Considered a five-star recruit by the Rivals.com recruiting network, Hopson was listed as the No. 2 shooting guard and the No. 5 player in the nation in 2008. He played three seasons of college basketball for the University of Tennessee under head coach Bruce Pearl from 2008 to 2011.
Professional career
Hopson went undrafted in the 2011 NBA draft. In August 2011, he signed with Kolossos Rodou of the Greek Basket League for the 2011–12 season. In July 2012, he signed with Hapoel Eilat of the Israeli Basketball Super League for the 2012–13 season. In 33 games, he averaged 17.7 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. In July 2013, he signed with Anadolu Efes of the Turkish Basketball League for the 2013–14 season. In January 2014, he left Turkey and returned to the United States. On March 31, 2014, he signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers. On April 6, 2014, he was assigned to the Canton Charge of the NBA D-League. On April 9, 2014, he was recalled by the Cavaliers. The next day, he was reassigned to the Charge. On April 15, 2014, he was recalled by the Cavaliers. On July 12, 2014, Hopson was traded, along with cash considerations, to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Brendan Haywood and the draft rights to Dwight Powell. The next day, the Hornets traded him to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for cash considerations. Two days later, he was again traded, this time to the Houston Rockets. On September 17, 2014, he was traded, along with Alonzo Gee, to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Jason Terry and two future second-round draft picks. On September 24, 2014, he was waived by the Kings. On December 7, 2014, Hopson was acquired by the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA Development League. On February 24, 2015, Hopson set two Skyforce single-game records, scoring 52 points and making 21 field goals in a win over the Reno Bighorns. On April 21, 2015, he signed with Laboral Kutxa of Spain for the rest of the 2014–15 ACB season. In September 2015, Hopson signed with the Foshan Long Lions of China for the 2015–16 CBA season. On July 24, 2016, Hopson signed with Croatian club Cedevita Zagreb. On February 11, 2017, Hopson signed with Israeli club Ironi Nahariya for the rest of the 2016–17 season. On July 20, 2017, Hopson signed with Turkish club Galatasaray for the 2017–18 season. On January 19, 2018, Hopson was reported to have left Galatasaray. On February 26, 2018, Hopson signed a 10-day contract with the Dallas Mavericks. After appearing in one game, he was not offered a second 10-day contract. On October 10, 2018, Hopson joined the Oklahoma City Thunder's training camp roster. He was waived on October 12. He then joined the Thunder's G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue. On February 14, 2019 he signed a 10-day contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Hopson later was not offered a second 10-day contract and thus returned to the Oklahoma City Blue. On April 18, 2019, Hopson returned to Israel for a third stint, signing with Hapoel Holon. On April 28, 2019, Hopson suffered a foot injury in his first game with Holon. He was later ruled out for the rest of the season. On July 31, 2019, Hopson signed with the New Zealand Breakers for the 2019–20 NBL season. Early in the season, he split a ligament in his knee. He returned to action in December after missing most of November. He was named to the All-NBL Second Team.
