SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 08: Javonte Cooke #18 of the Portland Trail Blazers looks on in the fourth quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center on October 08, 2025 in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
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The weekend before the start of an NBA season features a flurry of activity. That tradition continued this October. That includes extensions by the Portland Trail Blazers with two members of their young nucleus, Toumani Camara and Shaedon Sharpe.
Days before the tip-off of the 2025-26 campaign, the franchise that calls the Pacific Northwest home also signed Javonte Cooke to a two-way deal, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Cooke starred collegiately at Winston-Salem State. Earning this contract with the Trail Blazers makes him only the second active player in the NBA who stayed four years at a Division II school, per Charania. The other individual is Haywood Highsmith of the Brooklyn Nets. The latter spent his collegiate career at Wheeling Jesuit University, now Wheeling University.
After going undrafted in 2023, Cooke spent the last three years shining in the G League. That includes averaging over 16.5 points with the Iowa Wolves in 2023-24, then doing so with the Oklahoma City Blue last season.
Suiting up for the Thunder’s G League affiliate, the six-foot-six guard stuffed the stat sheet, pairing his point production with 5.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.0 steals per contest.
Building off that, he impressed at Summer League while with the Miami Heat. That includes shooting the ball well, looking more like the player who knocked down 37.5 percent of his 7.5 three-point attempts two years ago.
That earned him the opportunity to go to training camp in Portland, an opportunity he has now parlayed into a two-way contract.
What Javonte Cooke showed in the preseason
The 26-year-old guard had his best exhibition game in the Trail Blazers’ first preseason contest this year against the Golden State Warriors. He delivered nine points off the bench in nine minutes, converting on 3.7 field goal attempts. He also grabbed three rebounds.
Considering he played four minutes in another exhibition matchup and did not play in Portland’s last one, it’s fair to believe where he impressed the organization most was behind the scenes during training camp.
There, in a controlled environment that can be more beneficial than preseason games, Javonte Cooke showed enough to help him land a roster spot and complete a leap rarely seen.
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