Profile · New Berlin, Wisconsin
Thomas Joseph “T. J.” Bray
Princeton point guard and European pro; born and raised New Berlin; Wisconsin Mr. Basketball 2010 at Catholic Memorial
$1 million
T. J. Bray is the New Berlin point guard who skipped the scholarship power conferences for Princeton, then spent seven seasons in Europe before retiring at twenty-nine. Born in New Berlin on June 14, 1992, he grew up in the suburb and starred at Catholic Memorial in neighboring Waukesha. As a senior he averaged 17.9 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 6.6 assists, won Wisconsin Mr. Basketball in 2010, and posted a 20-12-5-6 line in the Division 2 state-title game. Princeton beat out North Dakota and Florida Gulf Coast. He left as first-team All-Ivy with 374 career assists—third in program history since the school began counting them—and a still-standing 13-assist game against Penn State. He is the only Princeton player with three seasons of 100-plus assists since tracking began in 1974–75. Undrafted in 2014, he played in Italy, Belgium, Greece, Germany, and Spain. Bayern Munich put him in the EuroLeague; after missing the first three months of that season with a foot-tendon injury he made the 2019 All-Bundesliga First Team and led the German league in assists. Panathinaikos gave him a Greek League title and a Greek Cup in 2021. Then he walked away for personal reasons, with reporting of a roughly $100,000 clause if he returned to play in Europe that season, and a public thank-you to his fiancée and the FaceTimes from home. The New Berlin claim is childhood and the Mr. Basketball year; Catholic Memorial supplied the high-school stage next door.