Ezekiel Tobechukwu "Zeke" Nnaji (born January 9, 2001) is an American professional

basketball 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 ...

player for the Denver Nuggets of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

(NBA). He was drafted 22nd overall in the

2020 NBA draft The 2020 NBA draft was held on November 18, 2020. The draft was originally scheduled to be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on June 25, but due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it was instead conducted at ESPN's facilities in Bristol, Connecti ...

. 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 Arizona Wildcats.

Early life

Nnaji was born in Minneapolis to Nigerian parents. He played

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

and soccer before starting

due to his height. He has played the

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

since first grade. Nnaji composes his own music.

High school career

Nnaji started playing high school basketball for

Lakeville North High School Lakeville North High School (LNHS) is a public high school in northern Lakeville, Minnesota, United States. Formerly Lakeville High School, LNHS received its current name when a second high school, Lakeville South High School, was built. Grades ...

Lakeville, Minnesota Lakeville is an exurb of Minneapolis-Saint Paul, and the largest city in Dakota County, Minnesota, United States. It is approximately south of both downtown Minneapolis and downtown St. Paul along Interstate Highway 35. Starting as a flouri ...

, before transferring to

Hopkins High School Hopkins High School is a public high school located in Minnetonka, Minnesota, United States. Minnetonka is a southwestern suburb of Minneapolis. It offers classes for grades 10, 11, and 12, making it one of the only schools in the state still wi ...

Minnetonka, Minnesota Minnetonka ( ) is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. A western suburb of the Twin Cities, Minnetonka is located about west of downtown Minneapolis. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 53,781. Minnetonka is th ...

. 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. Nnaji had 14 points and 12 rebounds in the championship game. He played for the Adidas-sponsored D1 Minnesota club alongside

Matthew Hurt Matthew Christopher Hurt (born April 20, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the Memphis Hustle of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils. High school career Hurt attended John Marshall High S ...

. Nnaji was invited to the Iverson Classic game. Nnaji was ranked 22nd in his class and a 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 ...

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 ...

but was considered a four-star recruit by most other recruiting services. He committed to play

for

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

over offers from

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

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 ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

, and

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

College career

On November 6, 2019, Nnaji made his college debut, scoring 20 points in 21 minutes to help Arizona defeat

Northern Arizona Northern Arizona is an unofficial, colloquially-defined region of the U.S. state of Arizona. Generally consisting of Apache, Coconino, Mohave, Navajo, and Gila counties, the region is geographically dominated by the Colorado Plateau, the sout ...

, 91–52. Five days later, he was named Pac-12 Conference Freshman of the Week. 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 San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sy ...

. He became the first Arizona player to score 20 points and collect 10 rebounds in his in his first three games since

Brandon Ashley Brandon Damon Allen Ashley (born July 15, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Altiri Chiba of the Japanese B.League. He played college basketball for the University of Arizona. High school career Ashley attended Bishop O ...

did so against Long Beach State in the 2012–13 season. At the conclusion of the regular season, Nnaji was named first-team All-Pac-12 and Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. 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

Professional career

Denver Nuggets (2020–present)

Nnaji was selected with the 22nd pick in the

by the Denver Nuggets. On December 1, 2020, Nnaji signed his rookie scale contract with the Nuggets.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

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, 41 , , 1 , , 17.0 , , .516 , , .463 , , .631 , , 3.6 , , .4 , , .4 , , .3 , , 6.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 83 , , 2 , , 13.2 , , .503 , , .439 , , .663 , , 2.6 , , .3 , , .3 , , .2 , , 4.9

Playoffs

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College

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, 32 , , 32 , , 30.7 , , .570 , , .294 , , .760 , , 8.4 , , .8 , , .7 , , .9 , , 16.1

Personal life

Nnaji's father is from

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

and his mother is from

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. His younger sister, Maya, is a highly regarded high school basketball recruit at

. His uncle, Obiora Nnaji, played center at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

from 1997 to 1999.

References

External links

Arizona Wildcats bioUSA Basketball bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nnaji, Zeke 2001 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportspeople African-American basketball players American men's basketball players American sportspeople of Nigerian descent Arizona Wildcats men's basketball players Basketball players from Minneapolis Centers (basketball) Denver Nuggets draft picks Denver Nuggets players Hopkins High School alumni Power forwards (basketball)