Amile O. Jefferson (born May 7, 1993) is an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

coach and former player. He is an assistant coach for the

Duke Blue Devils men's basketball The Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team represents Duke University in NCAA Division I college basketball and competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The team is fourth all-time in wins of any NCAA men's basketball program, and is cu ...

team of the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Assoc ...

(ACC). He played

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for the Blue Devils where he served as a captain for three seasons, including for the 2014–15 NCAA championship team."Three-Time Duke captain Amile Jefferson signs with Timberwolves"
June 25, 2017

High school career

Jefferson was born and raised in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

and attended

Friends' Central School Friends' Central School (FCS) is a Quaker school which educates students from nursery through grade 12. It is located in Wynnewood, a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania in Greater Philadelphia. The school was founded in 1845 in ...

where he was coached by Jason Polykoff. He was ranked as the No. 21 overall recruit in the 2012 high school class by

Scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, secti ...

, as well as No. 25 by

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

and No. 36 by

Rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...

. With his solid play, Jefferson was selected for the 2012

McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hamburger s ...

Game, where he scored eight points and grabbed three rebounds. He was also named Gatorade Pennsylvania Player of the Year and

Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Penns ...

Player of the Year as both a junior and senior. He led Friends Central to a 98–14 record and four Pennsylvania Independent Schools Tournament titles. He finished his high school career with 1,569 points, 839 rebounds and 189 blocks. He was a USA Today second-team All-USA as a senior in 2012 after averaging 19.9 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.7 steals per game. Jefferson led the 2011 NBPA Top 100 Camp in scoring with an average of 20.8 points per game. And averaged 19.4 points and 7.0 rebounds at the 2011 Adidas Nations. He averaged 17.7 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game as a junior at Friends Central.

College career

Career overall

He played in a program-record 150 games, including 103 starts, and averaged 7.2 points and 6.3 rebounds; finished his career tied for seventh in NCAA history with 150 games played. He helped lead Duke to a 124–26 record in games in which he played, the third-most victories in program history. Duke went 67–2 (.971) at Cameron Indoor Stadium over the course of his career, the most home wins and second-best home winning percentage in Duke history. He played in 12 NCAA Tournament games, helping Duke win its fifth NCAA championship in 2015; owned career NCAA Tournament averages of 3.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.1 blocks. He finished his career ranked third in Duke history in offensive rebounds (361), seventh in blocks (138), 11th in total rebounds (944) and 59th in scoring (1,079). He capped his career with the second-best field goal percentage in Duke history at .620 (min. 300 FGM). Being just the 11th player in Duke history to amass 1,000 points and 900 rebounds in his career, he also scored in double figures 49 times, had double-figure rebounds 29 times and compiled 17 double-doubles. Was a three-time team captain and the only player in Duke history to be named to the All-ACC Academic Team four times. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in history and a Master of Arts in Christian Studies from the

Duke Divinity School The Divinity School at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, is one of ten graduate or professional schools within Duke University. It is also one of thirteen seminaries founded and supported by the United Methodist Church. It has 39 regular ...

Freshman season (2012–2013)

He was a member of the All- ACC Academic Team and appeared in 32 games with seven starts, averaging 4.0 points and 2.9 rebounds. Jefferson averaged 1.3 offensive rebounds per game, second-best on the team. He scored in double figures six times on the year. Jefferson recorded 11 points, nine rebounds and three blocks in a home win over

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...

(1/26) and scored a season-high 14 points in a home win over

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classified ...

(2/24).

Sophomore season (2013–2014)

He was a member of the All-ACC Academic Team. He played in all 35 games with 26 starts, averaging 6.5 points and 6.9 rebounds while shooting .644 from the field. For the season, he ranked fourth in the ACC in offensive rebounds per game (2.9) and 11th in total rebounds per game (6.9). Raised his rebounding numbers to 7.2 total rebounds and 3.1 offensive boards per game in ACC play; ranked seventh in total rebounds and fourth in offensive rebounds in ACC action. He led Duke in rebounds 11 times on the season and posted eight games with double-figure boards. And scored 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting against

Kansas Kansas () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its Capital city, capital is Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita, Kansas, Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebras ...

in the Champions Classic in Chicago (11/12). Tallied 10 points and a career-high 15 rebounds in a home win over

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

(1/13). Jefferson contributed to a win at No. 18

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

(1/27) with 14 points and 10 rebounds. He was named to the ACC All-Tournament second team after averaging 7.7 points and 8.0 rebounds to help lead Duke to the championship game. 04062015 Duke Wisconsin Pregame

Duke White House East Room Ceremony 2015

Junior season (2014–2015)

He played in all 39 games, making 26 starts averaged 6.1 points and 5.8 rebounds while shooting .631 from the floor. Ranked 20th in the ACC in rebound average (5.8) and led Duke in rebounds nine times. He ranked second on the team with an average of 2.3 offensive rebounds per game. He scored in double figures 10 times on the season and recorded three double-doubles. Averaged 2.8 points and 4.1 rebounds in the six NCAA Tournament games on Duke's run to the 2015 national title Jefferson netted a career-high 19 points and added seven rebounds in a win at No. 6

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

(1/17). He scored 13 points and blocked a career-high six shots in Duke's overtime home win over No. 15

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

(2/18). He provided a defensive spark with seven rebounds and three blocks in the win over No. 3

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

in the 2015 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game(4/6).

Redshirt season (2015–2016)

He started the first nine games of the season, averaging 11.4 points and 10.3 rebounds while shooting .683 from the floor but missed the final 27 games of the season with a right foot fracture. Prior to his injury, he led Duke in rebounds eight times and posted three double-doubles in nine games. He opened the season with a career high-tying 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting in a home win over

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...

(11/13). Jefferson scored 16 points and tied his career high with 15 rebounds against No. 2

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

at the Champions Classic in Chicago (11/17). He played a career high-tying 35 minutes in a home win over

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

(12/2), finishing with 11 rebounds, a career-best eight assists and three blocks.

Senior season (2016–2017)

Jefferson Senior CLASS Award finalist and a first-team Senior CLASS Award All-American. And named to the All-ACC Tournament second team after averaging 8.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks to help Duke become the first team to win four games in four days to take the championship. A Hall of Fame Tip-Off All-Tournament Team member after averaging 16.5 points and 15.0 rebounds in two games in Connecticut as Duke captured the tournament trophy. He was named ACC Player of the Week once (12/12) and was a member of the preseason watch list for the

Karl Malone Award The Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award is an annual basketball award given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the top men's collegiate power forward. Following the success of the Bob Cousy Award which had been awarded s ...

Professional career

Iowa Wolves (2017–2018)

After graduating with his Masters from Duke, Jefferson signed on with the Minnesota Timberwolves for 2017 summer league action, which ran from July 7–17 in Las Vegas, Nevada."Minnesota Timberwolves announce 2017 Summer League team"
July 5, 2017"Summer League Scouting Report , Timberwolves vs. Nuggets"
July 9, 2017 On September 18, 2017, Jefferson signed with the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

. He was waived on October 14 as one of the team's final preseason roster cuts. He joined the

Iowa Wolves The Iowa Wolves are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Des Moines, Iowa, and are affiliated with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Wolves play their home games at the Wells Fargo Arena and compete in the Western ...

, Minnesota's development team, in the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

as an affiliate player. Subsequent to the 2017 All-NBA G League Showcase, on January 15, 2018, the Minnesota Timberwolves signed Amile Jefferson to a two-way contract. On April 11, 2018, at the end of the 2017-18 NBA season, the Timberwolves converted Jefferson's contract to a standard NBA contract, thus making him playable in time for the

2018 NBA Playoffs The 2018 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2017–18 season. The playoffs began on April 14, 2018 and ended on June 8 at the conclusion of the 2018 NBA Finals. Overview * The Houston Rockets e ...

. Jefferson remained with the Minnesota Timberwolves for 2018 summer league, leading the league with 12.6 rebounds per game. Jefferson also averaged 8.6 points per game. As a member of the Iowa Wolves, Jefferson averaged 35 minutes per game with 18 points and 13 rebounds (NBA G-League leader). His strong performance in the first half of the season generated considerable buzz, with a highlight being his leadership during the team's first matchup of the 2018 NBA G-League showcase. Jefferson led the Wolves with 29 points, 15 rebounds, and 6 assists in a 100–97 win against the Canton Charge, after the Wolves trailed by 20 points in the first half. He earned the honor of being named to the All-NBA G League Showcase 2018 First Team. With these consistently strong performances, he has been described as " pitomizingwhat the NBA G-League is all about." After a strong performance throughout the first half of the season, the NBA G League announced February 2, 2018 that Amile Jefferson was named to the Mid-Season All-NBA G League Western Conference Team. The teams were voted by G League coaches, general managers and players. Jefferson finished his rookie NBA G League season as the league leader in rebounds per game (13 RPG), and in the last game of the regular season for the Iowa Wolves, Amile Jefferson broke the single-season record for NBA G-League double-doubles with 36 double-doubles in 47 games. On April 16, 2018, the NBA G League named Amile Jefferson to three All-NBA G-League teams: the 2017–18 All-NBA G League All-Rookie First Team, All-NBA G League All-Defensive First Team and All-NBA G League Second Team.

Orlando Magic (2018–2020)

On July 27, 2018, Jefferson and the Magic agreed to a two-way contract. Jefferson made his NBA debut on December 31, 2018, against the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...

, playing four minutes with two points and one rebound. On July 30, 2019, the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

re-signed with Jefferson to a

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...

. On November 1, 2019, the

announced that they had re-signed with Jefferson. Jefferson was waived by the Magic on February 6, 2020. On February 26, 2020, the

Lakeland Magic The Lakeland Magic are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Lakeland, Florida, and are affiliated with the Orlando Magic. The Magic began play in the 2017–18 season and play their home games at the RP Fundin ...

acquired the returning right to Jefferson from the

in exchange for the returning right to Braian Angola-Rodas and a first round draft pick in the 2020 NBA G League Draft.

Galatasaray (2020–2021)

On December 4, 2020, Jefferson signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

. The Celtics waived Jefferson on December 19, 2020. On December 29, 2020, Jefferson signed with

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club'') is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul in Turkey. Most notable for its association football department, the club also consists of various other de ...

of the Turkish

Basketball Super League Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

(BSL).

Coaching career

On July 21, 2021, Jefferson was named Director of Player Development for the

Duke Blue Devils The Duke Blue Devils are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Associatio ...

. In April 2022, he was promoted to assistant coach by head coach

Jon Scheyer Jonathan James Scheyer (, born August 24, 1987) is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach for the Duke Blue Devils of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Scheyer led his high school team to an Illinois ...

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

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, 18 , , 0 , , 4.1 , , .357 , , - , , .357 , , 1.3 , , .2 , , .1 , , .2 , , .8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 30 , , 0 , , 4.7 , , .500 , , - , , .545 , , 1.5 , , .2 , , .1 , , .2 , , 1.4

College

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Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

, 32 , , 7 , , 12.7 , , .543 , , – , , .610 , , 2.9 , , .2 , , .4 , , .5 , , 4.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , style="text-align:left;",

, 35 , , 26 , , 22.7 , , .644 , , – , , .494 , , 6.9 , , 1.0 , , .7 , , .6 , , 6.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;",

, 39 , , 26 , , 21.3 , , .631 , , – , , .554 , , 5.8 , , .8 , , .6 , , .7 , , 6.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

, 9 , , 9 , , 30.3 , , .683 , , – , , .553 , , 10.3 , , 1.4 , , 1.0 , , 1.1 , , 11.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

, 35 , , 35 , , 29.7 , , .613 , , – , , .629 , , 8.4 , , 1.5 , , .7 , , 1.9 , , 10.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 150 , , 103 , , 22.3 , , .620 , , – , , .575 , , 6.3 , , .9 , , .6 , , .9 , , 7.2

Personal life

He is the son of Malcolm Musgrove and Quetta Jefferson. His father played basketball at Delaware State from 1992 to 1994. He has two brothers, Malcolm and Karonn, and four sisters, Amoni, Amesa, Amea and Milan. Jefferson received a Bachelor of Arts (history) and a Masters of Arts in Christian Studies from Duke University on May 13, 2017.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jefferson, Amile 1993 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's basketball players American men's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania Basketball players from Philadelphia Duke Blue Devils men's basketball players Friends' Central School alumni Galatasaray S.K. (men's basketball) players Iowa Wolves players Lakeland Magic players McDonald's High School All-Americans Orlando Magic players Power forwards (basketball) Undrafted National Basketball Association players United States men's national basketball team players