# Richaun Holmes
**Richaun Diante Holmes** (born 1993) is an American professional basketball player, a 6'9" (2.06 m), 235-pound forward-center who played ten NBA seasons after being selected 37th overall by the [Philadelphia 76ers](https://www.edgepedia.org/philadelphia-76ers) in the 2015 NBA Draft, and who joined Panathinaikos Athens of the [EuroLeague](https://www.edgepedia.org/euroleague) in 2025.[1](https://www.nba.com/stats/player/1626158/boxscores-advanced) • [2](https://www.shamsports.com/players/richaun-holmes) • [3](https://as.com/baloncesto/euroliga/holmes-corona-la-nueva-superplantilla-del-panathinaikos-n/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1993, USA; 6'9" (2.06 m), 235 lb (107 kg)[1](https://www.nba.com/stats/player/1626158/boxscores-advanced) |
| Draft | 2015 NBA Draft, second round (7th pick, 37th overall), Philadelphia 76ers[4](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/holmeri01.html) |
| College | Moraine Valley CC (2011–12), Bowling Green State (2012–15); 244 career blocks[2](https://www.shamsports.com/players/richaun-holmes) • [5](https://ballstatesports.com/documents/download/2025/2/27/MBB_BowlingGreen_BallSt2.pdf) |
| NBA career | 489 regular-season games, 178 starts, 8.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game; 3 playoff games[3](https://as.com/baloncesto/euroliga/holmes-corona-la-nueva-superplantilla-del-panathinaikos-n/) |
| NBA teams | 76ers (2015–18), Suns (2018–19), Kings (2018–23), Mavericks (2023–24), Wizards (2024–25)[6](https://as.com/baloncesto/euroliga/holmes-y-el-panathinaikos-separan-sus-caminos-f202603-n/) |
| Notable game | 20+ points and 20+ rebounds at Charlotte on November 5, 2021, the first such Kings performance since DeMarcus Cousins in 2016[7](https://cdn.nba.com/teams/legacy/www.mavs.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/2023-24-Dallas-Mavericks-Media-Guide-1.pdf) |
| EuroLeague | Signed by Panathinaikos on August 5, 2025; the collaboration ended in March 2026[6](https://as.com/baloncesto/euroliga/holmes-y-el-panathinaikos-separan-sus-caminos-f202603-n/) |
## College career
Holmes was a late bloomer who played only two seasons of high school varsity basketball and received no Division I scholarship offers. He began at Moraine Valley Community College in 2011–12 before transferring to [Bowling Green State University](https://www.edgepedia.org/bowling-green-state-university), where he played three seasons from 2012 to 2015.[2](https://www.shamsports.com/players/richaun-holmes) • [8](https://www.si.com/nba/2015/06/10/nba-draft-2015-richaun-holmes-bowling-green)
In three years at Bowling Green he became the only player in Falcons history to record 1,000 points, 600 rebounds, and 200 blocks, finishing with 244 career blocks.[8](https://www.si.com/nba/2015/06/10/nba-draft-2015-richaun-holmes-bowling-green) • [5](https://ballstatesports.com/documents/download/2025/2/27/MBB_BowlingGreen_BallSt2.pdf) His collegiate career ended with a loss in the CIT, and at that point he did not know the Portsmouth Invitational, the long-running showcase for college seniors, existed; he used it to put himself in front of NBA scouts, and by June 2015 teams had expressed interest as high as the late twenties of the first round.[8](https://www.si.com/nba/2015/06/10/nba-draft-2015-richaun-holmes-bowling-green)
## NBA career
The 76ers selected Holmes 37th overall in 2015, and he spent 2015–18 in Philadelphia before a 2018–19 season with the [Phoenix Suns](https://www.edgepedia.org/phoenix-suns).[4](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/holmeri01.html) • [6](https://as.com/baloncesto/euroliga/holmes-y-el-panathinaikos-separan-sus-caminos-f202603-n/) His longest stay came with the [Sacramento Kings](https://www.edgepedia.org/sacramento-kings) from 2018 to 2023, where he was a regular starter; in 2019–20 he appeared in 51 games, almost all at power forward.[6](https://as.com/baloncesto/euroliga/holmes-y-el-panathinaikos-separan-sus-caminos-f202603-n/) • [9](https://www.whatifsports.com/nba-l/profile_player.asp?pid=4064) The Kings media guide notes he ranked 23rd in the NBA in blocks per game during his Sacramento tenure.[10](https://cdn.nba.com/teams/uploads/sites/1610612758/2022/07/kings_media_guide_2021-22_FINAL.pdf)
**Peak Sacramento form.** On November 5, 2021, at Charlotte, Holmes posted 20 or more points and 20 or more rebounds, becoming the first Kings player with a 20-point, 20-rebound game since [DeMarcus Cousins](https://www.edgepedia.org/demarcus-cousins) on November 28, 2016, and one of only 13 players to do so in 2021–22.[7](https://cdn.nba.com/teams/legacy/www.mavs.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/2023-24-Dallas-Mavericks-Media-Guide-1.pdf) His role in Sacramento diminished after the team acquired [Domantas Sabonis](https://www.edgepedia.org/domantas-sabonis), and he was traded to the [Dallas Mavericks](https://www.edgepedia.org/dallas-mavericks), where he played the 2023–24 season, followed by a final NBA season with the Washington Wizards in 2024–25.[6](https://as.com/baloncesto/euroliga/holmes-y-el-panathinaikos-separan-sus-caminos-f202603-n/)
Across 489 NBA regular-season games he started 178, averaging 8.5 points and 5.3 rebounds, and appeared in only three postseason games.[3](https://as.com/baloncesto/euroliga/holmes-corona-la-nueva-superplantilla-del-panathinaikos-n/) The Wizards waived him on July 14, 2025, with a shoulder injury having kept him out late in the prior season.[11](https://www.nba.com/gamenotes/wizards.pdf) • [12](https://www.nba.com/timberwolves/player/1626158/richaun-holmes)
## Panathinaikos
In August 2025 Holmes signed with Panathinaikos Athens, coached by Ergin Ataman, on a 1+1 contract, joining a frontcourt rotation that also included Mathias Lessort and Omer Yurtseven.[3](https://as.com/baloncesto/euroliga/holmes-corona-la-nueva-superplantilla-del-panathinaikos-n/) • [13](https://as.com/baloncesto/euroliga/cruzar-el-charco-a-la-inversa-los-jugadores-exnba-que-disputaran-la-euroliga-esta-temporada-n/) It was his first club outside North America. He appeared in 19 EuroLeague games and averaged 18.7 minutes, shooting 64.4% from the field with a 67.0% true-shooting percentage, all at the center position.[14](https://www.basketscope.com/players/af8b0202-91b6-72d6-868b-fb8ad259e1e9?season=2025-26§ion=stats) A shoulder injury sidelined him early in the season, and Panathinaikos announced the end of the collaboration in March 2026 after several weeks of difficulties.[12](https://www.nba.com/timberwolves/player/1626158/richaun-holmes) • [6](https://as.com/baloncesto/euroliga/holmes-y-el-panathinaikos-separan-sus-caminos-f202603-n/)
## Playing style and analytics
Holmes built his NBA career on energy, rim running, and shot blocking. Scouting descriptions cast him as a drop-coverage big in screen-and-roll defense who funnels slashers toward his shot blocking, boxes out well on the defensive glass, and finishes rolls to the basket with physicality.[15](https://basketballbeacon.com/richaun-holmes-player-profile-stats/)
Advanced rebounding research complicates the picture. A Bayesian two-stage study of NBA rebounding, which separates a player's contribution to team rebound possession (β-ability) from personally collecting rebounds (γ-ability), found that some well-known shot blockers, including [Rudy Gobert](https://www.edgepedia.org/rudy-gobert), Richaun Holmes, and [Hassan Whiteside](https://www.edgepedia.org/hassan-whiteside), had surprisingly low β-ability estimates, a quirk the authors attribute to how rebounding rates depend on teammates and missed-shot volume.[16](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12671482/) The finding illustrates why his counting-stat rebounding totals and his contribution to team rebound control can point in different directions.
## References
1. [Richaun Holmes player page, NBA.com](https://www.nba.com/stats/player/1626158/boxscores-advanced)
2. [ShamSports: Richaun Holmes](https://www.shamsports.com/players/richaun-holmes)
3. [Holmes corona la nueva superplantilla del Panathinaikos, AS.com](https://as.com/baloncesto/euroliga/holmes-corona-la-nueva-superplantilla-del-panathinaikos-n/)
4. [Richaun Holmes Stats, Basketball-Reference.com](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/holmeri01.html)
5. [Bowling Green career records, Ball State athletics PDF](https://ballstatesports.com/documents/download/2025/2/27/MBB_BowlingGreen_BallSt2.pdf)
6. [Holmes y el Panathinaikos separan sus caminos, AS.com](https://as.com/baloncesto/euroliga/holmes-y-el-panathinaikos-separan-sus-caminos-f202603-n/)
7. [2023-24 Dallas Mavericks Media Guide](https://cdn.nba.com/teams/legacy/www.mavs.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/2023-24-Dallas-Mavericks-Media-Guide-1.pdf)
8. [Richaun Holmes' journey from an unknown entity to NBA draft sleeper, Sports Illustrated](https://www.si.com/nba/2015/06/10/nba-draft-2015-richaun-holmes-bowling-green)
9. [Richaun Holmes profile, WhatifSports](https://www.whatifsports.com/nba-l/profile_player.asp?pid=4064)
10. [Sacramento Kings 2021-22 Media Guide](https://cdn.nba.com/teams/uploads/sites/1610612758/2022/07/kings_media_guide_2021-22_FINAL.pdf)
11. [Washington Wizards 2025-26 End of Season Notes, NBA.com](https://www.nba.com/gamenotes/wizards.pdf)
12. [Richaun Holmes news, NBA.com (RotoWire updates)](https://www.nba.com/timberwolves/player/1626158/richaun-holmes)
13. [Cruzar el charco a la inversa: exNBA players in the EuroLeague, AS.com](https://as.com/baloncesto/euroliga/cruzar-el-charco-a-la-inversa-los-jugadores-exnba-que-disputaran-la-euroliga-esta-temporada-n/)
14. [Richaun Holmes EuroLeague stats, BasketScope](https://www.basketscope.com/players/af8b0202-91b6-72d6-868b-fb8ad259e1e9?season=2025-26§ion=stats)
15. [Richaun Holmes Player Profile, Basketball Beacon](https://basketballbeacon.com/richaun-holmes-player-profile-stats/)
16. [A Bayesian two-stage framework for lineup-independent assessment of individual rebounding ability in the NBA, Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12671482/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Basketball and court team sports › Basketball players and coaches (biographies) › Current NBA players › Centers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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