Ezekiel Tobechukwu "Zeke" Nnaji (/ˈnɑːdʒi/ NAH-jee;[1] born January 9, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Arizona Wildcats and was drafted 22nd overall by the Nuggets in the 2020 NBA draft.
.jpg) Nnaji with Arizona in 2020 | |
| No. 22 – Denver Nuggets | |
|---|---|
| Position | Power forward / center |
| League | NBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | January 9, 2001 Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
| Listed weight | 240 lb (109 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | |
| College | Arizona (2019–2020) |
| NBA draft | 2020: 1st round, 22nd overall pick |
| Selected by the Denver Nuggets | |
| Playing career | 2020–present |
| Career history | |
| 2020–present | Denver Nuggets |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
Early life
editNnaji was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He played baseball and soccer before starting basketball due to his height. He has played the piano since first grade. Nnaji composes his own music.[2]
High school career
editNnaji started playing high school basketball for Lakeville North High School in Lakeville, Minnesota, before transferring to Hopkins High School in Minnetonka, Minnesota. As a senior, he averaged 24.1 points and 9.4 rebounds per game and led Hopkins to a Minnesota 4A state title over Lakeville North.[3] Nnaji had 14 points and 12 rebounds in the championship game. He played for the Adidas-sponsored D1 Minnesota club alongside Matthew Hurt. Nnaji was invited to the Iverson Classic game. Nnaji was ranked 22nd in his class and a five-star recruit by Rivals but was considered a four-star recruit by most other recruiting services.[4] He committed to play college basketball for Arizona over offers from Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, and UCLA.[5]
College career
editOn November 6, 2019, Nnaji made his college debut, scoring 20 points in 21 minutes to help Arizona defeat Northern Arizona, 91–52.[6] Five days later, he was named Pac-12 Conference Freshman of the Week.[7] Nnaji won the same award in the following week, most notably posting 26 points and 11 rebounds in an 87–39 win over San Jose State.[8] He became the first Arizona player to score 20 points and collect 10 rebounds in his first three games since Brandon Ashley did so against Long Beach State in the 2012–13 season.[9] At the conclusion of the regular season, Nnaji was named first-team All-Pac-12 and Pac-12 Freshman of the Year.[10] Nnaji averaged 16.1 points per game on 57 percent shooting and grabbed 8.6 rebounds per game as a freshman. Following the season, he declared for the 2020 NBA draft.[11]
Professional career
editDenver Nuggets (2020–present)
editNnaji was selected with the 22nd pick in the 2020 NBA draft by the Denver Nuggets.[12] On December 1, 2020, Nnaji signed his rookie scale contract with the Nuggets.[13] Nnaji became an NBA champion when the Nuggets defeated the Miami Heat in five games in the 2023 NBA Finals.
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 |
| † | Won an NBA championship |
NBA
editRegular season
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020–21 | Denver | 42 | 1 | 9.5 | .481 | .407 | .800 | 1.5 | .2 | .2 | .1 | 3.2 |
| 2021–22 | Denver | 41 | 1 | 17.0 | .516 | .463 | .631 | 3.6 | .4 | .4 | .3 | 6.6 |
| 2022–23† | Denver | 53 | 5 | 13.7 | .561 | .262 | .645 | 2.6 | .3 | .3 | .4 | 5.2 |
| 2023–24 | Denver | 58 | 0 | 9.9 | .463 | .261 | .677 | 2.2 | .6 | .3 | .7 | 3.2 |
| Career | 194 | 7 | 12.4 | .512 | .370 | .662 | 2.5 | .4 | .3 | .4 | 4.5 | |
Playoffs
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Denver | 5 | 0 | 3.5 | .500 | .429 | .500 | .4 | .4 | .2 | .0 | 2.4 |
| 2022 | Denver | 2 | 0 | 4.3 | 1.000 | 1.000 | — | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 1.5 |
| 2023† | Denver | 5 | 0 | 2.4 | .500 | .333 | — | .4 | .0 | .2 | .0 | 1.0 |
| 2024 | Denver | 3 | 0 | 4.7 | .667 | — | .500 | .7 | .0 | .0 | .3 | 1.7 |
| Career | 15 | 0 | 3.5 | .563 | .455 | .500 | .4 | .1 | .1 | .1 | 1.7 | |
College
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019–20 | Arizona | 32 | 32 | 30.7 | .570 | .294 | .760 | 8.4 | .8 | .7 | .9 | 16.1 |
Personal life
editNnaji's father is from Nigeria and his mother is from Minnesota. His younger sister, Maya, played college basketball at Arizona for two years before quitting to pursue her education.[14] His uncle, Obiora Nnaji, played center at the University of Florida from 1997 to 1999. His cousin, Elvis Nnaji, plays for the George Mason Patriots.[15]
References
edit- ^ "2023-24 start of season NBA pronunciation guide" (Press release). National Basketball Association. October 24, 2023. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
- ^ Max, Mike (December 28, 2018). "Top High School Basketball Player Doubles As Concert Pianist". WCCO-TV. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
- ^ Pascoe, Bruce (March 23, 2019). "Minnesota's Zeke Nnaji is third Arizona Wildcats recruit to win state title". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
- ^ Pascoe, Bruce (November 20, 2019). "How Arizona's Zeke Nnaji slipped under the radar and became one of college basketball's early-season stars". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
- ^ Geary, Molly (November 23, 2018). "Arizona Moves to No. 1 in 2019 Recruiting Class Rankings With Commitment of Zeke Nnaji". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
- ^ Pascoe, Bruce (November 7, 2019). "Freshman Zeke Nnaji's special debut calls to mind memories of D-Will, other Wildcats standouts". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
- ^ Scheer, Jason (November 11, 2019). "Zeke Nnaji named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week". 247Sports.com. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
- ^ Pedersen, Brian J. (November 18, 2019). "Zeke Nnaji wins second straight Pac-12 Freshman of the Week award". Arizona Desert Swarm. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
- ^ Pascoe, Bruce (November 16, 2019). "Freshman Zeke Nnaji could help bust zones thrown at Arizona Wildcats basketball". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
- ^ "Pac-12 announces 2019-20 Men's Basketball annual major awards". pac-12.com. March 9, 2020. Archived from the original on March 26, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
- ^ Helin, Kurt (March 29, 2020). "Arizona's Zeke Nnaji, DePaul's Paul Reed declare for NBA draft". NBC Sports. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
- ^ Scheer, Jason (November 18, 2020). "Zeke Nnaji drafted by the Denver Nuggets". 247 Sports. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
- ^ "Denver Nuggets sign Zeke Nnaji, R.J. Hampton to rookie contracts". NBA.com. December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
- ^ Pascoe, Bruce (September 14, 2019). "Here's why Sean Miller says Zeke Nnaji, Arizona's bulked-up, piano-playing freshman, can do big things". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
- ^ "Elvis Nnaji - Men's Basketball - George Mason University Athletics". George Mason Athletics. Retrieved January 21, 2024.