Semi Ojeleye Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Semi Ojeleye
No. 37 – Valencia Basket
Ojeleye with the Boston Celtics in 2018
Small forward / power forward
Personal information
Born	(1994-12-05) December 5, 1994 (age 30) Overland Park, Kansas, U.S.
Nationality	Nigerian / American
High school	Ottawa (Ottawa, Kansas)
Listed height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight	240 lb (109 kg)
Career information
College	Duke (2013–2015) SMU (2016–2017)
NBA Draft	2017 / Round: 2 / Pick: 37th overall
Selected by the Boston Celtics
Pro career	2017–present
League	Liga ACB EuroCup
Career history
2017–2021	Boston Celtics
2021–2022	Milwaukee Bucks
2022	Los Angeles Clippers
2022–2023	Virtus Bologna
2023–present	Valencia

Career highlights and awards
Italian Supercup winner (2022) Italian Supercup MVP (2022) AP Honorable mention All-American (2017) AAC Player of the Year (2017) First-team All-AAC (2017) AAC tournament MVP (2017) First-team Parade All-American (2013)

Semi Ojeleye (born December 5, 1994) is a professional basketball player from both Nigeria and the United States. He currently plays for Valencia in Spain, competing in the Liga ACB and the EuroCup. Before becoming a pro, he played college basketball for Duke University and Southern Methodist University.

Early Life and College Basketball
- Playing for Duke and SMU
Professional Basketball Career
Career Statistics
See also

Early Life and College Basketball

Semi Ojeleye's parents moved from Nigeria to Ottawa, Kansas. He became a star player at Ottawa High School. In 2013, he was named the National Player of the Year by Parade Magazine.

Playing for Duke and SMU

After high school, Semi chose to play college basketball for Duke University. He played there for two seasons but didn't get much playing time. He then transferred to SMU to have a bigger role on the team.

At SMU during the 2016–17 season, Semi helped his team win both the regular season and tournament championships in the American Athletic Conference (AAC). He averaged 18.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Because of his great performance, he was named the AAC Player of the Year.

Professional Basketball Career

Boston Celtics (2017–2021)

After his successful college season, Semi Ojeleye decided to enter the 2017 NBA draft. He was invited to the NBA Draft Combine, where he showed off his skills. He was then chosen by the Boston Celtics in the second round as the 37th overall pick.

Semi made his first professional appearance on October 17, 2017. During his first regular season, he averaged 2.7 points per game. He became known for his strong defense. In the playoffs, he even started a game against the Milwaukee Bucks and helped limit star player Giannis Antetokounmpo to 16 points.

Milwaukee Bucks (2021–2022)

On August 6, 2021, Semi Ojeleye signed a one-year contract with the Milwaukee Bucks. He played for them for part of the 2021–2022 season.

Los Angeles Clippers (2022)

On February 10, 2022, Semi was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers as part of a four-team deal. He played a few games for the Clippers before being released on March 26, 2022.

Virtus Bologna (2022–2023)

On July 28, 2022, Semi Ojeleye signed a two-year contract with Virtus Bologna, a team in Italy. They play in the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and the EuroLeague.

In September 2022, Virtus Bologna won their third Supercup. They beat Banco di Sardegna Sassari 72–69 in the final. Semi Ojeleye was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the competition.

Even though they started well, Virtus Bologna finished 14th in the EuroLeague season and did not make the playoffs. They also lost in the Italian Basketball Cup final. In June, they reached the national finals but were defeated by Olimpia Milan.

Valencia (2023–Present)

On July 1, 2023, Semi's contract with Virtus Bologna was bought out by Valencia, a Spanish club. He joined Valencia and continues to play for them.

Career Statistics

Ojeleye with Virtus Bologna in 2022

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	PIR	Performance Index Rating
Bold	Career high

NBA Regular Season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2017–18	Boston	73	0	15.8	.346	.320	.610	2.2	.3	.3	.1	2.7
2018–19	Boston	56	3	10.6	.424	.315	.615	1.5	.4	.2	.1	3.3
2019–20	Boston	69	6	14.7	.408	.378	.875	2.1	.5	.3	.1	3.4
2020–21	Boston	56	15	17.0	.403	.367	.750	2.6	.7	.3	.0	4.6
2021–22	Milwaukee	20	0	15.4	.257	.268	.769	2.9	.3	.3	.3	2.9
2021–22	L.A. Clippers	10	0	9.8	.414	.444	.813	1.6	.4	.2	.1	4.1
Career		284	24	14.5	.384	.344	.717	2.2	.4	.3	.1	3.4

NBA Play-in Games

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2021	Boston	1	0	8.4	.000	.000	–	.0	.0	.0	.0	.0
Career		1	0	8.4	.000	.000	–	.0	.0	.0	.0	.0

NBA Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2018	Boston	17	3	13.5	.303	.273	.857	1.6	.1	.2	.0	1.9
2019	Boston	6	0	5.7	.444	.600	1.000	.3	.3	.0	.0	2.2
2020	Boston	13	0	9.4	.350	.217	1.000	.9	.1	.2	.0	1.6
2021	Boston	2	0	6.0	.000	.000	.500	.0	.0	.5	.5	.5
Career		38	3	10.5	.284	.264	.846	1.1	.1	.2	.1	1.8

EuroLeague Statistics

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG	PIR
2022–23	Bologna	24	21	23.5	.530	.461	.870	3.8	.6	.5	.1	10.5	10.8
2023–24	Valencia	27	12	22.2	.493	.471	.869	4.4	.4	.8	.2	13.3	14.2
Career		51	33	22.8	.509	.466	.869	4.2	.5	.7	.2	12.0	12.6

College Statistics

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2013–14	Duke	17	0	4.7	.500	.571	.909	.9	.1	.2	.2	1.6
2014–15	Duke	6	0	10.5	.278	.250	.571	2.3	.2	.5	.0	3.0
2016–17	SMU	35	35	34.1	.487	.424	.785	6.9	1.5	.4	.4	19.0
Career		58	35	23.1	.479	.415	.785	4.6	1.0	.4	.3	12.3

Semi Ojeleye facts for kids

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