PHOENIX, Ariz. – App State Men's Basketball alum
CJ Huntley made his NBA debut for the Phoenix Suns on Sunday, making him the first Mountaineer to appear in an NBA game since 1952.
Huntley scored his first NBA points with 1:22 left in the fourth quarter of the Suns' 120-98 win over the Toronto Raptors.
Huntley, a five-year player at App State from 2020-25, is the first App State player since Belus Smawley (played at App State from 1939-41) to appear in an NBA game. Smawley played for three seasons with the Baltimore Bullets and the Syracuse Nationals from 1950-51, appearing in 71 career games.
The Huntersville, N.C., native was a part of three postseason appearances in his career as a Mountaineer, which included a berth in the 2021 NCAA Tournament and the 2024 NIT. Huntley was a second-team All-Sun Belt selection in 2024-25 and helped lead App State to a program record 27 wins and an outright regular-season Sun Belt title in 2023-24. He scored 1,324 career points in his time at App State, finishing his career 22nd on the Mountaineers' all-time scoring list.
Huntley signed a two-way contract with the Suns immediately following the 2025 NBA Draft. A Two-Way contract is a hybrid contract that allows a player to play for both an NBA team and its G League affiliate. It allows the player to spend time in the G League to develop while also being eligible to be called up to play for the parent NBA team for a set amount of games per season.
In 28 games for the Valley Suns, the Phoenix Suns' G-League affiliate, Huntley is averaging 16 points on 61.1 percent shooting, while pulling in 8.8 rebounds per contest. Huntley is shooting 33.3 percent from behind the arc this season.
Huntley and the Suns will be in his home state on Thursday, April 2, as the Suns visit the Charlotte Hornets at 7 p.m. at the Spectrum Center for
App State Night.
