The National Basketball League’s Boston Celtics are known for their excellent record over the years; the club has the most titles in the NBA franchise. They have produced many superstars including Larry Bird, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and many others. Interestingly, the team also has fast-rising stars who are currently making waves in the league; among them is Semi Ojeleye. His excellent and soft shooting skills have kept him at the top of his game for the Celtics. During his high school career in 2013, he was named National Player of the Year by Parade Magazine. Learn more about the star player below
Who is Semi Ojeleye?
Semi Ojeleye is a professional American basketball player who plays power forward for the NBA Boston Celtics. He has been selected by the Celtics as the 37th player to compete in the second round of the 2017 NBA Draft. He completed his college career at Duke University and Southern Methodist University, where he was named Player of the Year and MVP of the AAC Tournament for his remarkable performance in 2017. He was also on the All-AAC first team and received an All-American Honorable Mention in the same year.
Semi Ojeleye Bio (Age)
His father Ernest Ojeleye was born on December 5, 1994, as Jesusemilore Talodabijesu Semi Ojeleye in Overland Park, Kansas, the son of African-American parents. His father Ernest Ojeleye is a doctor, while his mother Joy Ojeleye is a registered nurse. Semi’s parents are originally from Nigeria, but they emigrated to the United States to study at the University of Kansas Medical Center. He is now not his parent’s only child; he has an older sister named Tomi Ojeleye and an older brother named Victor Ojeleye. Like Semi, his older brother played basketball on the Kansas State University basketball team from 2008 to 2011.
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Ojeleye developed a keen interest in basketball at a very young age, and when he was in high school, he started his basketball career. He attended Ottawa High School in Ottawa, Kansas. During his high school career, Semi competed for four years under coach Jon McKowen and led Ottawa High to four state championships. As a senior, he averaged two steals, two assists, 8.5 rebounds, and 38.1 points per game. He was named National Player of the Year by Parade Magazine and was named Gatorade Kansas Boys Basketball Player of the Year in 2013. At the end of his high school career, Semi placed 32nd in the Recruiting Services Consensus Index and was ranked 26th in his class by Scout.com.
After graduating, he enrolled at Duke University where he continued his college career. He played two seasons at Duke University before transferring to Southern Methodist University. As a freshman, Semi Ojeleye played 17 games for Duke, averaging 0.9 rebounds and 1.6 points per game. The following year he played only six games before moving to Southern Methodist University. After the transfer, Ojeleye sat out for the remainder of the 2014/15 season and was retired in the 2015/2016 season due to NCAA transfer rules. At the end of his college career in 2017, Ojeleye played 35 games for SMU, averaging 19 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. He won the AAC Player of the Year and the AAC Tournament MVP. He was also elected to the All-AAC First Team and also received All-American Honors from Associated Press.
NBA Career
Semi Ojeleye participated in the NBA Scouting Combine exercises as one of the 67 draft perspectives. After his impressive performance in the exercises, he declared himself for the 2017 NBA Draft, and during the draft, he was voted 37th in the overall selection of the second round of the draft by the Boston Celtics.
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Ojeleye made his first professional appearance with the Celtics on October 17, 2017, when they lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers. By the end of the 2017/18 regular season, Ojeleye had 73 appearances for the Celtics, averaging 2.2 rebounds, 0.3 assists, and 2.7 points per game. He also participated in his first NBA playoff in 2018, averaging 1.6 rebounds, 0.2 steals, and 1.9 points per game.
Semi Ojeleye Height, Weight, and Other Stats
Height: Semi Ojeleye stands at a height of 6 feet 7 inches (2.01 m)
Weight: He has a bodyweight of 107 kg (235 lbs).
Other Stats
Ojeleye started as a rookie in Game 5 of the 2018 NBA Playoffs and held Giannis Antetokounmpo by 16 points as the Celtics triumphed over Milwaukee Bucks.
He was part of the Global Sports Academy U.S. team during the 2016 Men’s Basketball Goodwill Tour of Croatia.
Ojeleye won the AAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and the 2017 AAC MVP.
He completed his high school career with a total of 2,763 points.
