Jameel Marcus Warney is an American professional basketball player for the Seoul SK Knights of the Korean Basketball League. He played college basketball for the Stony Brook Seawolves, leading the team to its first ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament and graduating as the school's all-time leader in several career categories. After going undrafted, Warney became the first Stony Brook player to reach the NBA when he made his debut with the Dallas Mavericks on March 11, 2018. Warney continued to play in the G League and was traded to the Westchester Knicks in 2019 before moving his career overseas and signing with the Seoul SK Knights of the Korean Basketball League later that year. In Warney's first season in Korea, he was named the KBL's Foreign MVP.
High school career
Warney attended Roselle Catholic High School. As a sophomore, he averaged 20.0 points, 12.0 rebounds and 4.0 blocks and was named All-Union County. In his senior season, he averaged 17.0 points, 13.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.5 blocks. He graduated as the school's all-time leading scorer.
College career
After graduating high school, Warney attended Stony Brook, where he was named America East Conference Player of the Year in 2014, 2015 and 2016, becoming the third player in conference history to win Player of the Year three times, joining Reggie Lewis and Taylor Coppenrath. In his 2012–13 rookie season, Warney won America East Rookie of the Year and was named second-team All-America East after shooting.650 in conference play and leading the conference in field goal percentage. He finished second in blocks, averaging 1.6, and was sixth with 7.3 rebounds. Warney took steps in his sophomore year to win his first America East Player of the Year award. Warney was named first-team All-America East, and was consistently ranked top five in the nation in field goal percentage. Warney led the Seawolves by averaging 14.7 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. He set a new school record against Detroit with his 21 rebounds to go along with a new career-high 32 points. Warney became the first Seawolves player to record three consecutive double-doubles. The 2014–15 season saw Warney win his second consecutive America East Player of the Year award as he led the conference in points, rebounds, and blocks. Warney set a conference record by winning eight straight Player of the Week awards and led the nation with 20 double-doubles. He ranked fifth in the country in rebounds and averaged a double-double for the entire season. As a senior, Warney averaged 19.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 3.0 blocks in 33 games and was named to the 35-man midseason watch list for the Naismith Trophy. Warney led a team that once held a nation-high 18-game winning streak, and after averaging a double-double for the second consecutive season, grabbed his third consecutive America East Player of the Year award. In the semifinals of the 2016 America East Tournament, Warney scored 27 points and grabbed a career-high 23 rebounds in a win over UMBC. His 23 rebounds broke the record for most rebounds in an America East Tournament game. On March 12, 2016, he led the Seawolves to their first NCAA Tournament appearance by scoring 43 points in the America East Conference Men's Basketball Tournament finals against Vermont. Warney was named America East Tournament MVP for his heroics; his 43 points was both a career-high and a single-game school record. He graduated with averages of 15.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 2.0 blocks and 30.7 minutes in 135 games and ended as the school’s all-time leader in points, rebounds, blocks and games played. On February 18, 2017, Warney's No. 20 was retired by Stony Brook, becoming the first basketball player in school history to have his number retired.
After going undrafted in the 2016 NBA draft, Warney joined the Dallas Mavericks for the 2016 NBA Summer League. On July 27, 2016, he signed with the Mavericks, but was later waived on October 16 after appearing in three preseason games. On October 30, 2016, he was acquired by the Texas Legends of the NBA Development League as an affiliate player of the Mavericks. In his first season with the Legends, he averaged 17.3 points per game. On October 13, 2017, he was signed by the Mavericks for the second time. He was later waived before the start of the season and rejoined the Legends. Warney played 42 games in the 2017–18 season and was named to the First Team All-NBA G League after averaging 19.9 points and 9.6 rebounds per game.
Dallas Mavericks (2018)
On March 7, 2018, the Mavericks signed him to a 10-day contract. Warney made his NBA debut on March 11, 2018 against the Houston Rockets. Warney played eight minutes and scored five points with four rebounds. Warney made his return to New York on March 13 when the Mavericks faced the New York Knicks. Against the Knicks, Warney scored an NBA career-high eight points in 12 minutes.
Return to the Texas Legends (2018–19)
The Mavericks elected not to renew Warney's 10-day contract, returning him to the Legends.
On May 5, 2018, Warney signed with Anhui Dragons of the Chinese NBL to play during the summer. Warney tweaked his knee in July, prompting him to return home to recover.
Westchester Knicks (2019)
On January 8, 2019, Warney was traded to the Westchester Knicks in exchange for Xavier Rathan-Mayes. Warney scored 20 points and recorded 14 rebounds in a first round 95–82 playoff victory over the Windy City Bulls, the Westchester Knicks' first playoff win in team history.
Seoul SK Knights (2019–present)
On July 17, 2019, Warney signed with the Seoul SK Knights of the Korean Basketball League. In his first season with Seoul, Warney played 43 games in a shortened season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Warney led the Knights to a first-place 28–15 record while finishing fourth in the league in points per game and third in rebounds per game. Seoul was named co-champions due to the cancellation of the postseason. Warney won the KBL's Foreign MVP award and was also named to the All–KBL Team.
