Former Honey Badgers guard Javonte Cooke has reportedly signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder, becoming the fourth player in franchise history to sign with an NBA club after playing with the Honey Badgers. 

The Columbia, South Carolina native suited up in 10 games for the black and gold this season, averaging 14.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists, while reaching double-figures in scoring in all but one contest. Cooke tied Christian Vital’s single-game franchise record with six steals on May 26 against the Ottawa BlackJacks. Vital also earned an NBA contract after playing with the Honey Badgers, previously signing an Exhibit 10 deal with the Toronto Raptors in October 2022.. 

Cooke spent last season with the Iowa Wolves in the NBA G League, an affiliate of the Minnesota Timberwolves, averaging 16.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in 48 games. 

The 25-year-old becomes the 19th player to sign an NBA contract following their time in the CEBL. Earlier this month, Vancouver’s Tazé Moore signed a two-way contract with the Portland Trail Blazers in addition to Scarborough’s Jackson Rowe and Saskatchewan’s Elijah Harkless who reportedly signed Exhibit 10 contracts with the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers.

In addition to Cooke, Nino Johnson (Utah Jazz), Christian Vital (Toronto Raptors), and Lindell Wigginton (Milwaukee Bucks) round out the list of Honey Badgers players who have signed with NBA clubs. 

The Honey Badgers have also had six members of their coaching staff join NBA organizations, including Brittni Donaldson (Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks), 2022 CEBL Coach of the Year Ryan Schmidt (Atlanta Hawks), Antoine Broxsie (Cleveland Cavaliers), Josh Estes (Cleveland Cavaliers), Ashton Smith (Atlanta Hawks), and most recently, Stephane Ingo (Sacramento Kings). 

Ingo served as the Honey Badgers video coordinator this past season, before returning to the court with the Winnipeg Sea Bears and appearing in six games while averaging 5.8 points and 5.3 rebounds. It was announced last week that he would be joining the Kings organization as a video coordinator ahead of the upcoming NBA campaign. 

Brampton Honey Badgers season tickets are now available in advance of the CEBL's seventh season which tips off in May 2025. Visit honeybadgers.ca/tickets or contact tickets@honeybadgers.com for more information.

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About the Brampton Honey Badgers

One of the original franchises of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL), the 2022 CEBL Champion Brampton Honey Badgers proudly call the CAA Centre home. The Brampton front office and basketball operations department bring NBA, NBA G League, national team, NCAA and major international pro league experience to the franchise. With a vision of promoting Brampton grassroots basketball and local businesses through community and corporate engagement, the Honey Badgers will leverage the explosion of basketball as a vehicle for innovation and change. For more information visit www.honeybadgers.ca.

About the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) 

A league created by Canadians for Canadians with a mission to develop Canadian players, coaches, sports executives, and referees, the CEBL boasts the highest percentage of Canadian players of any pro league in the country with 75% of its rosters being Canadian and a record 12 players with NBA experience in 2024. Players also bring experience from the NBA G League, top international pro leagues, the Canadian National team program, NCAA programs, as well as U SPORTS and CCAA. Nineteen players have signed NBA contracts following a CEBL season, and numerous CEBL players attend NBA G League training camps every year. The CEBL season runs from May through August with games broadcast live on CEBL+ powered by BetVictor, TSN, TSN+, RDS, Game+, Next Level Sports & Entertainment and Courtside1891. More information about the CEBL is available at CEBL.ca and @cebleague on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.