Ahmad Naadir Nivins (born February 10, 1987) is a former 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 currently working as an assistant coach for 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 ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA D ...

. He played college basketball for Saint Joseph's.

High school career

Nivins attended

County Prep High School County Prep High School is a full-time public magnet high school for students in ninth through twelfth grades, located in Jersey City in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Hudson County Schools of Technology. As ...

in New Jersey, where he began as a baseball player before switching to basketball in his freshman year. In his junior year he transferred to St. Anthony's High school, which is also in New Jersey. As a senior, he averaged 15 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks and helped the team to a 30–0 record and the school's ninth Tournament of Champions title in 2003–04.

College career

Nivins attended

Saint Joseph's University Saint Joseph's University (SJU or St. Joe's) is a private Jesuit university in Philadelphia and Lower Merion, Pennsylvania. The university was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1851 as Saint Joseph's College. Saint Joseph's is the seventh olde ...

. He is the school's leader in career field goal percentage (63.4%) and also one of 26 Hawks to record 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in his career. Nivins is fifth on the team's all-time list with 110 blocks. As a senior, he averaged a double-double (19.2 points, 11.8 rebounds) and nationally, he ranked fourth in rebounds per game behind John Bryant,

Blake Griffin Blake Austin Griffin (born March 16, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Oklahoma Sooners, when he was named the consen ...

and

Kenneth Faried Kenneth Bernard Faried Lewis (born November 19, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Capitanes de Ciudad de México of the NBA G League. Known as "The Manimal" due to his hustle on the court, he attended Morehead State Uni ...

. Nivins was the 2009 Atlantic-10 Player of the Year and 2009 Big 5 Player of the Year. In 2018, he was enshrined in the Saint Joseph's University Basketball Hall of Fame. In 2022, Nivins was inducted into the Philadelphia Big 5 Hall of Fame.

Professional career

After being selected by the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Southwest Division. Th ...

with the 56th overall pick of the

2009 NBA draft The 2009 NBA draft was held on June 25, 2009, at the WaMu Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In this draft, the National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other e ...

, on August 6, 2009, he signed for

Bàsquet Manresa Bàsquet Manresa, S.A.D., also known as Baxi Manresa for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in Manresa, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and Basketball Champions League. Their home arena is the Pavelló Nou Congost. ...

in the Spanish ACB. On January 4, 2011, he signed with Belgian team

Dexia Mons-Hainaut Belfius Mons-Hainaut is a Belgian professional basketball club that is based in Mons, Wallonia. The club competes in the highest division of the country, the BNXT League. The club's home arena is the Mons Arena. Founded as Quaregnon in 1959, the ...

. On December 10, his draft rights were traded to the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

, along with the draft rights to

Giorgos Printezis Georgios Printezis (alternate spelling: Giorgos) ( el, Γεώργιος Πρίντεζης, born February 22, 1985) is a Greek former professional basketball player who spent the majority of his career with Olympiacos of the Greek Basket League a ...

and

Tyson Chandler Tyson Cleotis Chandler (born October 2, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. Chandler was drafted directly out of high school as the second overall pick of the 2001 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Clippers, then wa ...

in a three-way trade. The Mavericks received

Andy Rautins Andrew Jay Rautins (born November 2, 1986) is an American-born Canadian professional basketball player who last played for AEK Athens of the Greek Basket League. He played for Syracuse University and was drafted by the NBA's New York Knicks in 20 ...

from the Knicks and a second round pick from the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

. The Wizards received

Ronny Turiaf Ronny Turiaf ( , ; born 13 January 1983) is a French former professional basketball player who played 10 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Turiaf grew up in France and played college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the U ...

from the Knicks in addition to a Dallas 2012 second round pick, and 2013 Knicks second round pick, and cash considerations. On August 20, 2012, Nivins moved to the French league, signing with

Poitiers Basket 86 Poitiers Basket 86, also known as PB86 or simply Poitiers, is a French professional basketball team located in the city of Poitiers, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, France. It competes in the French Pro B league. The club's home games are pla ...

after averaging 10.4 points and 4.7 rebounds in 2011–12 in Belgium. On June 21, 2013, Nivins signed with

Élan Béarnais Pau-Orthez Elan Corporation plc was a major drugs firm based in Dublin, Ireland, which had major interests in the United States. It was listed on the New York Stock Exchange as ELN, the Irish Stock Exchange as ELN.I, and the London Stock Exchange as ELN. ...

after averaging 14.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game with Poitiers. On June 3, 2014, Nivins signed with

ASVEL Basket ASVEL Basket, commonly known as ASVEL or sometimes as ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne, and also known as LDLC ASVEL for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional basketball team that is located in the city of Villeurbanne, which is a suburb of Lyon, ...

after averaging 15.5 points and 6.3 rebounds with Pau-Orthez. On June 14, 2016, Nivins signed with

Orléans Loiret Basket Orléans Loiret Basket, formerly known as Entente Orléanaise and Entente Orléanaise 45 Loiret, is a professional basketball club that is based in the city of Orléans, France. "45" is the number of Loiret. The club plays in the French Pro A Le ...

. On March 20, 2017, he parted ways with Orléans. On November 11, 2017, Nivins signed with the Israeli team

Hapoel Tel Aviv Hapoel Tel Aviv ( he, הפועל תל אביב) is a sports club in Israel, founded in the 1920s, and part of the Hapoel association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, suc ...

for the 2017–18 season. However, on November 17, 2017, Nivins was released by Hapoel before appearing in a game for them.

College statistics

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2005–06 , style="text-align:left;", Saint Joseph's , 30 , , 12 , , 22.7 , , .613 , , .000 , , .706 , , 4.97 , , 0.27 , , 0.40 , , 1.30 , , 6.13 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2006–07 , style="text-align:left;", Saint Joseph's , 31 , , 31 , , 34.9 , , .630 , , .000 , , .678 , , 7.58 , , 0.35 , , 1.03 , , 1.03 , , 16.65 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2007–08 , style="text-align:left;", Saint Joseph's , 33 , , 33 , , 33.7 , , .647 , , .000 , , .741 , , 5.85 , , 0.48 , , 0.67 , , 1.18 , , 14.42 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2008–09 , style="text-align:left;", Saint Joseph's , 32 , , 32 , , 39.3 , , .612 , , .000 , , .787 , , 11.81 , , 1.00 , , 0.81 , , 1.75 , , 19.16

Personal life

Nivins majored in sociology. Nivins' father, Larry, played basketball at

Slippery Rock University Slippery Rock University, formally Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania (The Rock or SRU), is a public university in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. SRU is a member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). The university ...

. He currently resides in Central Florida with his partner, Justine and together they have 3 children.

References

External links

Saint Joseph's bio

French League profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nivins, Ahmad 1987 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Belgium American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players ASVEL Basket players Basketball players from Jersey City, New Jersey Bàsquet Manresa players Belfius Mons-Hainaut players Dallas Mavericks draft picks Élan Béarnais players Liga ACB players Orléans Loiret Basket players Poitiers Basket 86 players Power forwards (basketball) Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball players