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Alexis Ajinça
Ajinça with the New Orleans Pelicans in 2014
Capital City Go-Go
PositionAssistant coach
League NBA G League
Personal information
Born (1988-05-06) May 6, 1988 (age 35)
Saint-Étienne, France
Listed height7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)
Listed weight248 lb (112 kg)
Career information
High school INSEP ( Paris, France)
NBA draft 2008: 1st round, 20th overall pick
Selected by the Charlotte Bobcats
Playing career2006–2019
Position Center
Number8, 21, 42
Coaching career2023–present
Career history
As player:
2006–2007 Pau-Orthez
2007–2008 Hyères-Toulon
20082010 Charlotte Bobcats
2009Sioux Falls Skyforce
2009–2010Maine Red Claws
2010–2011 Dallas Mavericks
2011 Toronto Raptors
2011Hyères-Toulon
2011–2013 SIG Strasbourg
20132018 New Orleans Pelicans
2018–2019 ASVEL Basket
As coach:
2023–present Capital City Go-Go (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
Career statistics
Points1,553 (5.3 ppg)
Rebounds1,150 (3.9 rpg)
Blocks181 (.6 bpg)
Stats  Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats  Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
FIBA EuroBasket
Gold medal – first place 2013 Slovenia National Team
U-18 European Championship
Gold medal – first place 2006 Greece U-18 Team

Alexis Ajinça (French pronunciation: [alɛksi aʒɛ̃sa]; born May 6, 1988) is a French professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Capital City Go-Go of the NBA G League. He played seven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Charlotte Bobcats, Dallas Mavericks, Toronto Raptors and New Orleans Pelicans.

Early life

Ajinça was a promising BMX rider during his childhood and routinely won racing competitions for his age group in France. [1] He started playing basketball at age of 12 because he thought that it would help him improve his bike jumps. [1] Ajinça gave up BMX riding when he blossomed in basketball. [1]

Professional career

Early years (2006–2008)

After attending France's INSEP, [2] Ajinça played for Pau-Orthez during the 2006–07 season. He joined Hyères-Toulon for the 2007–08 season and averaged 5.0 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. [1]

Charlotte Bobcats (2008–2010)

Ajinça was selected with the 20th overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft by the Charlotte Bobcats. [3] The Bobcats wanted to select a big man after selecting guard D. J. Augustin earlier in the draft and believed that Ajinça possessed the most potential of players available. [1]

During his rookie season, he spent time with the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA Development League. During his second season with Charlotte, he spent time with the Maine Red Claws.

Dallas Mavericks (2010–2011)

On July 13, 2010, Ajinça was traded, along with Tyson Chandler, to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Erick Dampier, Eduardo Nájera, Matt Carroll. [4]

Toronto Raptors (2011)

On January 24, 2011, Ajinça was traded, along with a future second-round draft pick and cash considerations, to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for the draft rights to Georgios Printezis. [5]

Return to France (2011–2013)

On November 2, 2011, Ajinça joined Paris-Levallois for a one-week tryout. [6] He left the team on November 8 [7] and joined Hyères-Toulon two days later. [8] He appeared in just two games with Hyères-Toulon before parting ways with the team.

After failing to make a return to the NBA following the conclusion of the NBA lockout, [9] Ajinça returned to France and signed with SIG Strasbourg on December 29, 2011. [10] On August 13, 2012, he re-signed with Strasbourg for the 2012–13 season. [11] On August 6, 2013, he re-signed with Strasbourg for the 2013–14 season. [12] On December 18, 2013, he left Strasbourg to return to the NBA. [13]

New Orleans Pelicans (2013–2018)

On December 20, 2013, Ajinça signed with the New Orleans Pelicans. [14] On July 9, 2015, he re-signed with the Pelicans. [15] On April 8, 2016, he recorded career highs with 28 points and 15 rebounds in a 110–102 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. [16]

On December 7, 2017, after missing all of the 2017–18 season up to that point, Ajinça was ruled out for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on his right patellar tendon, an injury that typically takes four to six months to recover. [17]

On October 15, 2018, Ajinça was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Wesley Johnson. [18] He was waived by the Clippers immediately upon being acquired. [18]

ASVEL (2018–2019)

On December 28, 2018, Ajinça returned to France and signed with ASVEL Basket. [19]

Coaching career

On October 13, 2023, Ajinça was hired as an assistant coach by the Capital City Go-Go of the NBA G League. [20]

National team career

In September 2013, Ajinça represented the French national team at EuroBasket 2013 in Slovenia. He averaged 9.1 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. [21]

Career statistics

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
2008–09 Charlotte 31 4 5.9 .362 .000 .714 1.0 .1 .2 .2 2.3
2009–10 Charlotte 6 0 5.0 .500 .000 .000 .7 .0 .2 .2 1.7
2010–11 Dallas 10 2 7.5 .375 .429 .667 1.7 .2 .3 .5 2.9
2010–11 Toronto 24 0 11.0 .465 .333 .733 2.5 .3 .3 .6 4.8
2013–14 New Orleans 56 30 17.0 .544 .000 .836 4.9 .7 .4 .8 5.9
2014–15 New Orleans 68 8 14.1 .550 .000 .818 4.6 .7 .3 .8 6.5
2015–16 New Orleans 59 17 14.6 .476 .000 .839 4.6 .5 .3 .6 6.0
2016–17 New Orleans 39 15 15.0 .500 .000 .725 4.5 .3 .5 .6 5.3
Career 293 76 13.3 .503 .286 .797 3.9 .5 .3 .6 5.3

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2015 New Orleans 3 0 3.3 1.000 .000 .000 .3 .3 .3 .0 2.7
Career 3 0 3.3 1.000 .000 .000 .3 .3 .3 .0 2.7

EuroLeague

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2006–07 Pau-Orthez 2 0 4.2 .000 .000 .000 1.5 .0 .0 .0 .0 -3.0
2013–14 SIG Strasbourg 9 9 25.5 .553 .000 .757 5.4 1.7 .9 .9 17.1 17.2
Career 11 9 21.6 .534 .000 .757 4.7 1.4 .7 .7 14.0 13.5

Personal life

Ajinça and his wife Courtney have two sons, Carter and Caysen. [22] [23] His cousin, Melvin Ajinça, is a professional basketball player. [24]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Bobcats impressed with Ajinca". The Wilson Times. 10 July 2008. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  2. ^ "Alexis Ajinca". draftexpress.com. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
  3. ^ "Bobcats Select Augustin, Ajinca and Weaver in 2008 NBA Draft". NBA.com. June 26, 2008. Archived from the original on June 30, 2008.
  4. ^ Stein, Marc (14 July 2020). "Mavs get Chandler from Bobcats". ESPN. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  5. ^ "Raptors Acquire Ajinca, Draft Pick And Cash Considerations From Dallas". NBA.com. January 24, 2011. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  6. ^ "Paris-Levallois announced the arrival for a 1-week tryout of Ajinca". Sportando.com. November 2, 2011. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
  7. ^ "Alexis Ajinca leaves Paris-Levallois". Sportando.com. November 8, 2011. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
  8. ^ "Alexis Ajinca returns to Hyeres-Toulon". Sportando.com. November 10, 2011. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
  9. ^ "SIG Strasbourg to sign Alexis Ajinca?". Sportando.com. December 26, 2011. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
  10. ^ "SIG Strasbourg signs big man Alexis Ajinca". Sportando.com. December 29, 2011. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
  11. ^ "SIG Strasbourg keeps Alexis Ajinca". Sportando.com. August 13, 2012. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
  12. ^ "Alexis Ajinca re-signs with SIG Strasbourg". Sportando.com. August 6, 2013. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
  13. ^ "Alexis Ajinca leaves SIG Strasbourg to join New Orleans Pelicans". Sportando.com. December 18, 2013. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
  14. ^ "PELICANS SIGN AJINCA". NBA.com. December 20, 2013. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
  15. ^ "Pelicans Re-Sign Ajinca, Asik and Cunningham". NBA.com. July 9, 2015. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
  16. ^ "Pelicans beat Lakers, Kobe Bryant 110-102". NBA.com. April 8, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
  17. ^ "Alexis Ajinca Medical Update". NBA.com. December 7, 2017. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
  18. ^ a b "Press Release: L.A. Clippers Complete Trade With New Orleans". NBA.com. October 15, 2018. Retrieved October 15, 2018.
  19. ^ "Alexis AJINÇA renforce LDLC ASVEL". ldlcasvel.com (in French). December 28, 2018. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  20. ^ "Capital City Go-Go Announce 2023-24 Coaching Staff". OurSportsCentral.com. October 13, 2023. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  21. ^ "Alexis Ajinca". fibaeurope.com. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
  22. ^ Eichenhofer, Jim (December 24, 2014). "Christmas is special day for NBA; this year it's even more memorable for Pelicans' Alexis Ajinca, John Salmons". NBA.com. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
  23. ^ Eichenhofer, Jim (October 9, 2017). "Alexis Ajinca relishes joys of fatherhood". NBA.com. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
  24. ^ Bertrande, Arnaud (26 April 2022). "Melvin Ajinça : "Faire mieux que mon cousin"". Le Quotidien du Sport (in French). Retrieved 30 November 2023.

External links