Alexis Ajinça (; born 6 May 1988) is a French former 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 (appro ...

player who is currently an assistant coach for 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 Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

of the

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

(NBA). He played seven seasons in the league for the

Charlotte Bobcats Charlotte most commonly refers to: *Charlotte (given name), a feminine form of the given name Charles ** Princess Charlotte (disambiguation) ** Queen Charlotte (disambiguation) *Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, a city * Charlotte (cake) ...

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 Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

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 Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...

and

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 Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Confere ...

Early life

Ajinça was a promising

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rider during his childhood and routinely won racing competitions for his age group in France. He started playing basketball at age of 12 because he thought that it would help him improve his bike jumps. Ajinça gave up BMX riding when he blossomed in basketball.

Professional career

Early years (2006–2008)

After attending France's INSEP, Ajinça played for Pau-Orthez during the 2006–07 season. He joined Hyères-Toulon for the 2007–08 season and averaged 5.0 points and 3.1 rebounds per game.

Charlotte Bobcats (2008–2010)

Ajinça was selected with the 20th overall pick in the

2008 NBA draft The 2008 NBA Draft was held on June 26, 2008, at the The Theater at Madison Square Garden, Washington Mutual Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. In this NBA draft, draft, National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took t ...

by the

. The Bobcats wanted to select a big man after selecting guard D. J. Augustin earlier in the draft and believed that Ajinça possessed the most potential of players available. During his rookie season, he spent time with the

Sioux Falls Skyforce The Sioux Falls Skyforce are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and are affiliated with the Miami Heat. The team has played its home games in the Sanford Pentagon since the 2013–14 ...

of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

. During his second season with Charlotte, he spent time with the

Maine Red Claws The Maine Celtics are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Portland, Maine, and are affiliated with the Boston Celtics. The Maine Celtics play their home games at the Portland Expo Building. The Boston Celtics pu ...

Dallas Mavericks (2010–2011)

On July 13, 2010, Ajinça was traded, along with

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 ...

, to the

in exchange for

Erick Dampier Erick Travez Dampier (born July 14, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Indiana Pacers, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks. ...

Eduardo Nájera Eduardo Alonso Nájera Pérez () (born July 11, 1976) is a Mexican former professional basketball player who is currently a scout for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is also a pregame and postgame analyst o ...

, Matt Carroll.

Toronto Raptors (2011)

On January 24, 2011, Ajinça was traded, along with a future second-round draft pick and cash considerations, to the

in exchange for the draft rights to Georgios Printezis.

Return to France (2011–2013)

On November 2, 2011, Ajinça joined Paris-Levallois for a one-week tryout. He left the team on November 8 and joined Hyères-Toulon two days later. He appeared in just two games with Hyères-Toulon before parting ways with the team. After failing to make a return to the NBA following the conclusion of the

NBA lockout The NBA lockout may refer to any of the four lockouts in the history of the National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the Unit ...

, Ajinça returned to France and signed with SIG Strasbourg on December 29, 2011. On August 13, 2012, he re-signed with Strasbourg for the 2012–13 season. On August 6, 2013, he re-signed with Strasbourg for the 2013–14 season. On December 18, 2013, he left Strasbourg to return to the NBA.

New Orleans Pelicans (2013–2018)

On December 20, 2013, Ajinça signed with the

. On July 9, 2015, he re-signed with the Pelicans. On April 8, 2016, he recorded career highs with 28 points and 15 rebounds in a 110–102 win over the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

. On December 7, 2017, after missing all of the 2017–18 season up to that point, Ajinça was ruled out for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on his right patellar tendon, an injury that typically takes four to six months to recover. On October 15, 2018, Ajinça was traded to the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The ...

in exchange for Wesley Johnson. He was waived by the Clippers immediately upon being acquired.

ASVEL (2018–2019)

On December 28, 2018, Ajinça returned to France and signed with

ASVEL Basket ASVEL Basket, currently known as LDLC ASVEL for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional basketball team located in the commune of Villeurbanne, a suburb of Lyon, France. The club, which is the basketball section of the ASVEL multi-sports ...

Coaching career

On 13 October 2023, Ajinça was hired as an assistant coach by the Capital City Go-Go of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

. On 10 July 2024, Ajinça became an assistant coach for the

National team career

In September 2013, Ajinça represented the French national team at

EuroBasket 2013 EuroBasket 2013 was the 38th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe. It took place from 4 September until 22 September 2013 in Slovenia. The number of participating teams was 24. France men's national basketball ...

in Slovenia. He averaged 9.1 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, 10 , , 2 , , 7.5 , , .375 , , .429 , , .667 , , 1.7 , , .2 , , .3 , , .5 , , 2.9 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, 24 , , 0 , , 11.0 , , .465 , , .333 , , .733 , , 2.5 , , .3 , , .3 , , .6 , , 4.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, 56 , , 30 , , 17.0 , , .544 , , .000 , , .836 , , 4.9 , , .7 , , .4 , , .8 , , 5.9 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 68 , , 8 , , 14.1 , , .550 , , .000 , , .818 , , 4.6 , , .7 , , .3 , , .8 , , 6.5 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 59 , , 17 , , 14.6 , , .476 , , .000 , , .839 , , 4.6 , , .5 , , .3 , , .6 , , 6.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 39 , , 15 , , 15.0 , , .500 , , .000 , , .725 , , 4.5 , , .3 , , .5 , , .6 , , 5.3 , - , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 293 , , 76 , , 13.3 , , .503 , , .286 , , .797 , , 3.9 , , .5 , , .3 , , .6 , , 5.3

Playoffs

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2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, align="left" ,

, 3 , , 0 , , 3.3 , , 1.000 , , .000 , , .000 , , .3 , , .3 , , .3 , , .0 , , 2.7 , - , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 3 , , 0 , , 3.3 , , 1.000 , , .000 , , .000 , , .3 , , .3 , , .3 , , .0 , , 2.7

EuroLeague

, - , align="left" , 2006–07 , align="left" , Pau-Orthez , 2 , , 0 , , 4.2 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.5 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , -3.0 , - , align="left" , 2013–14 , align="left" , SIG Strasbourg , 9 , , 9 , , 25.5 , , .553 , , .000 , , .757 , , 5.4 , , 1.7 , , .9 , , .9 , , 17.1 , , 17.2 , - , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 11 , , 9 , , 21.6 , , .534 , , .000 , , .757 , , 4.7 , , 1.4 , , .7 , , .7 , , 14.0 , , 13.5

Personal life

Ajinça and his wife Courtney have two sons, Carter and Caysen. His cousin, Melvin Ajinça, is a professional basketball player.

References

External links

*
Alexis Ajinça
at euroleague.net
Alexis Ajinça
at lnb.fr {{DEFAULTSORT:Ajinca, Alexis 1988 births Living people Black French sportspeople Centers (basketball) Charlotte Bobcats draft picks Charlotte Bobcats players Dallas Mavericks players Élan Béarnais players French expatriate basketball people in Canada French expatriate basketball people in the United States French men's basketball players HTV Basket players Maine Red Claws players NBA players from France New Orleans Pelicans players SIG Strasbourg players Sioux Falls Skyforce players Sportspeople from Saint-Étienne Toronto Raptors players Washington Wizards assistant coaches 21st-century French sportsmen