Jaylen Hoard (born March 30, 1999) is a French-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 Hapoel Tel Aviv of the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional sports, professional competition in Israeli sports club, club basketball, making ...

. 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

Wake Forest Demon Deacons The Wake Forest Demon Deacons are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Wake Forest University, located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a mem ...

. Born in

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...

, France, he began his career at

INSEP INSEP, the National Institute of Sport, Expertise, and Performance (Institut national du sport, de l'expertise et de la performance), is a French training institute and center for excellence in sports that trains elite athletes. It is located on th ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, competing with the amateur club

Centre Fédéral de Basket-ball Centre Fédéral de Basket-ball (), shortly CFBB, is a French basketball club, based in Paris. The club's squads are filled with players from the training institute INSEP. The first team of the club currently plays in the Nationale Masculine 1, the ...

of the

Nationale Masculine 1 The Nationale Masculine 1, abbreviated as NM1, (English: National Male 1), is the professional level third-tier division of men's club basketball in France. The two top teams from each season of the competition are promoted to the LNB Pro B The ...

(NM1). He became among of the most sought-after prospects of the class of 2018, and a consensus five-star

recruit __NOTOC__ Recruit can refer to: Military * Military recruitment * Recruit training, in the military * '' Rekrut'' (English: Recruit), a military recruit or low rank in German-speaking countries * Seaman recruit Books *''Le Réquisitionnaire'' (E ...

, after moving to

Wesleyan Christian Academy Wesleyan Christian Academy is a private Christian school located in High Point, North Carolina, across from the former Oak Hollow Mall complex. Wesleyan Christian Academy is accredited by AdvancED and the Association of Christian Schools Inte ...

High Point, North Carolina High Point is a city in the Piedmont Triad region of the United States, U.S. state of North Carolina. Most of the city is in Guilford County, North Carolina, Guilford County, with parts extending into Randolph County, North Carolina, Randolph, ...

Early life

Hoard was born in

, France to an American father and French mother, both with

experience. His father Antwon Hoard played for

Murray State Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper level and graduate courses in Paducah, ...

in college and spent multiple seasons in France in the

LNB Pro A The LNB Pro A, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Betclic Élite, is the top-tier men's professional basketball league in France. The competition has existed since 1921. Since 1987, the Ligue Nationale de Basket has governed the league. ...

. His mother Katia Foucade played for the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

and was a member of the French national team. Hoard's younger sister Anaia, one of four siblings, has played with the French national under-17 team. In addition, his godfather

James Wade James Martin Wade (born 6 April 1983) is an English professional darts player, currently playing in the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). He became the youngest player to win a major PDC title, when he won the 2007 World Matchplay at the ...

played professionally in Europe, and his godmother

Edwige Lawson-Wade Edwige Lawson (born May 14, 1979), also Edwige Lawson-Wade, is a French former professional women's basketball player. A point guard, Lawson started her professional career at the age of 17. She has played in Bordeaux, Aix-en-Provence, and Va ...

is a former

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Natio ...

(WNBA) player who has represented the French national team on several occasions. Due to his deep family background in the sport, he became interested in basketball from a young age.

Youth career

In 2015, Hoard signed a two-year contract with the French athlete institute

, joining affiliated club

(CFBB). With CFBB, Hoard competed in the

, the third-tier division in France, for the 2015–16 season. In April 2015, he was named

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

(MVP) of the

Jordan Brand Classic The Jordan Brand Classic is a high school All-Star basketball game played annually in April. The game's rosters feature the best and most highly recruited high school boys in the senior class including alumns like Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Bl ...

International Game, recording 16 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 steals. On April 16, 2016, Hoard recorded a season-high 23 points, shooting 9-of-15 from the field, in a win over

Caen Basket Calvados Caen Basket Calvados is a French basketball team located in the commune of Caen in Northwestern France. The club competes in LNB Pro B, France's second-division men's league. History Caen Basket Club (CBC) was founded in 1959 after the scrapping ...

. He finished the NM1 season averaging 8.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.1 steals per game.

High school career

In the summer of 2016, Hoard arrived in the United States to begin playing

for

. He was encouraged to join the program because his father had become friends with its head coach

Keith Gatlin Keith Larnell Gatlin (born December 23, 1964) is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is an assistant coach for the High Point Panthers. He was one of the best players of the high school class of 1983, and committed to ...

during his playing career. After making the move, Hoard said, "I just felt like it was time to come over here and compete against the best. A lot of people know me for basketball in France, but I want to make it over here. This is where all the talent is so I want to prove myself." Entering the season, Wesleyan was ranked among the top-10 in the nation by

MaxPreps MaxPreps is an American website that specializes in coverage of American high school sports. The site is owned by Paramount Global and is a division of CBS Sports. Founded on August 1, 2002, the company has covered up to 29 sports, including b ...

, and in the top-20 by ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'' High School Sports. In the beginning of the season, he spent time adjusting to the American style of basketball. Hoard was rated as a five-star recruit and considered one of the best players of the 2018 class. He was ranked 22nd in the class of 2018 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 ...

College career

On August 26, 2017, Hoard committed to attend and play for

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...

. Before the start of the 2018-19 season, Hoard was named to the

Julius Erving Award The Julius Erving Small 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 small forward. Following the success of the Bob Cousy Award which had been awarde ...

preseason watchlist. On November 10, 2018, Hoard scored 19 points and 13 rebounds in a 90-78 win against

North Carolina A&T North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (also known as North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina A&T, N.C. A&T, or simply A&T) is a public, historically black land-grant research university in Greensboro, North Caro ...

. On November 18, 2018, the Demon Deacons would defeat Valparaiso 69-63 behind Hoard's 14 points and 9 rebounds. On January 2, 2019, he scored 23 points and 15 rebounds in an 83-61 victory over

Cornell Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

. On January 15, 2019, Hoard scored 16 points and 10 rebounds in a 71-67 victory over

NC State North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The university ...

. On February 5, 2019, Hoard tallied 19 points and a career high 17 rebounds in a win over

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 ...

. As a freshman at Wake Forest, Hoard averaged 13.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 1.5 assist per game.

National team career

Hoard made his debut with the French youth national team at the 2015 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship in

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...

, Lithuania. In his first game at the event, he recorded 16 points and 6 rebounds to help defeat

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. At the tournament, he averaged 7.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game, leading France to a fifth-place finish. In April 2016, Hoard represented France at the

Albert Schweitzer Tournament The Albert Schweitzer Tournament (AST) is an international basketball competition that is played between national basketball teams of the Under-18 men age category. It takes place every two years in Mannheim, Germany, and is contested between t ...

, playing six games and averaging 7.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game, en route to fourth place. He was considered one of the top prospects from the event, although basketball website NBAdraft.net said that he "underachieved." However, Hoard drew attention later in the year, at the

2016 FIBA Under-17 World Championship The 2016 FIBA Under-17 World Championship (Spanish: 2016 FIBA Campeonato Mundial Sub-17) was the 4th edition of the FIBA Under-17 World Championship, the biennial international men's youth basketball championship contested by the U17 national team ...

, held in

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...

, Spain. He averaged a team-high 22.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.7 steals per game, as France finished in sixth place. On June 23, 2016, in his opening game, Hoard erupted for 41 points against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

, shooting 15-of-28 from the field. The performance tied the tournament's single-game scoring record set by

Isaac Humphries Isaac Bradley Humphries (born 5 January 1998) is an Australian professional basketball player for Melbourne United of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats. Early life Born in the Sydney ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

Professional career

Portland Trail Blazers (2019–2020)

Hoard went undrafted in the

2019 NBA Draft The 2019 NBA draft was held on June 20, 2019. It took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, i ...

. On July 1, 2019, Hoard signed a two-way contract with the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

. On October 27, 2019, Hoard was assigned to the

Texas Legends The Texas Legends are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Frisco, Texas, and are affiliated with the Dallas Mavericks. The Legends play their home games at the Comerica Center. The team began as the Colorado ...

of 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 ...

by the

. Hoard participated in the 2020 NBA Bubble.

Oklahoma City Thunder / Blue (2021–2022)

On December 4, 2020, Hoard signed with the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...

, but was waived three days later. On January 28, 2021, he was included in the roster of the

Oklahoma City Blue The Oklahoma City Blue are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and are affiliated with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Blue play their home games at Paycom Center. The franchise began as t ...

. In 15 games, he averaged 9.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 22.0 minutes per contest while shooting 49.1 percent from the field. On April 5, 2021, the

signed Hoard 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 ...

. Hoard rejoined the Oklahoma City Blue for the 2021-22 season. On December 29, 2021, Hoard signed a 10-day contract with the Thunder and returned to the Blue after it expired. On April 1, he signed a second 10-day contract with the Thunder. On April 6, 2022, he recorded career highs of 24 points and 21 rebounds against his former team,

Hapoel Tel Aviv (2022–present)

On August 14, 2022, Hoard signed with Hapoel Tel Aviv of the

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, 13 , , 0 , , 7.9 , , .469 , , .000 , , .615 , , 2.5 , , .3 , , .4 , , .0 , , 2.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

, 19 , , 0 , , 16.8 , , .500 , , .000 , , .683 , , 3.4 , , 1.3 , , .7 , , .3 , , 6.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 7 , , 5 , , 34.2 , , .489 , , .360 , , .429 , , 12.0 , , 2.4 , , .9 , , .7 , , 14.7 , - class="sortbottom" , colspan=2 style="text-align:center", Career , 39 , , 5 , , 17.0 , , .490 , , .231 , , .618 , , 4.6 , , 1.2 , , .6 , , .3 , , 6.6

Playoffs

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2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

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, 3 , , 0 , , 13.7 , , .583 , , — , , — , , 3.0 , , .3 , , .0 , , .0 , , 4.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 3 , , 0 , , 13.7 , , .583 , , — , , — , , 3.0 , , .3 , , .0 , , .0 , , 4.7

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;", Wake Forest , 31 , , 30 , , 30.2 , , .458 , , .226 , , .717 , , 7.6 , , 1.5 , , .6 , , .6 , , 13.1

References

External links

RealGM profileWake Forest Demon Deacons bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoard, Jaylen 1999 births Living people Black French sportspeople French expatriate basketball people in the United States French men's basketball players French people of African-American descent Hapoel Tel Aviv B.C. players National Basketball Association players from France Oklahoma City Blue players Oklahoma City Thunder players Portland Trail Blazers players Small forwards Sportspeople from Le Havre Texas Legends players Undrafted National Basketball Association players Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball players