Melvin Pierre Ajinça (born 26 June 2004) is a French 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 for

LDLC ASVEL 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 ...

of the

LNB Élite The LNB Élite, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Betclic Élite, is a professional basketball league in France and is the highest level of the French basketball system. The competition has existed since 1921. Since 1987, the Ligue Nat ...

and the

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

Professional career

Centre Fédéral de Basket-ball (2019–2022)

Born in

Villeneuve-Saint-Georges Villeneuve-Saint-Georges () is a Communes of France, commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. People from Villeneuve-Saint-Georges are called ''Villeneuvois'' in French. Hi ...

, Ajinça started his playing career with

Centre Fédéral de Basket-ball Centre Fédéral de Basket-ball (), shortly CFBB, is a French basketball club, based in Paris. The club's squads are filled with players from the training institute INSEP. The first team of the club currently plays in the Nationale Masculine 1, th ...

of the

Nationale Masculine 1 The Nationale Masculine 1, abbreviated as NM1, (English language, English: National Male 1), is the professional sports, professional level French basketball league system, third-tier division of men's club basketball in France. The two top teams ...

in 2019.

Saint-Quentin Basket-Ball (2022–2024)

Ajinça signed with

Saint-Quentin Basket-Ball Saint-Quentin Basket-Ball, commonly known as Saint-Quentin BB, is a French basketball club playing in the LNB Pro A (the top-tier men's professional basketball league in France), based in the commune of Saint-Quentin in the department of Aisne. ...

of the

LNB Pro B The LNB Pro B, commonly known as Pro B, is the second-tier level men's professional basketball league in France. It is the second division of the Ligue Nationale de Basket (LNB), which has organized the league since the year 1987. The regular se ...

on 30 June 2022. During the 2022–23 season, he averaged 8.4 points per game and was voted the best young player in the league, as Saint-Quentin earned a promotion to the

LNB Pro A LNB may refer to: Sport * Liga Nacional de Baloncesto, a professional basketball league in the Dominican Republic * Liga Nacional de Básquetbol, an Argentine basketball league * Liga Nacional de Básquetbol (Paraguay), Liga Nacional de Básquetb ...

. During the 2023–24 season, he averaged 9.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.7 assists across 24.5 minutes per game.

LDLC ASVEL (2024–present)

On 23 July 2024, Ajinça signed with

of the

NBA rights

On 2 May 2024, the

NBA 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 ...

confirmed that Ajinça was one of the international players who had declared for the

2024 NBA draft The 2024 NBA draft was the 78th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft. Unlike recent years, the 2024 draft took place over two nights. This was the first NBA draft to be held on multiple nights since the draft ...

. On 27 June, Ajinça was selected with the 51st overall pick by 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 Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

in the 2024 NBA draft, but was later traded to 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 Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

in exchange for draft rights to the 58th pick, Ariel Hukporti. He was one of five French players selected during the entire draft, following Zaccharie Risacher (the first overall pick),

Alex Sarr Alexandre Dam Sarr ( , ; born 26 April 2005) is a French professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He plays the power forward and Center (basketball), center positions. Sarr played fo ...

Tidjane Salaün Tidjane Abdoul Salaün (; born 10 August 2005) is a French professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Professional career Cholet Basket Salaün began playing for Cholet Basket's youth te ...

and Pacôme Dadiet.

National team career

Ajinça was named to the France under-19 basketball team to play in the 2023 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup. He was named to the second team All-Tournament Team, after averaging 19.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game, as France eventually reached the final before losing to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Personal life

Ajinça is a cousin of basketball coach and former NBA player Alexis Ajinça.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ajinça, Melvin 2004 births Living people Dallas Mavericks draft picks French men's basketball players Saint-Quentin Basket-Ball players Small forwards Sportspeople from Villeneuve-Saint-Georges Basketball players from Val-de-Marne 21st-century French sportsmen