Precious Ezinna Achiuwa (born September 19, 1999) is a Nigerian professional basketball player for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Memphis Tigers. He finished his high school career at Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida and was a consensus five-star recruit and McDonald's All-American.
![]() Achiuwa with the Toronto Raptors in 2021 | |
No. 5 – Toronto Raptors | |
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Position | Power forward |
League | NBA |
Personal information | |
Born | (1999-09-19) September 19, 1999 (age 22) Port Harcourt, Nigeria |
Listed height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) |
Listed weight | 225 lb (102 kg) |
Career information | |
High school |
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College | Memphis (2019–2020) |
NBA draft | 2020 / Round: 1 / Pick: 20th overall |
Selected by the Miami Heat | |
Playing career | 2020–present |
Career history | |
2020–2021 | Miami Heat |
2021–present | Toronto Raptors |
Career highlights and awards | |
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Stats ![]() | |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Achiuwa was born in Port Harcourt, Nigeria to Nigerian parents of Igbo descent and grew up mainly playing soccer.[1] He started focusing on basketball while in eighth grade, which is when he moved to the United States.[2] As a high school freshman, Achiuwa played basketball for Our Saviour Lutheran School in The Bronx, New York.[3] For his next two years, he attended St. Benedict's Preparatory School in Newark, New Jersey. The school had a nationally ranked basketball program and he was teammates with several NCAA Division I recruits.[4] In his junior season, Achiuwa averaged 18.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.9 blocks, and 2.2 steals per game, leading his team to a 28–2 record. He was named to the MaxPreps Junior All-American second team.[5]
Entering his senior year, Achiuwa transferred to Montverde Academy, a prep school in Montverde, Florida with a successful basketball program that held the No. 1 national ranking in the previous season.[6] He led Montverde with 14 points and 7.2 rebounds per game and helped his team reach the semifinals at GEICO High School Nationals.[7][8] Achiuwa earned MaxPreps All-American fifth team, USA Today All-USA third team, and USA Today All-USA Florida first team honors.[8][9][10] On March 27, 2019, he played for the East team in the McDonald's All-American Game, leading all scorers with 22 points.[11] On April 12, Achiuwa joined the World team at the Nike Hoop Summit.[12]
On May 17, 2019, Achiuwa committed to play college basketball for Memphis under head coach Penny Hardaway. He joined his former Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) teammate, Lester Quinones, and the number one player in the 2019 class, James Wiseman.[13]
Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
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Precious Achiuwa PF/ C |
Port Harcourt, Nigeria | Montverde Academy (FL) | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 225 lb (102 kg) | May 17, 2019 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals:![]() ![]() ![]() | ||||||
Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 17 247Sports: 9 ESPN: 17 | ||||||
Sources:
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In his debut for Memphis, Achiuwa had 14 points and eight rebounds as the Tigers defeated South Carolina State 97–64.[14] Achiuwa scored a season-high 25 points in an 87–86 win over Ole Miss on November 23. As a result, he was named American Athletic Conference player of the week on November 25.[15] He earned conference freshman of the week honors on December 23 after recording 20 points and nine rebounds in a 77–49 victory over Jackson State.[16] At the conclusion of the regular season, Achiuwa was named AAC Player and Freshman of the Year.[17] He averaged 15.8 points, 10.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game as a freshman.[18] He declared for the 2020 NBA draft after his freshman season.[19]
Achiuwa was selected with the 20th pick in the 2020 NBA draft by the Miami Heat.[20] On November 25, 2020, Achiuwa signed a four-year contract with the Heat for just over $12.5 million to 2023–24.[21]
On August 6, 2021, the Toronto Raptors acquired Achiuwa and Goran Dragić from the Heat via a sign-and-trade deal in exchange for Kyle Lowry.[22] On October 20, 2021, on his season debut with the Raptors, Achiuwa had six points, seven rebounds, two assists and a steal in 19 minutes of play in a 96–83 loss to the Washington Wizards.[23] On November 24, 2021, Achiuwa made a career-high three 3-pointers while having 17 points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal in a 126–113 win against the Memphis Grizzlies.[24]
GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020–21 | Miami | 61 | 4 | 12.1 | .544 | .000 | .509 | 3.4 | .5 | .3 | .5 | 5.0 |
2021–22 | Toronto | 73 | 28 | 23.6 | .439 | .359 | .595 | 6.5 | 1.1 | .5 | .6 | 9.1 |
Career | 134 | 32 | 18.4 | .468 | .357 | .556 | 5.1 | .8 | .4 | .5 | 7.2 |
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2021 | Miami | 3 | 0 | 4.0 | .750 | — | .250 | 2.0 | .0 | .0 | .7 | 2.3 |
2022 | Toronto | 6 | 1 | 27.8 | .481 | .313 | .600 | 4.8 | 1.0 | .2 | .8 | 10.2 |
Career | 9 | 1 | 19.9 | .500 | .313 | .500 | 3.9 | .7 | .1 | .8 | 7.6 |
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019–20 | Memphis | 31 | 31 | 30.4 | .493 | .325 | .599 | 10.8 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 15.8 |
Career | 31 | 31 | 30.4 | .493 | .325 | .599 | 10.8 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 15.8 |
Achiuwa's older brother, God'sgift Achiuwa, played college basketball for St. John's from 2011 to 2014.[25] His mother, Eunice, and father, Donatus, are both Pentecostal ministers.[26] In addition to God'sgift, he has two other brothers, God'swill and Promise, and two sisters, Grace and Peace.[27]
Toronto Raptors roster | |
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American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year | |
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