 Shorts with Bonn in 2023 | |
| No. 0 – Paris Basketball | |
|---|---|
| Position | Point guard |
| League | LNB Pro A EuroCup |
| Personal information | |
| Born | October 15, 1997 Irvine, California, U.S. |
| Nationality | American / Macedonian |
| Listed height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
| Listed weight | 160 lb (73 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Tustin (Tustin, California) |
| College |
|
| NBA draft | 2019: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2019–present |
| Career history | |
| 2019–2020 | Ventspils |
| 2020–2021 | Hamburg Towers |
| 2021–2022 | Crailsheim Merlins |
| 2022–2023 | Telekom Baskets Bonn |
| 2023–present | Paris Basketball |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Timothy Neocartes "T. J." Shorts II[1] (born October 15, 1997) is an American-born naturalized Macedonian basketball player for Paris Basketball of the LNB Pro A and the EuroCup. He played college basketball for UC Davis.
Shorts starred for Tustin High School but received no Division I scholarship offers, so he opted to go the junior college route. He played two seasons at Saddleback College and averaged 20 points per game as a sophomore before transferring to UC Davis.[2] On February 6, 2018, Shorts had 31 points, seven assists and four steals in a double overtime victory against Long Beach State after leading scorer Chima Moneke was suspended.[3] In a game against victory at Cal Poly on February 15, he recorded a triple double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. As a junior, Shorts averaged 15.2 points, 4.3 assists and 2.0 steals per game. He shot .538 field goal percentage, ranking fifth in the Big West. At the conclusion of the regular season he was named Big West Player of the year and Newcomer of the year, the first player in conference history to receive both honors in the same season.[4]
Following the close of his college career, Shorts signed with Ventspils of the Latvian-Estonian Basketball League.[5]
On July 30, 2020, he has signed with Hamburg Towers of Germany's Basketball Bundesliga.[6]
On July 9, 2021, he left the German team Hamburg Towers.[7] On July 28, Shorts signed with the Crailsheim Merlins.[8]
On June 11, 2022, the Crailsheim Merlins announced, that Shorts is looking for a new challenge for the 2022/2023 season.[9]
On June 22, 2022, he signed with Telekom Baskets Bonn of the German Basketball Bundesliga.[10] On May 4, 2023, Shorts was given the Basketball Bundesliga Most Valuable Player award after leading Bonn to a first seed in the regular season.[11] On May 13, Shorts was also named the Basketball Champions League MVP of the 2022–23 season after he had led the team to its first-ever Final Four.[12] Bonn won their first-ever trophy as they defeated Hapoel Jerusalem in the final, behind Shorts' game-high 29 points. After the game, he was named Final Four MVP, his third MVP award of the season.[13]
On July 8, 2023, he signed with Paris Basketball of the LNB Pro A (BBL) on a two-year contract.[14]
On October 31, 2022, Shorts was added to the roster of North Macedonia's men's national basketball team.[15]