Ekpedeme Friday "Ekpe" Udoh ( ; born May 20, 1987) is a Nigerian-American professional

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 ...

player for

Shimane Susanoo Magic Shimane Susanoo Magic (島根スサノオマジック) is a Japanese professional basketball team in Japan's top-tier basketball competition, the B.League. The team is based in Shimane Prefecture with its home arena in Matsue City, but with a fo ...

of the

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese B.League. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except women's water polo, which competes in the NCAA inter-divisio ...

and the

Baylor Bears The Baylor Bears are the athletic teams that represent Baylor University. The teams participate in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as one of only two private school members of the Big 12 Conference. Prior to j ...

. In the

2010 NBA draft The 2010 NBA draft was held on June 24, 2010, at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The draft, which started at 7:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (2300 UTC), was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National ...

, he was selected by the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

with the sixth overall pick. With a 7'4 "

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

, Udoh was the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

's leading shot blocker during the 2009–10 season. He led the conference in his only season at Baylor (2009–10), after transferring from

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

where, as a sophomore for the 2007–08 Michigan Wolverines, he led the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

in blocked shots with 2.9 per game (92 blocks total) in 2007–08. A two−time

All-EuroLeague Team The All-EuroLeague Team is an award for Europe's premier level league, the EuroLeague, that is given to the league's top ten basketball players for each season, since the 2000–01 season. During the FIBA era of the EuroLeague, players were honor ...

selection, Udoh led Fenerbahçe to a EuroLeague title in

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, earning the

EuroLeague Final Four MVP The EuroLeague Final Four Most Valuable Player Award is presented and awarded to the basketball player who has exhibited the most exceptional play during the EuroLeague Final Four. The award often goes to the best player on the European-wide top ...

award in the process. Udoh was selected for the Nigerian national team for both the 2019 FIBA World Cup and the 2020 Olympic Games.

College career

Udoh played three seasons of college basketball, two at Michigan and one at Baylor, averaging 8.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 2.8 blocks per game in 103 career games. In 2009–10, Udoh earned honorable mention All-American honors by the Associated Press, as well as being named to the All-Big 12 second team, Big 12 All-Defensive team, Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, Big 12 All-Rookie team, USBWA All-District VII team and NABC Division I All-District 8 second team. On April 13, 2010, he declared for the NBA draft, foregoing his final year of college eligibility.

Professional career

Golden State Warriors (2010–2012)

Udoh was selected with the sixth overall pick in the

by the

. Because of a wrist injury, Udoh did not make his NBA debut until December 11, 2010 against the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Southe ...

in the final three minutes of the game, scoring two points.

Bnei Herzliya (2011)

On November 21, 2011, Udoh signed with

Bnei Herzliya Bnei Herzliya Basket (, lit. ''Sons of Herzliya''), is a professional basketball club that is based in Herzliya, in the Sharon district in Israel. The club plays in the Israeli Basketball Premier League, the top division of Israeli basketball. It ...

of Israel for the duration of the

NBA lockout The NBA lockout may refer to any of the four lockouts in the history of the National Basketball Association: *The 1995 NBA lockout, which lasted for three months before the 1995–96 season. *The 1996 NBA lockout, which lasted for a couple of hour ...

. In December 2011, he returned to the Warriors after managing just one game for Bnei where he recorded 22 points, 16 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 blocks.

Milwaukee Bucks (2012–2014)

On March 13, 2012, Udoh, along with

Monta Ellis Monta Ellis ( ; born October 26, 1985) is a former American professional basketball player. Ellis attended Lanier High School in Jackson, Mississippi, where he was a McDonald's All-American and first-team ''Parade'' All-American. He entered the ...

and

Kwame Brown Kwame Hasani Brown (born March 10, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player who spent 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Selected by the Washington Wizards in the 2001 NBA draft, Brown was the first No. ...

, was traded to the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

in exchange for

Andrew Bogut Andrew Michael Bogut (born 28 November 1984) is an Australian former basketball player who spent the majority of his professional career playing in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The tall center was selected by the Milwaukee Buck ...

and

Stephen Jackson Stephen Jesse Jackson (born April 5, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player who played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the New Jersey Nets, Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers, Golden State Warriors, Mi ...

Los Angeles Clippers (2014–2015)

On September 3, 2014, Udoh signed with the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

. Throughout the season, he appeared in 33 games, failing to secure larger playing time and role.

Fenerbahçe (2015–2017)

On July 28, 2015, Udoh signed a one-year deal with the Turkish club Fenerbahçe. In his first season with the team, Udoh already had a starting role, being one of the team's leaders. Fenerbahçe won the

Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup ( Turkish: ''Türkiye Kupası'') is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupası ...

, with 67–65 win over Darüşşafaka. Fenerbahçe also reached the final game of the 2016 EuroLeague Final Four, but fell short of winning the EuroLeague championship, after an

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society), ...

96–101 loss to

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow (russian: ЦСКА Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was a central piece ...

. Over 27 EuroLeague games, he averaged 12.6 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. At the end of the season, Fenerbahçe also won the

Turkish League Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

championship. On July 11, 2016, Udoh re-signed with Fenerbahçe, on a 1+1 contract. In the 2016–17 season, Udoh won the EuroLeague championship with Fenerbahçe. He was named the

, after his performance in the Final Four. On July 14, 2017, he parted ways with Fenerbahçe in order to return to the NBA.

Utah Jazz (2017–2019)

On July 21, 2017, Udoh signed with the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

for two years, $6.5M deal.

Beijing Ducks (2019–2020)

On July 7, 2019, Udoh signed with the

Beijing Ducks The Beijing Shougang Ducks (''simplified Chinese'': 北京首钢鸭俱乐部篮球队), also known as Beijing Shougang or Beijing Ducks, are a professional basketball team based in Beijing, China, which plays in the North Division of the Chi ...

for a one year contract.

Beijing Royal Fighters (2021)

On March 4, 2021, Ekpe Udoh signed with the

Beijing Royal Fighters The Beijing Royal Fighters () are a Chinese professional men's basketball team which is based in Beijing and plays in the Northern Division of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). Beijing BG (known in Chinese as Beijing Beikong) is the cl ...

Virtus Bologna (2021–2022)

On July 18, 2021, Udoh signed a two-year deal with

Virtus Bologna Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, known for sponsorship reasons as Virtus Segafredo Bologna, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. The club was founded in 1929, which makes it the oldest club in Italy and one ...

of the Italian LBA. Virtus also plays in the EuroCup. On September 18, 2021, he suffered a serious

patellar tendon The patellar tendon is the distal portion of the common tendon of the quadriceps femoris, which is continued from the patella to the tibial tuberosity. It is also sometimes called the patellar ligament as it forms a bone to bone connection when t ...

injury during the quarterfinals of the 2021 Italian Supercup. However, on September 21, the team won its second Supercup, defeating

Olimpia Milano Pallacanestro Olimpia Milano, commonly known as Olimpia Milano or as EA7 Emporio Armani Milan after its title sponsor, is an LBA Italian professional basketball team, based in Milan, Italy. Its colors are white and red, and the team is sometimes ...

90–84. However, after having ousted Lietkabelis,

Ulm Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...

and

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

in the first three rounds of the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

, on 11 May 2022, Virtus defeated Frutti Extra Bursaspor by 80–67 at the Segafredo Arena, winning its first EuroCup and qualifying for the EuroLeague after 14 years. However, despite having ended the regular season at the first place and having ousted 3–0 both

Pesaro Pesaro () is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Marche, capital of the Province of Pesaro e Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the Marche, ...

and

Tortona Tortona (; pms, Torton-a , ; lat, Dhertona) is a ''comune'' of Piemonte, in the Province of Alessandria, Italy. Tortona is sited on the right bank of the Scrivia between the plain of Marengo and the foothills of the Ligurian Apennines. History ...

in the first two rounds of playoffs, Virtus was defeated 4–2 in the national finals by Olimpia Milan.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 58 , , 18 , , 17.8 , , .437 , , — , , .656 , , 3.1 , , .7 , , .4 , , 1.5 , , 4.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 38 , , 6 , , 21.8 , , .443 , , — , , .719 , , 3.9 , , .8 , , .7 , , 1.7 , , 5.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

, 23 , , 5 , , 20.1 , , .409 , , .000 , , .800 , , 4.7 , , 1.1 , , .7 , , 1.6 , , 5.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 76 , , 9 , , 17.3 , , .435 , , .000 , , .748 , , 3.3 , , .6 , , .5 , , 1.1 , , 4.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 42 , , 14 , , 19.1 , , .399 , , — , , .638 , , 3.5 , , .7 , , .4 , , 1.0 , , 3.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Clippers , 33 , , 0 , , 3.9 , , .458 , , — , , .778 , , .8 , , .2 , , .2 , , .2 , , .9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, 63 , , 3 , , 12.9 , , .500 , , .000 , , .750 , , 2.4 , , .8 , , .7 , , 1.2 , , 2.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 51 , , 1 , , 6.3 , , .694 , , — , , .633 , , 1.8 , , .5 , , .2 , , .6 , , 2.3 , - class="sortbottom" , align="center" colspan="2", Career , 384 , , 56 , , 14.8 , , .453 , , .000 , , .718 , , 2.9 , , .7 , , .5 , , 1.1 , , 3.5

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 4 , , 0 , , 13.5 , , .444 , , - , , - , , 1.5 , , .3 , , .5 , , .5 , , 2.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, style="text-align:left;", L.A. Clippers , 4 , , 0 , , 3.0 , , .333 , , - , , - , , .8 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 6 , , 0 , , 3.5 , , 1.000 , , - , , .000 , , .5 , , .0 , , .0 , , .3 , , .3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 2 , , 0 , , 3.1 , , .000 , , - , , - , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , - class="sortbottom" , align="center" colspan="2", Career , 16 , , 0 , , 5.8 , , .429 , , - , , .000 , , .8 , , .1 , , .1 , , .3 , , .8

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2, Fenerbahçe , 27 , , 24 , , 27.8 , , .555 , , .000 , , .768 , , 5.1 , , 1.3 , , .7 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 2.3 , , 12.6 , , 16.0 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;", 2016–17† , 31 , , 22 , , 32.0 , , .584 , , .000 , , .644 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 7.8 , , 2.2 , , 1.0 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 2.2 , , 12.1 , , 20.7 , - class="sortbottom" , align="center" colspan="2", Career , 58 , , 46 , , 30.0 , , .570 , , .000 , , .700 , , 6.5 , , 1.8 , , .9 , , 2.2 , , 12.3 , , 18.5

Individual awards

* EuroLeague 2016–17

EuroLeague MVP of the Month The EuroLeague MVP of the Month is the award of Europe's premier level basketball league, the EuroLeague, for the most valuable player of each month of the season. The award began in the 2004–05 season, after the EuroLeague eliminated the Eur ...

* EuroLeague 2015–16, April *EuroLeague Best Defender (2017) by ''Eurohoops'' EuroLeague Weekly MVPs *EuroLeague 2015–16 – Playoffs, Game 2, with 25 PIR *EuroLeague 2015–16 – Playoffs, Game 3, with 33 PIR * EuroLeague 2016–17 – Regular Season, Round 4, with 31 PIR

Personal life

Udoh is the son of Nigerian parents, Alice and Sam Udoh, and he has one older brother, Eddie, and two younger sisters, Esther and Sefon. Udoh enjoys reading and runs a public, mostly online book club in his spare time. He is quoted as saying, "If I can play in the NBA and still find time to read — so can you!".As quoted by a Fox News article from February 11, 2019, retrieved April 19, 2022
/ref>

References

External links

*

EuroLeague profile
* *
Udoh's Book Club
{{DEFAULTSORT:Udoh, Ekpe 1987 births Living people 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup players 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American sportspeople African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in China American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's basketball players American sportspeople of Nigerian descent Basketball players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Oklahoma Baylor Bears men's basketball players Beijing Ducks players Centers (basketball) Fenerbahçe men's basketball players Golden State Warriors draft picks Golden State Warriors players Los Angeles Clippers players Michigan Wolverines men's basketball players Milwaukee Bucks players Nigerian expatriate basketball people in Turkey Nigerian men's basketball players Olympic basketball players of Nigeria Power forwards (basketball) Sportspeople from Edmond, Oklahoma Utah Jazz players Virtus Bologna players