Wesley Deshawn Iwundu (born December 20, 1994) 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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for the Stockton Kings 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 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

Kansas State Wildcats The Kansas State Wildcats (variously "Kansas State", "K-State", or "KSU") are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Kansas State University. The official color of the teams is Royal Purple; white and silver are generally used as co ...

College career

Iwundu was recruited by coach Bruce Weber to

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

out of Westfield High School in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

. He would go on to be a starter from the beginning, breaking the Wildcats' career record for games started with 124. He came in as a part of a heralded 5-man 2013 recruiting class, but ultimately was the only player who stayed at K-State past two seasons. His perseverance paid off, as he was named third-team All-

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 ...

in both his junior and senior seasons. For his senior season, Iwundu averaged 13.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.

Professional career

Orlando Magic (2017–2020)

Following the closure of his college career, Iwundu was invited to the 2017

NBA Draft Combine The NBA Draft Combine is a multi-day showcase that takes place every May before the annual June NBA draft. At the combine, college basketball players are measured and take medical tests, are interviewed, perform various athletic tests and shootin ...

. In the

2017 NBA draft The 2017 NBA draft was held on June 22, 2017, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. ...

, Iwundu was taken in the second round by the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

with the 33rd pick, thus becoming the first Kansas State player to be taken in an NBA draft since

Michael Beasley Michael Paul Beasley Jr. (born January 9, 1989) is an American professional basketball player, who most recently played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for Kansas State Universi ...

and

Bill Walker Bill Walker may refer to: Australian rules football * Bill A. Walker (1886–1934), Australian rules footballer for Essendon * Bill Walker (Australian footballer, born 1883) (1883–1971), Australian rules footballer for Fitzroy * Bill J. V. Wal ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

. Iwundu signed a three-year contract worth a total of $4,046,762.

Dallas Mavericks (2020–2021)

On December 1, 2020, Iwundu signed with 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 ...

New Orleans Pelicans (2021)

On March 26, 2021, Iwundu was traded, alongside

James Johnson James Johnson may refer to: Artists, actors, authors, and musicians *James Austin Johnson (born 1989), American comedian & actor, ''Saturday Night Live'' cast member *James B. Johnson (born 1944), author of science nonfiction novels *James P. John ...

and a second-round draft-pick, to the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division and play their hom ...

in exchange for

JJ Redick Jonathan Clay "JJ" Redick (born June 24, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player who is a podcaster and sports analyst for ESPN. He was selected 11th overall by the Orlando Magic in the 2006 NBA draft. He played college baske ...

and

Nicolò Melli Nicolò Melli (born 26 January 1991) is an Italian-American professional basketball player and the team captain for Olimpia Milano of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and the EuroLeague. He also represents the senior Italian national team. ...

. On August 7, 2021, Iwundu was traded to the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...

and was later waived prior to the start of the season.

Atlanta Hawks (2021–2022)

On December 23, 2021, Iwundu signed a 10-day contract with the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

. scoring 12 points in his last game matching 3rd career point high.

Cleveland Charge (2022)

On January 25, 2022, Iwundu was acquired off waivers by the Cleveland Charge. However, he was waived on April 1 after suffering a season-ending injury.

Stockton Kings (2022–present)

Iwundu was signed 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 ...

on September 23, 2022 on a training camp contract. He was waived on October 7. On November 3, 2022, Iwundu was named to the opening night roster for the Stockton Kings.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

, 62 , , 12 , , 16.5 , , .427 , , .196 , , .723 , , 2.2 , , .9 , , .5 , , .2 , , 3.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 68 , , 13 , , 18.1 , , .412 , , .367 , , .816 , , 2.7 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , .3 , , 5.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 52 , , 21 , , 18.3 , , .416 , , .341 , , .804 , , 2.5 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , .3 , , 5.8 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2, , style="text-align:left;",

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

, 23 , , 3 , , 12.5 , , .327 , , .130 , , .857 , , 2.9 , , .4 , , .4 , , .1 , , 2.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, 18 , , 1 , , 13.9 , , .340 , , .111 , , .824 , , 2.6 , , .4 , , .3 , , .1 , , 2.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

, 3 , , 1 , , 27.3 , , .444 , , .600 , , .750 , , 4.3 , , .0 , , .3 , , .0 , , 7.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 226 , , 51 , , 16.9 , , .408 , , .292 , , .798 , , 2.5 , , .9 , , .5 , , .2 , , 4.4

Playoffs

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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;",

, 5 , , 0 , , 12.0 , , .333 , , .333 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 1.000* , , 1.4 , , .8 , , .6 , , .0 , , 4.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

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

, 5 , , 0 , , 15.2 , , .300 , , .571 , , .625 , , 2.2 , , .8 , , .6 , , .4 , , 4.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 10 , , 0 , , 13.6 , , .316 , , .438 , , .824 , , 1.8 , , .8 , , .6 , , .2 , , 4.5

NBA G League

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;", Lakeland , 9 , , 9 , , 35.3 , , .405 , , .125 , , .755 , , 8.4 , , 2.0 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , 15.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 9 , , 9 , , 35.3 , , .405 , , .125 , , .755 , , 8.4 , , 2.0 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , 15.2

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , style="text-align:left;",

, 33 , , 32 , , 23.6 , , .461 , , .412 , , .634 , , 4.2 , , 1.8 , , .6 , , .4 , , 6.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;",

, 31 , , 24 , , 25.2 , , .404 , , .316 , , .595 , , 3.5 , , 2.0 , , .7 , , .6 , , 5.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

, 33 , , 32 , , 32.4 , , .478 , , .200 , , .692 , , 4.5 , , 3.7 , , 1.3 , , .2 , , 11.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

, 35 , , 35 , , 31.4 , , .481 , , .376 , , .767 , , 6.3 , , 3.5 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 13.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 132 , , 123 , , 28.2 , , .463 , , .338 , , .688 , , 4.7 , , 2.8 , , .9 , , .4 , , 9.5

Personal

Iwundu has Nigerian roots. In 2021, it was reported that he was in talks with the

Nigeria national basketball team The Nigeria national basketball team represents Nigeria in men's international basketball and it is overseen by the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF). In March 2021, the global governing body FIBA ranked Nigeria as Africa's top men's basket ...

to represent Nigeria in the

2024 Summer Olympics ) , nations = TBA , athletes = 10,500 ''(quota limit)'' , events = 329 in 32 sports (48 disciplines) , opening = 26 July 2024 , closing = 11 August 2024 , opened_by = , stadium = Stade de France Jardins du Trocadéro and River Seine , summe ...

References

External links

*
Kansas State Wildcats bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iwundu, Wesley 1994 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportspeople African-American basketball players American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players from Houston Cleveland Charge players Dallas Mavericks players Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball players Lakeland Magic players New Orleans Pelicans players Orlando Magic draft picks Orlando Magic players Small forwards Stockton Kings players