When the Portland Trail Blazers signed Javonte Cooke before the start of the regular season, he became only the second active NBA player to have played all four years of college basketball at a Division 2 school. The only other current player to have played D2 for all of his college career is Brooklyn Nets wing Haywood Highsmith (Wheeling).
Javonte Cooke played three seasons at Mars Hill University and one season at Winston-Salem State before going undrafted in the 2023 NBA Draft. He played in the G League and had a couple of appearances at NBA Summer League with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Miami Heat. He also played briefly in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL).
It wasn’t until this season that he made a final NBA roster via a two-way contract with the Blazers. After having spent a couple of years grinding in the G League, Cooke believes his D2 experience helped prepare him for the next part of his journey.
“The crazy thing is I didn’t play high school ball until my junior and senior year at a private school. I didn’t play middle school ball. I had to move schools to play my first team organized ball. My whole life has been a grind,” Cooke told ClutchPoints in an exclusive interview. “Me coming to the G League was like, ‘Oh this is awesome. Whereas somebody that might come from D1 coming to the G League is like, ‘man, what’s going on, what is this?’”
“I take everything for what it is. I’m just grateful for every chapter that I had to go through,” Cooke continued. “It’s led me to where I am now, and it’s gonna keep me going.”
Javonte Cooke’s journey to the NBA
Cooke first foray into the G League came during the 2022-23 season when he joined the Iowa Wolves as a tryout player. He appeared in 41 games for the Wolves at a little over 19 minutes per game. He averaged 7.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists while shooting 42.2 percent from the field, 31.9 percent from the 3-point line and 65 percent from the free-throw line.
He was invited to summer league with the Timberwolves that offseason, and then was brought to training camp. Cooke was one of the team’s final cuts in camp, and he ended up re-joining Iowa for another season in the G League.
This time around, Cooke’s numbers rose in a big way. He put up 16.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.1 steals while shooting 44.1 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from the 3-point line.
Cooke played parts of two seasons with the Iowa Wolves, and he was picked up by the Oklahoma City Thunder for training camp ahead of the 2024-25 season. The Thunder cut him and he would join the Oklahoma City Blue for a third season in the G League.
Now on a two-way contract with the Blazers, Cooke is no stranger to the G League. He will split time this season between the Blazers and their affiliate, the Rip City Remix, and he’s embracing whatever lies ahead.
“The G League is a grind for sure. I feel like it prepared me to the fullest for this next chapter I’m stepping into in the NBA, whenever that time comes. But it’s a grind, late nights, early mornings, commercial flights, all the stuff that goes on with the G League,” Cooke said. “It’s more behind the scenes than the pretty stuff that’s shown. If you’re committed, you’ll say in it and you’ll grind it out.”
Cooke has been in NBA training camps before with the Timberwolves and Thunder, but this is the first time he’s made it past camp and onto a team’s final regular season roster. Cooke was actually waived by the Blazers during camp, and then re-signed to a two-way contract right at the beginning of the season.
He appeared in three preseason games with the Blazers averaging 3.3 points and 1.7 rebounds. The organization saw enough during camp to warrant signing him to a two-way contract, and he was able to pick up quite a few things in terms of what it takes to hold down an NBA roster spot.
“I learned a lot since I’ve been here with this organization, just how hard and intentional you have to be on every play. I’ve never been so intentional on sideline out of bounds plays, baseline out of bounds plays, on defense,” Cooke said. “They say we get like seven of those per game on average. We want to win that stack. I’ve never even thought about it. So it’s the intentionality behind what we do instead of just doing it. That’s what type of guy I am. I need to know the reasoning behind something.”
What Javonte Cooke brings to Blazers
When the 2025-26 season began, Cooke started the year with the Rip City Remix. He played in the first four games of the Remix’s season as part of the G League’s Showcase Cup schedule. In those four games, he put up 20.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocked shots while shooting 45.8 percent from the field and 36.5 percent from the 3-point line.
Since then, Cooke has been recalled by the Blazers and was with the team to close out November. He played three games with the Blazers with his best game statistically coming on Nov. 19 against the Chicago Bulls. Cooke played a little over eight minutes and finishing with four points, one rebound, one assist and one steal.
Cooke is eligible for up to 50 NBA games this season, and he will no doubt be assigned to Rip City at various points throughout the city. Whenever the Blazers need him, Cooke will be ready, confident that he will be able to help the team in multiple ways.
“Some of the same things I bring to the Remix, my energy for sure. I feel like [my energy] it’s contagious. My energy, my shooting, and just my defensive capability,” Cooke said. “And if I’m not playing, I’m still a great talker to the guys that are playing, a great motivator. I’m a good cheerer over there. It’s different when you’re grateful to be in a position. You look at it different and carry yourself differently.”
