Former Gonzaga guard Silas Melson finds new team in France

Melson agrees to terms with his tenth professional club since his Gonzaga career ended

Feb 8, 2018; Stockton, CA, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Silas Melson (0) reacts against the Pacific Tigers during the second half of the game at Alex G. Spanos Center. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Former Gonzaga guard Silas Melson's well-travelled professional career will make another stop in 2026-27.

French Betclic Elite club JDA Dijon Basket, or Dijon, announced Melson as their newest player on Monday, becoming the 6'3 guard's tenth different club since he graduated from Gonzaga in 2018.

Melson will make France his home for the first time, after previous stops in Greece, Israel, Finland, Belgium, Estonia, Turkey, and Germany.

The Portland, OR native recently recovered from a major injury that limited him to just one game in 2024-25 with Darussafaka in Turkey. He played last year for Oostende in Belgium, appearing in 29 games and averaging 11.9 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 24.1 minutes per game, while shooting a solid 36.9% from beyond the arc.

Melson's journey

Dec 19, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Silas Melson (0) | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Melson, like many former Gonzaga greats, has turned basketball into a career where he has - quite literally - travelled the world. Melson came to Gonzaga after a stellar high school career at Jefferson in Portland, and he immediately stepped into a reserve role in 2014-15 after starting point guard Josh Perkins suffered a season-ending jaw injury.

From there, Melson steadily improved as a scorer and playmaker in each of the next two seasons, serving a very valuable role on Gonzaga's 2016-17 squad that made the national championship game. Melson played 29 minutes against South Carolina in the Final Four, scoring six points with four rebounds, three assists, and two blocks in the four point victory.

Melson fully broke out as a starter and major contributor for the Zags in 2017-18. That season, the 6'3 shooting guard averaged career-highs in points (9.3), rebounds (3.1), assists (2.2), and steals (1.1), while shooting 37.2% from three and 83.6% from the free throw line.

He dropped 21 points with three assists and three steals in a 91-74 non-conference win over Creighton, and had 12 points on 5-7 shooting in GU's road win over BYU to close out the regular season.

All told, the 6'3 guard averaged 6.7 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 143 career games at Gonzaga, which ties Kyle Dranginis for fourth most in program history.

Since then, Melson has made multiple stops in his career, including a phenomenal 2019-20 season in Finland with Kouvot, where he averaged 20.8 points and 2.5 assists in 17 games, while shooting a scorching 44% from the three point line.

Now he'll try his hand in the Betclic Elite, France's top league, where he'll compete against former Zags Ben Gregg (SIG Strasbourg) and Joel Ayayi (Paris).

Dijon went 12-18 last season, finishing 11th out of 16 teams and failing to make the playoffs.