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Semi Ojeleye
Semi Ojeleye (cropped).jpg
Ojeleye with the Boston Celtics in 2018
No. 37 – Valencia Basket
Small forward / Power forward
Personal information
Born (1994-12-05) December 5, 1994 (age 29)
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
EuroLeague
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)

Jesusemilore Talodabijesu "Semi" Ojeleye (/ˈʃɛmi ˈoʊdʒəleɪ/ SHEM-ee-_-oh-JƏ-lay; born December 5, 1994) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player for Valencia of the Spanish Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for both Duke University and Southern Methodist University.

Early life and college career

Ojeleye's parents emigrated from Nigeria to Ottawa, Kansas. He starred at Ottawa High School and in 2013 was named the Parade Magazine National Player of the Year. He chose national power Duke for college, but played sparingly for two seasons. Looking for a larger role, he transferred to SMU, and in 2016–17 he led the team to both American Athletic Conference (AAC) regular season and Tournament Championships. Ojeleye averaged 18.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per game and was named AAC Player of the Year.

Professional career

Boston Celtics (2017–2021)

Following the close of his redshirt junior season, Ojeleye entered his name for the 2017 NBA draft but did not hire an agent, leaving open the possibility of a return to the Mustangs. Ojeleye was invited to the 2017 NBA Draft Combine, one of 67 participants. After some promising performances he announced that he would commit to the draft, ending his college career. Ojeleye was chosen by the Boston Celtics in the second round with the 37th overall pick.

Ojeleye made his professional debut on October 17, 2017, in a 102–99 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. During the regular season, he averaged 2.7 points per game and shot 34.6 percent from the field, but emerged as a defensive presence. He started in Game 5 of the playoff series versus the Milwaukee Bucks and held Giannis Antetokounmpo to 16 points.

Milwaukee Bucks (2021–2022)

On August 6, 2021, Ojeleye signed with the Milwaukee Bucks on a one-year, veteran's minimum contract.

Los Angeles Clippers (2022)

On February 10, 2022, Ojeleye was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers as part of a four-team trade. On March 26, he was waived.

Virtus Bologna (2022–2023)

On July 28, 2022, Ojeleye signed a two-year deal with Virtus Bologna of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and the EuroLeague. On 29 September 2022, after having ousted Olimpia Milano in the semifinals, Virtus won its third Supercup, defeating 72–69 Banco di Sardegna Sassari and achieving a back-to-back, following the 2021 trophy. Ojeleye was nominated MVP of the competition.

However, despite good premises Virtus ended the EuroLeague season at the 14th place, thus it did not qualify for the playoffs. Moreover, the team was defeated in the Italian Basketball Cup final by Brescia. In June, after having ousted 3–0 both Brindisi and Tortona, Virtus was defeated 4–3 by Olimpia Milan in the national finals, following a series which was widely regarded among the best in the latest years of Italian basketball.

Valencia (2023–present)

On July 1, 2023, Ojeleye's contract with Bologna was bought out by Spanish club Valencia for a sum of 300.000 dollars.

Career statistics

Semi Ojeleye 2022
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  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
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

Play-in

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

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

College

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

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Semi Ojeleye para niños

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