Semi Ojeleye

Semi Ojeleye
Ojeleye with the Boston Celtics in 2018
No. 37 – Valencia Basket
PositionSmall forward / Power forward
LeagueLiga ACB
EuroCup
Personal information
Born (1994-12-05) December 5, 1994 (age 29)
Overland Park, Kansas, U.S.
NationalityNigerian / American
Listed height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight240 lb (109 kg)
Career information
High schoolOttawa (Ottawa, Kansas)
College
  • Duke (2013–2015)
  • SMU (2016–2017)
NBA draft2017: 2nd round, 37th overall pick
Selected by the Boston Celtics
Playing career2017–present
Career history
2017–2021Boston Celtics
2021–2022Milwaukee Bucks
2022Los Angeles Clippers
2022–2023Virtus Bologna
2023–presentValencia
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Jesusemilore Talodabijesu "Semi" Ojeleye (/ˈʃɛmi ˈoʊdʒəleɪ/ SHEM-ee OH-jə-lay;[1] born December 5, 1994) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player for Valencia of the Spanish Liga ACB and the EuroCup. He played college basketball for both Duke University and Southern Methodist University.

Early life and college career

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Ojeleye's parents emigrated from Nigeria to Ottawa, Kansas.[2] He starred at Ottawa High School and in 2013 was named the Parade Magazine National Player of the Year.[3] 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.[4]

Professional career

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Boston Celtics (2017–2021)

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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.[5] 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.[6]

Ojeleye made his professional debut on October 17, 2017, in a 102–99 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.[7] 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.[8]

Milwaukee Bucks (2021–2022)

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On August 6, 2021, Ojeleye signed with the Milwaukee Bucks on a one-year, veteran's minimum contract.[9]

Los Angeles Clippers (2022)

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On February 10, 2022, Ojeleye was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers as part of a four-team trade.[10] On March 26, he was waived.[11]

Virtus Bologna (2022–2023)

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On July 28, 2022, Ojeleye signed a two-year deal with Virtus Bologna of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and the EuroLeague.[12] 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.[13] Ojeleye was nominated MVP of the competition.[14]

However, despite good premises Virtus ended the EuroLeague season at the 14th place, thus it did not qualify for the playoffs.[15] 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.[16][17]

Valencia (2023–present)

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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

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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

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Regular season

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

References

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  1. ^ Katz, Fred (July 7, 2018). "Boston Celtics summer leaguer Semi Ojeleye provides Las Vegas game announcer with tough test". MassLive. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  2. ^ Hamilton, Brian (March 27, 2017). "From Duke to SMU, Semi Ojeleye's long, crooked journey is finally paying off". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  3. ^ McLaughlin, Brian (May 17, 2013). "Semi Ojeleye is Parade's 2012-13 Boys Basketball Player of the Year". Parade Magazine. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  4. ^ Baby, Ben (March 9, 2017). "SMU's Semi Ojeleye named AAC Player of the Year". Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on April 23, 2019. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  5. ^ "SMU's Tim Jankovich thinks Semi Ojeleye is taking smart approach to NBA draft". Dallas Morning News. March 27, 2017. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  6. ^ Forsberg, Chris (June 22, 2017). "Duke's Jayson Tatum selected No. 3 overall by Celtics". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
  7. ^ "Celtics vs. Cavaliers - Box Score". ESPN.com. October 17, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
  8. ^ Souza, Scott (April 28, 2018). "Celtics notes: Forward Semi Ojeleye uses defensive prowess to make stars look bad". Worcester Telegram. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  9. ^ "Milwaukee Bucks Sign Three Players". NBA.com. August 6, 2021. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  10. ^ "LA Clippers Finalize Four-Team Trade, Send Ibaka To Milwaukee". NBA.com. February 10, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  11. ^ Greif, Andrew (March 27, 2022). "Clippers promote Amir Coffey, who is eligible for postseason". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
  12. ^ "Semi Ojeleye è un nuovo giocatore di Virtus Segafredo Bologna". virtus.it. July 21, 2022. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
  13. ^ "Supercoppa, trionfa la Virtus Bologna! Canestro decisivo di Mickey, Sassari cede 72-69". Gazzetta dello Sport. September 29, 2022.
  14. ^ Frecciarossa Supercoppa 2022 | Mvp | Semi Ojeleye, Virtus Bologna, Sportando
  15. ^ Virtus, il punto a fine EuroLega. BolognaBasket
  16. ^ Basket, Milano batte Bologna nella decisiva gara 7 e vince il suo 30esimo scudetto. Gli highlights. la Repubblica
  17. ^ Basket, Milano batte Bologna 67-55 nella finalissima e si conferma campione per la trentesima volta. Rai News
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