Udoka Timothy Azubuike (/juːˈdoʊkə ˌæzəˈbuːki/; born September 17, 1999) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kansas Jayhawks.
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![]() Azubuike at the 2016 McDonald's All-American Game | |
No. 20 – Utah Jazz | |
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Position | Center |
League | NBA |
Personal information | |
Born | (1999-09-17) September 17, 1999 (age 23) Lagos, Nigeria |
Listed height | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) |
Listed weight | 270 lb (122 kg) |
Career information | |
High school | Potter's House Christian Academy (Jacksonville, Florida) |
College | Kansas (2016–2020) |
NBA draft | 2020 / Round: 1 / Pick: 27th overall |
Selected by the Utah Jazz | |
Playing career | 2020–present |
Career history | |
2020–present | Utah Jazz |
2021–2022 | →Salt Lake City Stars |
Career highlights and awards | |
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Stats ![]() | |
Stats ![]() | |
Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Azubuike was the youngest of 3, with two older brothers and two older sisters.[1] His father, Fabian, was a police officer, and his mother, Florence, was a middle school teacher.[2] Azubuike lost his father to an undiagnosed disease at the age of 10.[2] In 2012, he caught the attention of recruiters with Basketball Without Borders and was offered a scholarship to play basketball in the United States.[2]
Azubuike attended Potter's House Christian Academy in Jacksonville, Florida. His then assistant coach Harry Coxsome and his wife Donna took care of him and soon became his legal guardians.[2] In his first high school game he was matched up against fellow future Kansas Jayhawk Joel Embiid.[2] Azubuike was a four-year starter averaging 16.9 points and 9.7 rebounds per game his senior year.[3] Azubuike was selected to play in the 2016 McDonald's All-American Boys Game,[4] Jordan Brand Classic,[5] and Nike Hoop Summit.[6] He was also a member of the National Honor Society.[2]
He was rated by Rivals.com as a five-star recruit and was ranked as the 27th best overall player[7] while ESPN ranked him 22nd overall in the Class of 2016.[8][9] Azubuike received offers from many universities including Duke, Texas, Kentucky, and shortened his final list of colleges to Florida State, Kansas, and North Carolina.[3] On January 28, 2016, he announced his choice to play college basketball at the University of Kansas.[10]
In his freshman season he started in six of the 11 games he played in before tearing ligaments in his left wrist, which ended his season.[11] Before the injury, he averaged 5.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.6 blocks, and 62.9% field goal percentage.
For the 2017–2018 season, Kansas' coach Bill Self recruited Kansas football player James Sosinski to defend Azubuike during practice.[12] Udoka started every game of the regular season but missed the Big 12 tournament after spraining his left MCL.[13] He returned for the NCAA tournament until KU's loss to eventual champion Villanova in the Final Four.[14] He averaged 13.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.7 blocks, and led the nation with a 77% field goal percentage for the season.[15] His field goal percentage broke the single-season record for Kansas and the Big 12 Conference.[16] This high percentage was in part due to the majority of his field goals being slam dunks, which typically have a higher completion percentage than jump shots or layups. He had more dunks than any other college player going back to the 2009–2010 season.[17] He was awarded All-Big 12 third team by the conference's coaches[18] and second team by the AP.[19]
On April 20, 2018, Azubuike announced his intention to enter the 2018 NBA draft. He did not initially hire an agent, which would allow him to return before the combine.[20] Azubuike was one of a record-high 69 prospects invited to the NBA Draft Combine that year. On May 17, he measured out to be a near 7' tall center (with shoes on) weighing in at 274 pounds and holding the second-longest wingspan at 7'7", behind only Mohamed Bamba.[21] On May 30, 2018, he announced his intent to withdraw from the draft and return to Kansas for his junior season.[22]
Azubuike was selected as an honorable mention to the 2018–2019 All-Big 12 preseason team.[23] On December 4, 2018, he severely sprained his right ankle against Wofford and missed the following four games.[24] On January 5, 2019, Azubuike injured his wrist during practice.[25] An MRI revealed he tore a ligament in his right hand.[26] He underwent season-ending surgery on January 9, 2019.[27]
Kansas won all nine games Azubuike played including against top ten teams Tennessee and Michigan State. He finished the season averaging 13.4 points and 6.8 rebounds.[28]
On April 22, 2019, Azubuike announced he would return to Kansas for his senior season.[29] According to KU coach Bill Self, “We’re all very excited about Udoka making the decision not to enter the [NBA] draft. Unfortunately for him, injury is the reason as he still cannot participate (at) what would be the NBA combine or workouts for the NBA teams."[30]
Azubuike scored a career-high 29 points in a 90–84 overtime win over Dayton on November 27, 2019.[31] On February 22, 2020, Azubuike scored 23 points and had a career-high 19 rebounds in a 64–61 win over top-ranked Baylor.[32]
At the conclusion of the regular season, Azubuike was named the Big 12 Player of the Year[33] and NABC Defensive Player of the Year.[34] Azubuike averaged 13.7 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game as a senior.[35] Azubuike's career field goal percentage of 74.9% is an NCAA record.[36]
Azubuike was selected with the 27th pick in the first round of the 2020 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz.[37] On November 24, 2020, the Utah Jazz announced that they had signed Azubuike.[38] Azubuike was assigned to the Jazz's NBA G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars, for the start of the 2021 G League season, making his G League debut on February 10, 2021.
On March 25, 2022, Azubuike underwent right foot surgery and was ruled out for the rest of the 2021–22 season.[39]
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 | Utah | 15 | 0 | 3.8 | .444 | – | .800 | .9 | .0 | .1 | .3 | 1.1 |
2021–22 | Utah | 17 | 6 | 11.5 | .755 | – | .545 | 4.2 | .0 | .1 | .6 | 4.7 |
Career | 32 | 6 | 7.9 | .707 | – | .667 | 2.6 | .0 | .1 | .5 | 3.0 |
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2021 | Utah | 1 | 0 | 1.0 | – | – | – | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 |
Career | 1 | 0 | 1.0 | – | – | – | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 |
* | Led NCAA Division I |
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2016–17 | Kansas | 11 | 6 | 12.9 | .629 | – | .380 | 4.1 | .2 | .2 | 1.6 | 5.0 |
2017–18 | Kansas | 36 | 34 | 23.6 | .770* | – | .413 | 7.0 | .7 | .6 | 1.7 | 13.0 |
2018–19 | Kansas | 9 | 9 | 20.4 | .705 | – | .344 | 6.8 | .6 | .4 | 1.6 | 13.4 |
2019–20 | Kansas | 31 | 30 | 27.7 | .748* | – | .441 | 10.5 | .9 | .5 | 2.6 | 13.7 |
Career | 87 | 79 | 23.4 | .746 | – | .416 | 7.9 | .7 | .5 | 2.0 | 12.3 |
Utah Jazz roster | |
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