Contents
Julian Newman is a youthful American basketball player, who was a point guard for Prodigy Prep in Orlando.
Age, Early Life, and Physical Appearance
Julian Newman hails from Orlando, Florida, and was born under the Virgo zodiac sign on 6 September 2001, which makes him 22 years old as of mid-2023. He is the son of Vivian Gonzalez, who served in the US Navy for four years before being employed by the US Postal Services, and Jamie Gonzalez, who was a History teacher and coach for the Downey Christian School’s basketball team – both of his parents played basketball for their respective high school and college teams. Julian has a younger sister named Jaden Newman, who was born in 2004. He began expressing an interest in basketball at the tender age of three, and made 100 free throws, 200 jump shots, and 200 floaters each day while training with his father. Newman grew up playing basketball with his sister, who has played for Liberty Varsity Basketball, and the University of Miami’s NCAA Division 1 program.
In 2012, Newman joined Downey Christian School, later attended Prodigy Prep High School and matriculated in 2020.
Facts
Newman’s closest friends and fans have nicknamed him ‘The Handles’ for his outstanding ball-handling skills.
He was requested to play at half-time during an Orlando Magic National Basketball Association (NBA) match.
In 2015, Newman became the youngest basketball player to record 1000 points in the varsity prep league together with his sister.
He is an animal lover who loves flaunting his pet dog on Instagram.
Newman’s mother played basketball for the University High School, Orlando
Career
Newman caught the public’s attention when his video playing basketball for the Orlando-based Downey Christian School made the rounds of the internet in 2012. It sparked mixed opinions, with some calling him a child prodigy, and other outlets disapproving of the way he was marketed.
Middle School Career
Julian was in fifth grade when he began playing basketball for Downey Christian School’s team. He performed spectacularly, scoring as many as 90 points in a single game, which saw him selected to play for the varsity team, which performed outside of the Florida High School Athletic Association’s (FHSAA) jurisdiction. Newman was still very young at the time; he stood 4ft 5ins (1.35m) tall, weighed around 70lbs (32kgs), and wore the smallest jersey available – according to sources, Newman had to use a hair tie to tighten the shoulders of his uniform and roll the waistband of his basketball shorts to prevent them from falling down. Despite his short stature, Newman played skillfully, averaging 4.3 steals, 11 assists, and 12.4 points per game in his first three starts. Newman led his school to a 21-6 record, and recorded the most assists in the state of Florida.
In sixth grade, Julian recorded an average of 17 points per game – in December 2012, he was featured in the article “Fifth Grader Starting for the Florida Varsity Team,” which was posted on the high school athletics website, MaxPreps. Thereafter, the recruiting website, ScoutsFocus uploaded a video of Julian on YouTube – it went viral, garnering over 3.5 million views, which saw him make national headlines in The New York Times, Sports Illustrated, and other publications, as a fifth-grade student playing varsity basketball.
In 2013, Newman averaged 10.5 assists and 13.6 points per game, which saw The Huffington Post describe him as ‘The Best Sixth Grade Basketball Player You’ve Ever Seen’ in December of that year. In early 2014, the Orlando native was labeled ‘the most marketed 12-year-old basketball player in the world’ by the Tampa Bay Times, formerly St. Petersburg Times. In the 2014-2015 season, Newman averaged 19.8 points, 3.2 steals, and 10.2 assists per game, then in October 2016, he caught the public’s attention by scoring of 52 points at MiddleSchoolHoopsTV camp ,in a publicized match-up with the professional basketball player, Kyree Walker, who was the top recruit of the 2020 class.
High School Career
In his second year in high school (2018), Newman broke the Florida Prep record that had been set by Teddy Dupay in the late ‘90s, when he recorded a total of 3,873 points. In the 2018-2019 season, Julian recorded an average of seven assists, 34.7 points, four steals, and five rebounds per game. For his senior season, Newman joined Prodigy Prep school, which was founded by his father, who served as the school’s basketball head coach.
Newman hasn’t participated in any competitive basketball match since he matriculated from high school. His professional career in the National Basketball Association remains uncertain, mainly because of his short stature, since height is a key determining factor for NBA and other basketball pro-level competitions.
Newman and his father founded the sportswear brand, Prodigy.
Julian Newman will reportedly declare for the 2022 NBA draft. 👀🔥 pic.twitter.com/6mtofvTVic
— ًHoop CentraI (@TheHooopCentral) April 23, 2022
TV Appearances
Newman starred in his documentary, “Born Ready,” which was uploaded onto the YouTube channel, Elite Mixtapes. He also appeared alongside his entire family in the 2019 reality show, “Hello Newmans,” which aired on the American sports network, Overtime. He’s made appearances in various talk shows too, including “Steve Harvey,” “Good Morning America,” and “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” among others.
Social Media Presence
Newman is active on Instagram (@juliannewman4) with around 670,000 followers. He’s fond of posting his pictures together with his sisters on the platform, as well as updating his fans and supporters about his matches. He opened a Twitter account in 2015, but isn’t very active on the platform, which is followed by around 1,800 fans (@Julian_newman04) as of 2023.
Personal Life
Newman is seemingly single and focused on his blossoming basketball career, as of 2023. He’s never introduced anyone as his girlfriend, and doesn’t have any children. The basketball player follows the Christianity religion.
Height, Weight, and Physical Appearance
Newman is of Jewish, Afro-American and Puerto Rican roots. He has a set of black eyes, and black hair. The basketball player stands 5ft 8ins (1.73m) tall and weighs approximately 140lbs (64kgs). His chest, waist, and bicep sizes are 38, 32, and 12ins respectively. Moreover, Julian wears shoe size 8(US). He has inked a large tattoo of several basketball players on his chest.
Net Worth
Julian has accumulated a decent sum from his basketball career, sponsorship deals. He also sells sports merchandise, which has also contributed to his net worth. He’s reportedly worth around $1 million as of 2023.
