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Ben Uzoh
Toronto Raptors
Pro Player Personnel
Personal information
Born (1988-03-18) March 18, 1988 (age 37)
Houston, Texas, U.S.
Nationality American / Nigerian
High school Warren (San Antonio, Texas)
Listed height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight 205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
College Tulsa (2006–2010)
NBA Draft 2010 / Undrafted
Pro career 2010–2022
League NBA
Career history
2010–2011 New Jersey Nets
2011 →Springfield Armor
2011 Lokomotiv Kuban
2012 Rio Grande Valley Vipers
2012 Cleveland Cavaliers
2012 Toronto Raptors
2012–2013 Springfield Armor
2013–2014 Tulsa 66ers
2014 Canton Charge
2015 Lagos Islanders
2017 Okapi Aalstar
2018 Caballeros de Culiacan
2019–2020 Paris
2021 Rivers Hoopers
2021 Cape Town Tigers
2022 Marinos
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Nigeria
FIBA Africa Championship
Gold 2015 Tunisia

Benjamin Chukwukelo Uzoh (born March 18, 1988) is a Nigerian-American former basketball player. He is 6 feet 3 inches tall and played as a point guard. Ben Uzoh played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the New Jersey Nets and Toronto Raptors. He also played for many teams in North America, Europe, South America, and Africa. He represented his home country, Nigeria, in international basketball games.

College Basketball Journey

Ben Uzoh played college basketball for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane team. He played with them for four years.

Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior
9.9 PPG 15.6 PPG 14.0 PPG 15.3 PPG
5.0 RPG 5.4 RPG 4.9 RPG 4.7 RPG
1.5 APG 2.3 APG 4.7 APG 4.7 APG

Uzoh is the only player in his school's history to be in the top 10 for points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. He was chosen for the All-Conference USA team three times. In his final year, he made the first team. He started 140 out of 141 games during his college career.

Ben Uzoh's Professional Career

After college, Ben Uzoh started his professional basketball journey.

Starting in the NBA

In 2010, Ben Uzoh was not chosen in the 2010 NBA draft. However, he signed a contract with the New Jersey Nets in the National Basketball Association. In January 2011, he got a guaranteed contract to play for the rest of the season. He also played briefly for the Springfield Armor in the NBA D-League in March 2011.

Playing in Russia and Canada

In October 2011, Uzoh signed with Lokomotiv Kuban in Russia. But he only played two games before leaving the team. On March 27, 2012, he signed a short contract with the Toronto Raptors in the NBA. The Raptors then signed him for the rest of the 2011–2012 season. On April 26, he achieved a triple-double against the Nets. This was the first triple-double for a Raptors player in eleven years.

Moving Through D-League Teams

In October 2012, Uzoh joined the Denver Nuggets for their training camp. However, he did not make their final team. He then joined the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the D-League. Soon after, in November 2012, he was traded to the Springfield Armor.

In October 2013, Uzoh was traded to the Tulsa 66ers. In January 2014, he was traded again to the Canton Charge. He was released by the Charge in March 2014 due to an injury that ended his season.

Playing Around the World

In 2015, Ben Uzoh went to Nigeria and played for the Lagos Islanders. In March 2017, he signed with the Belgian team Okapi Aalstar. In February 2018, he joined Caballeros de Culiacan in Mexico. He was chosen as an All-Star in that league.

In November 2019, Uzoh signed with Paris Basketball in France. However, in January 2020, they decided to part ways.

In April 2021, Uzoh signed with the Nigerian team Rivers Hoopers. He played in the first-ever Basketball Africa League (BAL) season. He scored the very first points in the BAL's opening game. He was also the first former NBA player to play in this new league. His team, the Hoopers, did not make it past the first round. Uzoh led his team in scoring, averaging 14.7 points per game.

In September 2021, Uzoh played for the South African team Cape Town Tigers. He helped them win their first national championship. In the championship game, he scored 22 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, and made 5 assists.

In July 2022, he signed with Marinos in Venezuela.

Life After Playing Basketball

In October 2023, Ben Uzoh started a new role. He became a scout for his former team, the Toronto Raptors in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A scout helps find new talented players for the team.

Playing for His Country: Nigeria

Ben Uzoh played for the Nigerian national basketball team. He represented Nigeria in the FIBA Men's African Championships in 2013, 2015, and 2017. He was also part of the Nigerian team that played in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Afrobasket 2013 AfroBasket 2015 Rio Olympics 2016 Fiba World Cup 2019
10.6 PPG 5.6 RPG 5.0 APG 6.8 PPG
8.1 PPG 3.1 RPG 3.0 APG 2.2 APG
7.4 PPG 1.4 RPG 2.6 APG 1.6 RPG

Career Statistics

Here are some of Ben Uzoh's basketball statistics.

NBA Regular Season Stats

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2010–11 New Jersey 42 0 10.4 .424 .375 .589 1.5 1.6 0.3 0.2 3.8
2011–12 Cleveland 2 0 6.5 .400 .000 .000 2.0 1.0 0.5 0.0 2.0
2011–12 Toronto 16 8 22.3 .351 .000 .579 3.9 3.7 1.0 0.2 4.8
Career 60 8 13.5 .395 .333 .587 2.1 2.2 0.5 0.2 4.0

BAL Season Stats

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2021 Rivers Hoopers 3 3 29.1 .559 .000 .667 4.7 5.3 1.0 .7 14.7
Career 3 3 29.1 .559 .000 .667 4.7 5.3 1.0 .7 14.7

See also

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