Samkelo "Sam" Cele (born 28 December 1997) is a South African professional basketball player who plays for Dyamo. Born in Durban, he played college basketball for three different universities. Cele began playing professionally in 2023 and was an All-BAL First Team selection in 2024, and is a two-time BAL All-Defensive Team selection, all while playing for the Tigers.
| Dynamo | |
|---|---|
| Position | Guard |
| League | Viva Basketball League |
| Personal information | |
| Born | 28 December 1997 Durban, South Africa |
| Listed height | 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) |
| Listed weight | 95 kg (209 lb) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Durban High School (Durban, South Africa) Bull City Prep Academy (Charlotte, North Carolina) |
| College | Northeastern Oklahoma A&M (2019–2021) Marist (2021–2022) USAO (2022–2023) |
| Playing career | 2015–present |
| Career history | |
| 2023–2024 | Cape Town Tigers |
| 2024–present | Dynamo |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Early life
editBorn in Durban, Cele received a basketball scholarship for Durban High School, one of the best schools in the city. After graduating in 2016, he moved to the United States to play for Bull City Prep in Charlotte, North Carolina. Cele also attended a basketball camp in Serbia in 2015.[1] Cele played with the KwaZulu Marlins of the South African top tier Basketball National League (BNL) in 2015, at age 17.
College career
editCele played for Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College for two years,[2] for Southern University for one year in 2020–21, and Marist College in 2021–22. With the Marist Red Foxes, Cele started in 27 games.[3]
He then finished his career with the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma in the NAIA, because he was ineligible to continue in the NCAA, and was named an All-American third-team selection in 2023.[1] He averaged 20.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, while shooting 52.8% from the field and 41.3% on three-pointers.[4]
Professional career
edit2022–23 season
editIn 2023, Cele signed his first professional contract with the South African team Cape Town Tigers of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). On 6 May 2023, on the final day of the Nile Conference, Cele scored 28 points in a win over City Oilers, that clinched the Tigers' playoff spot.[1][5] He was named to the BAL All-Defensive Team for the 2023 BAL season.[6] Cele averaged 13 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2.5 steals per game and shot 46.8 percent from the field in his four BAL games.[7]
2023–24 season
editIn the 2023–24 season, Cele took a leap in his game and helped the Tigers to the fourth place in the 2024 BAL season. He averaged 20.2 points per game (second in the league) and 2.4 steals per game (third-most in the league).[8] He was named to his first All-BAL First Team, becoming the first South African to be named to the team;[9] Cele was also named to another BAL All-Defensive Team.[10]
Cele played for the New York Knicks in the 2024 NBA Summer League.[11]
In August 2024, he joined Dynamo of Burundi for the playoffs of the Viva Basketball League.[12]
National team career
editCele made his debut for the South Africa national team in February 2024 during the pre-qualifiers for AfroBasket 2025.[13]
BAL career statistics
edit| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Cape Town | 6 | 3 | 30.6 | .478 | .235 | .524 | 5.3 | 2.3 | 2.0 | 0.2 | 13.5 |
| 2024 | Cape Town | 7 | 7 | 33.8 | .389 | .268 | .760 | 4.6 | 2.7 | 2.4 | 0.2 | 21.0 |
References
edit- ^ a b c "The rise of Samkelo Cele, South Africa's best NBA hope since... Steve Nash". ESPN.com. 16 May 2023. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
- ^ "Samkelo Cele - 2020-21 - MEN'S BASKETBALL". Southern University. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
- ^ "Samkelo Cele - Men's Basketball". Marist College Athletics. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
- ^ "Samkelo Cele". University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
- ^ "LiveStats". geniussports.com. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
- ^ "Diarra, Omot, Gueye, Perry Highlight 2023 BAL Awards". The BAL. 28 May 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
- ^ Proballers. "Samkelo Cele, Basketball Player". Proballers. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
- ^ "Statistics". The BAL. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ "Acuil-Jr. dominates 2024 BAL Awards". The BAL. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
- ^ "Diarra, Cele named to the All-BAL Defensive Team for the second season in a row". The BAL. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
- ^ "SA's Cele: 'Surreal' call from Knicks for NBA Summer League". ESPN.com. 8 July 2024. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
- ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
- ^ "South Africa to unleash their inner dog in AfroBasket pre-qualifier battle against Mozambique". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ "Samkelo Cele Player Profile, Science & Arts (OK) - RealGM". basketball.realgm.com. Retrieved 22 June 2024.