Jon Elmore

College career

Elmore first committed to VMI, the school where his father Gay played, but he left before ever stepping on the court for a game to be with his grandfather. He ended up playing intramural basketball at Marshall and by December 2015 had earned a spot on the varsity team. As a sophomore in 2016–17, he put up 19.7 points per game and was named first-team all-Conference USA. The next season, his junior year, Elmore powered Marshall to its first Conference USA tournament championship, took home tournament MVP honors, and then led the Herd to their first NCAA Tournament win—a 27-point outburst in an upset of Wichita State.

He averaged 22.7 points and 6.8 rebounds that season. After testing the 2018 NBA draft without hiring an agent, he returned to Marshall. In his senior campaign, Elmore scored his 2,000th point on November 28, 2018, against William & Mary, becoming the third player in school history to do so. On March 3, 2019, he passed UTEP's Stefon Jackson to become Conference USA's all-time leading scorer.

Earlier that season, he had already become the conference's career assists leader, surpassing UTEP's Julyan Stone, making him the only active player at the time to lead a conference in both scoring and assists. Elmore is the first NCAA Division I player ever to record over 2,500 points and over 750 assists. On March 19, 2019, he became Marshall's all-time leading scorer, breaking Skip Henderson's record; Taevion Kinsey surpassed him four years later.

Professional career

After going undrafted, Elmore played for the Boston Celtics in the NBA Summer League. He then signed with Pallacanestro Trieste of Italy's Lega Basket Serie A on July 23, 2019, averaging 7.5 points, 2 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game. On January 15, 2020, he moved to Orlandina Basket in the Italian second division, where he averaged 17 points per game. On December 5, 2020, he signed with Ionikos in the Greek Basket League, but by January 12, 2021, he had joined Soproni KC in Hungary's Nemzeti Bajnokság, posting 17.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.1 steals per game.

Sioux Falls Skyforce (2022–2024)

On August 14, 2021, he signed with Larisa in Greece but never played a game for them. Three days later, he inked a one-year deal with BC Šiauliai in the Lithuanian Basketball League. In October 2022, Elmore joined the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA G League for the 2022–2023 season. He made his regular-season debut on December 27, 2022, recording 3 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 blocks in a 108–112 loss to the Oklahoma City Blue.

Over 31 games that season, he averaged 10.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 5.6 assists in 26.6 minutes per game. The Skyforce finished 20–12 and reached the Conference Finals, where they lost to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers; in three playoff games, Elmore averaged 3.3 points, 2 rebounds, and 3.7 assists. On September 27, 2023, he signed with the Miami Heat but was waived the same day. He rejoined the Skyforce on October 30, playing only three regular-season games before being traded to the Cleveland Charge on February 2, 2024, for the rights to Olin Carter III and a second-round pick in the 2024 G League Draft.

Stockton Kings (2024–2025)

With the Charge, he played four games, averaging 6.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 3 assists in 23.6 minutes. On March 6, 2024, he was traded again, this time to the Stockton Kings for a second-round pick in the 2024 G League Draft. With the Kings, he saw a career-low 11.2 minutes per game, averaging 2.8 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.3 assists. The Kings were 16–9 when he joined and went 8–1 in their final nine games, finishing 24–10.

Personal life

Born in Charleston, West Virginia, Jon Elmore was raised by Gay and Elizabeth Elmore. His father, Gay, is VMI's all-time leading scorer, while his grandfather Otmer played college basketball at West Virginia. His brother Ot first played at Texas–Rio Grande Valley before transferring to Marshall to join Jon on the court. On March 9, 2019, Elmore proposed to his longtime girlfriend, Tori Dent, a former Marshall student-athlete.