Jeffrey Curtis Ayres (born Jeffrey Curtis Orcutt; April 29, 1987), formerly known as Jeff Pendergraph, 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

Taoyuan Pauian Pilots Taoyuan Pauian Pilots (Chinese: 桃園璞園領航猿) is a professional basketball team based in Taoyuan, Taiwan. They have been part of P. League+ since the 2020–21 season. In 2020, following the establishment of P. League+, Super Basketb ...

of the P. League+. He attended Etiwanda High School in Rancho Cucamonga, California and 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 Arizona State University.

College career

Ayres attended

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

for four seasons, finishing with career averages of 12.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.04 blocked shots and a 58.0 percent shooting accuracy. In his sophomore season, he grabbed a career-high 19 rebounds in a 52–36 victory over Colgate on December 19, 2006. As a senior, Ayres averaged 14.5 points and was named to the Pac-10's First Team. His 66.0 percent field goal mark led the nation. On January 4, 2009, he scored a career-high 31 points, along with a game-high 11 rebounds, in a 90–60 win over Stanford with twenty-one of those points being tallied in the first half.

Professional career

Portland Trail Blazers

On June 25, 2009, Ayres was selected by the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

with the 31st 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 ...

, only to be traded to 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 ...

in exchange for

Sergio Rodríguez Sergio Rodríguez Gómez (; born 12 June 1986) is a Spanish professional basketball player for Real Madrid of the Spanish Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. Standing at , he plays at the point guard position. Rodriguez, nicknamed "El Chacho", won ...

, the draft rights to

Jon Brockman Jonathan Rodney Brockman (born March 20, 1987) is an American former professional basketball player. He was the starting power forward and team captain for the University of Washington men's basketball team. He is the University of Washington's ...

and cash considerations. On September 8, he signed a contract with the Trail Blazers and joined them for the 2009 Summer League, starting all five games and averaging 10.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 1.2 blocked shots. On December 22, he made his NBA debut in an 85–81 win against the Dallas Mavericks, in which he scored 2 points in 4 minutes of playing time. Ayres scored a career-high 23 points on the last regular season game of the

2009–10 NBA season The 2009–10 NBA season was the 64th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The 1,230-game regular season (82 games for each of the 30 teams) began on October 27, 2009, and ended on April 14, 2010. The season ended when the Los Angel ...

on April 14, 2010, against the Golden State Warriors. He was waived by the Trail Blazers prior to the start of the 2011 season after suffering a season-ending knee injury during a pre-season game against 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), ...

Indiana Pacers

Ayres was signed by the Indiana Pacers for the 2011–12 season. Before the start of the season he was sidelined with a mild sprain in his knee, suffered when he injured it during a December 10, 2011 practice. On April 23, 2012, Ayres got his first start for the Pacers in a 103–97 win against the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

. In 18 minutes of play he scored 10 points with 7 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 blocks. On June 4, 2013, Ayres was ejected from Game 7 of the 2013 Eastern Conference Finals by referee Ken Mauer after a shoving match with

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 Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...

guard

Norris Cole Norris Gene Cole II (born October 13, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for Grand Rapids Gold of the NBA G League. A 6' 2" point guard, he is a two-time NBA champion, winning back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013 with the Miami ...

, who was also ejected in the fourth quarter. Entertainer Flo Rida's manager was also ejected after an ongoing verbal spat with Ayres.

San Antonio Spurs

On July 11, 2013, Ayres signed with the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

and made his debut on October 30 in a 101–94 win against the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

, recording two points, two rebounds, two assists and one block in 11 minutes of playing time. On June 15, 2014, Ayres won his first NBA championship after the Spurs defeated the

4 games to 1 in the

2014 NBA Finals The 2014 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2013–14 season and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs defeated the two-time defending NBA ...

NBA D-League and Los Angeles Clippers

On October 31, 2015, Ayres was selected by the

Idaho Stampede Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

with the first overall pick in the 2015 NBA Development League Draft. On November 13, he made his debut with Idaho in a 110–106 loss to the

Rio Grande Valley Vipers The Rio Grande Valley Vipers are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Edinburg, Texas, and are affiliated with the Houston Rockets. The Vipers play their home games at the Bert Ogden Arena. The Vipers have won fo ...

, recording 18 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block and one steal in 39 minutes of action. On January 29, 2016, he was named in the West All-Star team for the 2016 NBA D-League All-Star Game. On January 23, 2016, Ayres signed a 10-day contract 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 ...

. The next day, he made his debut in a 112–94 loss to the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

, recording two points, one rebound and one assist in five minutes. On February 2, he signed a second 10-day contract with the Clippers. On February 12, the Clippers did not renew his contract, making him a free agent. On February 20, Ayres returned to Idaho, appearing on the team bench that night. On March 4, 2016, Idaho traded Ayres to the Los Angeles D-Fenders in exchange for a 2016 first-round draft pick. The next day, he made his debut for the D-Fenders in a 127–117 win over 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 ...

, recording 16 points and 10 rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench. At the season's end, he was named to the All-NBA D-League First Team. On March 16, 2016, Ayres returned to the Clippers, signing with the team for the rest of the season.

CSKA Moscow and NBA D-League

On September 22, 2016, Ayres signed a two-month contract with Russian club

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 era, it was a central piece of the big So ...

. Following the expiration of his contract, he parted ways with CSKA on November 23, 2016. In seven games he averaged 5.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. On December 1, 2016, Ayres was reacquired by the Los Angeles D-Fenders.

First stint in Japan

On February 16, 2017, Ayres signed with

Alvark Tokyo Alvark Tokyo is a Japanese professional basketball team located in Tokyo. The team, which is sponsored by Toyota, currently plays in the Japanese B.League. Until 2000, the team was known as the Toyota Pacers. Founded as Toyota Pacers in 1948 ...

of the Japanese B.League.

Turkey

On August 12, 2017, Ayres signed with

Eskişehir Basket Eskişehir Basket was a professional basketball team based in the city of Eskişehir in Turkey. Their home arena was the Anadolu Üniversitesi Sport Hall with a capacity of 5,000 seats. Founded in 2006, the club played in the highest tier Basket ...

of the

Turkish Basketball Super 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 ...

Third stint in Japan

On September 4, 2018, Ayres signed with

Ryukyu Golden Kings is a Japanese professional basketball team based in Okinawa City, Okinawa. They compete in the B.League, the top-tier professional basketball league of Japan. Honours Domestic *bj league champions: 4 **2009, 2012, 2014, 2016 *Conference cham ...

of the B.League. He signed with

Nagoya Diamond Dolphins The are a professional basketball team that competes in the first division of the Japanese B.League. Prior to their entry into the B.League in September 2016, the club was the corporate team of Mitsubishi Electric. In 2020, the Diamond Dolphins ...

on June 20, 2020. He signed with

Niigata Albirex BB Niigata Albirex BB, formally Niigata Albirex Basketball, is a Japanese basketball club. It is based in Nagaoka, Niigata. Outline The club was founded in 1954 as the company team of Daiwa Securities, a Tokyo-based securities brokerage. In 1 ...

on June 29, 2021.

BIG3

On May 25, 2022, Ayres was drafted by Bivouac with the eighth overall pick of the 2022

BIG3 Big3 (stylized BIG3) is a 3-on-3 basketball league founded by hip hop musician and actor Ice Cube and entertainment executive Jeff Kwatinetz. The league consists of 12 teams whose rosters include both former NBA players and international play ...

draft.

The Basketball Tournament

Jeff Ayres played for Team Challenge ALS in the

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 Unit ...

edition of

The Basketball Tournament The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is an open-application, single-elimination tournament played each summer in the United States. The 2022 edition features 64 teams with a $1 million winner-take-all prize, broadcast by ESPN. TBT was founded in 20 ...

. In two games with Eberlein Drive, he averaged 6.5 points per game and 2.5 rebounds per game on 100 percent shooting. Team Challenge ALS made it to the West Regional Championship Game before falling to eventual tournament runner-up Eberlein Drive.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , , 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 ...

, 39 , , 4 , , 10.4 , , .662 , , – , , .900 , , 2.5 , , .0 , , .2 , , .4 , , 2.7 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

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 ...

, 20 , , 1 , , 5.3 , , .417 , , – , , .571 , , 1.6 , , .2 , , .2 , , .1 , , 1.7 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 37 , , 0 , , 10.0 , , .484 , , .500 , , .913 , , 2.8 , , .4 , , .2 , , .3 , , 3.9 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", † , align="left" ,

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

, 73 , , 10 , , 13.0 , , .580 , , – , , .691 , , 3.5 , , .8 , , .2 , , .3 , , 3.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 51 , , 0 , , 7.5 , , .579 , , – , , .750 , , 2.3 , , .3 , , .2 , , .2 , , 2.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Clippers , 17 , , 0 , , 6.3 , , .522 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , .0 , , .2 , , 1.8 , - class="sortbottom" , align="center" colspan="2" , Career , 237 , , 15 , , 9.8 , , .553 , , .400 , , .776 , , 2.7 , , .4 , , .2 , , .3 , , 2.9

Playoffs

, - , align="left" , 2010 , align="left" ,

, 3 , , 0 , , 5.7 , , .500 , , – , , .750 , , .7 , , .0 , , .7 , , 1.0 , , 2.3 , - , align="left" ,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

, align="left" ,

, 4 , , 0 , , 2.3 , , .333 , , – , , .000 , , .5 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .5 , - , 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 fa ...

, align="left" ,

, 9 , , 0 , , 7.9 , , .333 , , .000 , , .000 , , 2.0 , , .1 , , .0 , , .2 , , 1.8 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",

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 ...

† , align="left" ,

, 17 , , 0 , , 3.8 , , .462 , , – , , .625 , , 1.1 , , .3 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.0 , - , align="left" , 2015 , align="left" ,

, 3 , , 0 , , 4.0 , , .000 , , – , , .000 , , 1.0 , , .7 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , - , align="center" colspan="2" , Career , 36 , , 0 , , 4.8 , , .378 , , .000 , , .667 , , 1.2 , , .2 , , .1 , , .1 , , 1.2

International career statistics

, - , align="left" , 2017–18 , align="left" , A Tokyo , 23 , , 12 , , 21.4 , , .578 , , .400 , , .871 , , 7.0 , , .8 , , .4 , , .6 , , 12.3 , -

Personal life

Jeff Ayres married long time girlfriend Raneem Ayres in 2012. The two have 3 children together. In August 2013, he made an Arizona court filing to change his surname from Pendergraph to Ayres, replacing the surname of his stepfather with that of his biological father. The change was formally announced in September 2013.

References

External links

Jeff Ayres
at thesundevils.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Ayers, Jeff 1987 births Living people African-American basketball players Alvark Tokyo players American expatriate basketball people in Japan American expatriate basketball people in Russia American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's basketball players Arizona State Sun Devils men's basketball players Basketball players from California Centers (basketball) Eskişehir Basket players Idaho Stampede players Indiana Pacers players Los Angeles Clippers players Los Angeles D-Fenders players PBC CSKA Moscow players People from Ontario, California Portland Trail Blazers players Power forwards (basketball) Ryukyu Golden Kings players Nagoya Diamond Dolphins players Sacramento Kings draft picks San Antonio Spurs players Shiga Lakes players Sportspeople from San Bernardino County, California 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people