta.

Wainright averaged 10.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.4 assist and 1.8 steals per game.

On June 17, 2020, he signed with SIG Strasbourg.

On August 7, 2021, Wainright signed a two-year, non-guaranteed deal with the Toronto Raptors, but was waived by the Raptors on October 17.

Five days later, he signed a two-way contract with the Phoenix Suns.

Wainright later made his NBA debut on November 19 near the end of a win against the Dallas Mavericks, with him recording his first official points, rebounds, and assist two days later in a blowout win over the Denver Nuggets.

On January 30, 2022, Wainright scored a then-season-high 10 points and put up two blocks in 20 minutes of action (including the entirety of the fourth quarter) in a 115–110 win over the San Antonio Spurs.

On April 6, he surpassed his season bests with career highs of 20 points and 8 rebounds in a close loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.

On April 10, the Suns converted his deal into a standard contract.

Wainright joined the Suns' 2022 NBA Summer League roster.

On August 4, 2022, Wainright signed a two-way contract with the Suns.

After dealing with lower back pain and then the death of his father, pastor Calvin Wainright, Ishmail Wainright returned to action with the Suns on November 16, hitting a three-pointer in a 130–119 win over the defending champion Golden State Warriors.

On February 24, 2023, Wainwright signed a two-year, $2.5 million deal with the Suns, including a team option for the 2023–24 season.

Wainwright previously operated under a two-way contract and was nearing the 50-game limit.

On March 5 against the Dallas Mavericks, coach Monty Williams made a decision late in the third quarter to substitute starter Josh Okogie, who had missed all of his eight three-point attempts, with Wainright.

Although he had not played in the game up until that point, Wainwright made a significant impact, hitting four of his five three-point attempts, helping the Suns secure a 130–126 victory.

On October 19, 2023, Wainwright was waived shortly before the 2023–24 season.

On October 21, 2023, Wainwright was claimed off waivers by the Portland Trail Blazers.

Wainright made his debut with the Trail Blazers on November 14 in a loss to the Utah Jazz during the 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament.

On January 6, 2024, he was waived by Portland.

On March 4, 2024, Wainwright returned to the Phoenix Suns on a two-way contract.

Wainright plays for the Uganda men's national basketball team.

As an American born in Kansas City, Missouri, he was convinced by Uganda coaches George Galanopoulous and Mike Schmitz to become a naturalized Ugandan to help build the team and increase employment opportunities.