Anchorage’s JT Thor dressed for success. Photo courtesy Charlotte Hornets Twitter
It feels like a lifetime ago when Trajan Langdon played in the NBA – 21 years, or in other words, JT Thor’s lifespan.
Langdon’s final game in a Cleveland jersey was on April 17, 2002; four months later Thor was born.
On Monday, Thor played in his 120th career game for the Charlotte Hornets and passed Langdon for the third-most NBA appearances among the five Alaskans to lace ‘em up in the league.
Thor came off the bench to play nine minutes and record a steal and blocked shot in a 116-114 loss to the Miami Heat. He missed his only two shot attempts, both from 3-point land as his career-high 3-PT% fell to .343, which is nearly 40 points higher than his career average (.307) coming into the season.
The 6-foot-10, 205-pound Anchorage native is in his third season with the Hornets, who acquired the second-round pick from Detroit on draft day.
Thor (West High) is averaging a career-high 16.1 minutes and 2.7 rebounds to go with 3.6 points in 18 games. He posted season highs of seven points and five rebounds against the Washington Wizards.
But playing sporadic minutes can prevent a guy from finding his rhythm. For example, last month Thor logged a season-high 27 minutes against the Heat and three days later played just six minutes against Milwaukee.
Most NBA Appearances
| GAMES | PLAYER | YEARS |
| 861 | Carlos Boozer | 2003-15 |
| 646 | Mario Chalmers | 2009-18 |
| 120 | JT Thor | 2021- |
| 119 | Trajan Langdon | 2000-02 |
| 87 | Daishen Nix | 2021- |
Switching to the international ranks, Anchorage’s Brandon Huffman is averaging a double-double in Turkey with 15-point and 12-rebound averages in five games for Haremspor of the TBL.
Huffman (West High) has recorded four double-doubles with season highs of 23 points and 14 rebounds. He’s also been good for 2.2 blocked shots per game.
Last season as a rookie, the 6-foot-10 forward put up 15.8 points and 13.9 rebounds in 30 games for Bornova, which is also in the TBL.
In college, Huffman played in 128 games between Jacksonville State and North Carolina and finished as one of three players from Alaska to have a career FG% above .600 at the Division I level.
In Kosovo, Jacob Calloway of Juneau and Derrick Wilson of Anchorage are both veterans in the starting lineup for different teams in the Superliga, and they faced off a few weeks ago.
Jacob Calloway
Calloway played 30 minutes and sank 8-of-16 shots on his way to scoring 20 points in Peja’s 95-80 victory over Prishtina and Wilson, who logged 27 minutes and bagged seven points and eight assists.
Calloway (Thunder Mountain) is averaging 15.0 points and 4.9 rebounds in seven Superliga games.
He’s also played in six games in the FIBA EuroCup and one game in the Champions League. Recent Alaskans to double up on those events include Mario Chalmers and Travante Williams.
The 6-foot-8 Calloway stood tall in the EuroCup, pumping in 21 points against Den Bosch and grabbing 13 rebounds against Chamnitz to fuel averages of 12.5 and 6.5, respectively.
Calloway played collegiately at Southern Utah before turning pro after his junior season. Since then, his international tour includes stops in Switzerland, Czech Republic, Colombia, Iceland, Hungary and now Kosovo.
Derrick Wilson
Wilson is a veteran of the international pro circuit after a strong career at Marquette, where as a senior in 2015 he had 14 assists in the Big East Tournament to tie Muff Butler’s long-held state record set in 1982 for most assists by an Alaskan at the Division I level.
The 31-year-old journeyman ranks No. 3 in the Superliga with 6.0 assists per game to go with 13.6 points and 5.2 rebounds. The 6-foot-1 guard is a defensive specialist who crashes the glass and shares the ball, which has helped extend his pro career nearly a decade.
Wilson (East High) has played in Denmark, Sweden, Turkey and Hungary before coming to Kosovo last season.
In Tanzania, Mareng Gatkuoth of Anchorage is thriving.
The 6-foot-5 rookie is averaging 14.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in his first two games for Pazi of the NBL. He is coming off a 16-point game against NBA Academy Africa.
Mareng Gatkuoth
One thing is clear: Gatkuoth isn’t shy about letting it fly. He took 19 shots against Dynamo and 24 against the academy team.
Gatkuoth, 23, has been great on the international scene after struggling to find a home in college after making stops at two JCs and two Division I schools in Montana State and Tarleton State.
His international career started with the South Sudan national team in FIBA competition, where he held his own with a 7.2-point scoring average in 12 games including five in double figures, highlighted by his 16 points against Congo.
Gatkuoth (ACS) played a significant role in helping South Sudan qualify for the World Cup for the first time in the country’s 12-year history.
Pro Scorers from Alaska
| PTS | PLAYER | LEAGUE |
| 24.0 | Daishen Nix | G League |
| 19.0 | Kelsey Griffin | Australia |
| 15.0 | Jacob Calloway | Kosovo |
| 15.0 | Brandon Huffman | Turkey |
| 14.5 | Mareng Gatkuoth | Tanzania |
| 13.6 | Derrick Wilson | Kosovo |
| 13.4 | Vante Hendrix | Kazakhstan |
| 9.5 | Justinian Jessup | New Zealand |
| 8.6 | Daniel Hornbuckle | Montenegro |
| 7.4 | Travante Williams | Spain |
| 5.4 | Kamaka Hepa | Poland |
| 5.2 | Jeremiah Bailey | Portugal |
| 3.6 | JT Thor | NBA |
| 3.4 | Peter Bullock | Norway |
| 1.7 | Kok Yat | G League |
| 1.3 | Daishen Nix | NBA |
| N/A | Pindo Drammeh | Portugal |
| N/A | Jalil Abdul-Bassit | Dominican Republic |
