James Taft "Jimmer" Fredette (born February 25, 1989) is an American professional basketball player. Fredette was the 2011 National Player of the Year in college basketball, after ranking as the leading scorer in all of NCAA Division I during his senior season for the BYU Cougars. He was subsequently selected with the 10th overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft.
Fredette has played for several professional teams in the NBA and NBA Development League, as well as internationally. Fredette was the CBA Most Valuable Player in 2017, and he was a member of the GBL's championship team in 2020. Fredette began competing in 3x3 basketball in 2022, winning two gold medals and one silver medal in international play, and representing Team USA at the 2024 Summer Olympics as a member of the first USA Basketball 3x3 Men's National Team to compete at the Olympics. Fredette retired from basketball in 2025 and served as the managing director of the USA Basketball 3x3 Men's National Team for a year before coming out of retirement in 2026 to resume play on the FIBA 3x3 Men’s Pro Circuit.
Early life Fredette was born in Glens Falls, New York, to parents Al and Kay Fredette, as the youngest of three children. His mother wanted to call him something unique and nicknamed him "Jimmer".
From his early childhood, Fredette showed unusual dedication to athletics. His older brother TJ recalled, "He was the most determined, competitive four-year-old I had ever seen." TJ helped him train for his basketball career since before kindergarten. He regularly played with TJ, seven years older, and TJ's friends on the family's backyard court. Fredette was able to hit three-pointers at age 5, and developed moves to get around his larger opponents. TJ also remembered that his brother "willed himself to find ways to win, even if he was physically outmatched. From the time he was 10, I was telling everybody he was going to make the NBA."
Other family members assisted Fredette in his development. His father, a financial adviser, introduced him to schoolyard competition against adults at age eight. As Fredette developed, his father took him on occasional road trips to Hartford and New York City for more intense competition, and also helped to coach his AAU teams. His mother allowed him to bounce basketballs throughout the house, and even built a dribbling studio for him in their basement. Her brother Lee Taft, a personal trainer who now operates a speed training school in Indianapolis, started him on running drills as a five-year-old, and still works with Fredette.
Fredette also has an older sister, Lindsay, Miss Teen New York 1998. Fredette's father became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the age of 18 after meeting missionary Kimball Rogers, who would end up being the father of Fredette's BYU teammate Stephen Rogers. Fredette's mother is a Catholic. Fredette, along with his two older siblings, chose to become Latter-day Saints after their parents allowed them to choose their religion.
High school career Fredette was ranked among the nation's top 75 shooting guards by ESPN.com in high school. He was Glens Falls High School's all-time leading scorer, ranking 16th on New York's all-time scoring list, with 2,404 points. Until February 24, 2015, Fredette held the all-time Section 2 high school record, when he was surpassed by Lake George senior Joel Wincowski. Fredette was named first-team all-state by the New York State Sportswriters Association and the Times Union as a junior and senior. He had several memorable on-court moments in his career at Glens Falls, including 12 different 40-point performances in his senior season, and a shot against Voorheesville High School's Andrew Catellier in the season opener of his junior year in which he banked a three-pointer off the glass and in with his opposite hand to force overtime at the end of regulation. In his senior season Fredette led his team to a 25–2 record and the Class A State Championship game which they lost, 58–48, to a Peekskill High School team led by future Syracuse University forward Mookie Jones. He played AAU for the Albany City Rocks alongside future Penn State University point guard Talor Battle and Mark Domaracki. Fredette averaged 25 points per game to help the Rocks to a third-place win over the Minnesota Magic at the 2006 AAU National Championships.
Despite his high school accolades, he went largely unnoticed by the traditional "basketball powers". He received offers from 12 schools and ultimately chose to attend BYU, which was his sister Lindsay's alma mater.
College career Fredette played basketball collegiately at Brigham Young University (BYU) from 2007 to 2011. He wore jersey number 32 and majored in American studies.
Freshman year Fredette played in all 35 games for the BYU Cougars as a true freshman, helping BYU earn a 27–8 record and capture the Mountain West Conference regular season championship. He averaged 18.5 minutes, 7.0 points, 1.7 assists, 1.1 rebounds per game, and was the team's fifth-leading scorer.
Sophomore year
Fredette played in all 33 games of his sophomore season starting 32 of them. He was second on the team in scoring (16.2), three-point shooting percentage (.382), three-point makes (52), and free throw percentage (.847), and first in steals (1.5) and assists (4.1). He scored in double figures 29 times and had 20-plus points 8 times. Fredette led the team in scoring 10 times, assists 19 times, and was named first team all Mountain West. Fredette became BYU's first point guard to earn first-team all-conference honors since Marty Haws in 1990.
Junior year
On December 28, 2009, Jimmer Fredette scored 49 points against the Arizona Wildcats, setting a new BYU record and a new McKale Center record for points scored in a single game.
On March 11, 2010, Fredette scored 45 points, shooting 10-for-23 from the field, and making 23-of-24 free throws, in his team's 95–85 win over TCU. His scoring broke the cumulative Mountain West Conference tournament and single-game tournament records. His free throw shooting broke the MWC tournament record for free throws in a single game.
On March 18, 2010, Fredette helped secure BYU's first-round win in the NCAA tournament. He scored 37 points and hit two three-pointers in double-overtime to seal the Cougars' 99–92 win over 10th-seeded Florida, the first time they had reached the second round of the tournament in 17 years. In doing so, he tied a BYU record for most points scored in an NCAA tournament game (Danny Ainge, 1981).
Fredette considered forgoing his senior year and entering the draft after his junior year, and he was expected to be picked 25th to 30th, but he decided to stay at BYU and play his senior year.
Senior year
Fredette was named co-captain of his team alongside Jackson Emery and Logan Magnusson. He was the top-ranked point guard in the nation according to Rivals.com and led the nation in points per game despite frequently being double- or triple-teamed, which allowed him to open up shots for his teammates.
Fredette scored a season-high 47 points in BYU's road victory over archrival Utah on January 11, 2011, scoring 32 in the first half including a 40-foot buzzer-beater to end the first half. He finished with 16 of 28 shooting, along with four rebounds and six assists. He also scored 39 against UNLV on January 5, 2011, and 33 in a rematch against the same University of Arizona team he scored 49 against his junior season.
On December 8, 2010, he returned to his hometown of Glens Falls, in what was dubbed "The Hometown Classic", to play Vermont in the Glens Falls Civic Center, scoring 26 and attracting a crowd of 6,300, nearly half of Glens Falls' population of 14,354.
On January 26, 2011, in the Mountain West Conference's first battle of top-10 teams, which attracted a crowd of over 22,700 at BYU's Marriott Center, Fredette scored 43 points against previously undefeated San Diego State, ending the game in a 71–58 victory. It was his third game that season to score over 40 points. When BYU played on the road in San Diego, BYU dealt SDSU its only other loss that season, with an 80–67 victory in which Fredette had 25 points, 9 assists and 3 rebounds.
He became the Mountain West Conference's all-time leading scorer on February 5, 2011, with a 29-point performance versus UNLV in the Marriott Center.
On March 7, 2011, Fredette was named both the Mountain West Conference's player of the year and the CBSSports.com National Player of the Year. He was among the final ten candidates for the Bob Cousy Award.
On March 11, 2011, Fredette broke BYU's career scoring record, previously held by Danny Ainge, in the semifinals of the Mountain West Conference Championship Tournament. He set the school's single-game scoring record with a career-high 52-point game against New Mexico, to whom BYU had lost twice in the regular season. He also set BYU's record for most points in one half by scoring 33 points in the first half of the game. Fredette and number 12-ranked BYU were unable to hold off an aggressive 5th-ranked San Diego State team in the Mountain West Conference championship game, and lost, 72–54.
On March 17, 2011, Fredette led 3rd-seeded BYU's scoring in the first round of the NCAA tournament with 32 points, leading the Cougars to a 74–66 victory over 14th-seeded Wofford, and for the second consecutive year BYU advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament.
On March 19, 2011, Fredette again led BYU's scoring with 34 points as they defeated 11th-seeded Gonzaga, 89–67, and advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament (Sweet Sixteen) for the first time since 1981, falling to the Florida Gators (in overtime) in a rematch of the game from the previous year.
He was picked to the First-Team All-America by Fox Sports.
For his senior year performance, Fredette was selected as the Mountain West Conference Male Athlete of the Year, and unanimously named the 2011 national player of the year, being so named by the Associated Press, Basketball Times, CBSSports.com, the National Association of Basketball Coaches, SI.com, Athlon Sports,Jimmer Gets Nod as Player of the Year . AthlonSports (March 7, 2011). Retrieved on June 9, 2011. and Sporting News. He was also awarded the 2011 Best Male College Athlete ESPY Award.Ward, Brooke. (July 13, 2011) Jimmer wins an ESPY . Universe.byu.edu. Retrieved on November 17, 2011.
After BYU's nationally televised game against San Diego State in which Fredette scored 43 points, the media attention around him became significant. Fredette gained "pop culture lore", and his name became a verb—opponents on whom he scored many points were considered "Jimmered". His image appeared on one of the regional covers for Sports Illustrated for the 2011 NCAA tournament preview issue.
While revealing his NCAA Tournament brackets, President Barack Obama said of Fredette: "Unbelievable. Best scorer obviously in the country. Great talent."
Jersey retirement On February 14, 2026, at halftime of a BYU victory over Colorado, Fredette's jersey was retired by BYU in recognition of his achievements during his college career.
College records BYU: Most points scored (game) (52 pts) Most Points Scored (season) (1068) Most Free Throws Made (game) (23) Most Free Throws Made (season) (252) Most Free Throws Made (career) (627) Most Field Goals Made (game) (22) Most Field Goals Made (season) (346) Most Three-Point FGs Made (season) (124) Most Three-Point FGs Made (career) (296) Most 30-point games (career) (24) Most 40-point games (career) (6) MWC: Most Points Scored (game) (52) Most Points Scored (season) (1068) Most Points Scored (career) (2599) Most Field Goals Made (season) (346) Most Field Goals Made (career) (838) Second Most Three-Point FGs Made (career) (296)
Professional career Sacramento Kings (2011–2014)