The Dallas Mavericks have signed forward Chris Silva to a 10-day contract.
Silva (6-8, 234) joins Dallas after beginning the year with the G League’s College Park Skyhawks, where he averaged 14.2 points (.586 FG%, .781 FT%), 7.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.9 blocks and 22.4 minutes in 11 regular-season games (10 starts) with the club.
Silva went undrafted in the 2019 NBA Draft and began his career with the Miami Heat on a Two-Way contract in 2019-20. Silva appeared in 69 NBA games with Miami, Sacramento and Minnesota from 2019-20 to 2021-22, averaging 2.8 points (.606 FG%) and 2.7 rebounds in 7.6 minutes per game.
The Libreville, Gabon native was a four-year player at South Carolina, where he increased his scoring average across all four seasons, from 5.4 ppg as a freshman in 2015-16 to 15.2 ppg as a senior in 2018-19. He started all 37 games for the Gamecocks’ Final Four team in 2017 and was selected as a member of the First Team All-SEC team in 2018, in addition to earning SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year honors that same year.
While at South Carolina, Silva shared the floor with current Mavericks Two-Way player AJ Lawson in the 2018-19 season, when Silva was a senior and Lawson was a freshman for the Gamecocks. The duo also shared the floor with College Park in the G League earlier this season.
Silva is only the second player from Gabon to play in the NBA, joining Stephane Lasme who suited up in 16 career NBA games for Miami and Golden State. Silva’s father was a 6-11 center on the Gabonese national team and his mother was a track star. Silva attended Roselle Catholic High School in New Jersey, where he helped the Lions to a state championship as a senior.
Silva will wear No. 30 for the Mavericks.
