Matee Ajavon

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Matee Ajavon
Matee Ajavon WNBA.jpg
Personal information
Born (1986-05-07) May 7, 1986 (age 38)
NationalityAmerican / Liberian
Listed height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Listed weight160 lb (73 kg)
Career information
High school Malcolm X Shabazz
(Newark, New Jersey)
College Rutgers (2004–2008)
WNBA draft 2008: 1st round, 5th overall pick
Selected by the Houston Comets
Playing career2008–present
Position Point guard
Career history
2008 Houston Comets
2008–2010 Fenerbahçe Istanbul
20092014 Washington Mystics
2010–2011Istanbul University
2011–2012Optimum Ted Kolejliler
2013 CSM Târgovişte
2013–present Mersin Büyükşehir Belediyesi
2014–2017 Atlanta Dream
Career highlights and awards
Stats at WNBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Representing USA
Pan American Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2007 Brazil Team Competition

Matee Ajavon (born May 7, 1986) is a Liberian American basketball player. A 5'8" guard, Ajavon was chosen by the Houston Comets as the fifth overall draft pick in the 2008 WNBA draft.

Contents

Early life

As a child, Ajavon immigrated to the United States with her family from Monrovia, Liberia. [1]

High school

Ajavon graduated from Malcolm X Shabazz High School in Newark, New Jersey. She led the Shabazz girls' basketball team to victory in the State of New Jersey's "Tournament of Champions" in both 2003 and 2004, the first time a school had repeated as champion. Ajavon was named a WBCA All-American. She participated in the 2004 WBCA High School All-America Game, where she scored nine points. [2]

College

Ajavon graduated from Rutgers University in 2008, having majored in Africana Studies. She was a key member of the 2006–2007 Scarlet Knights women's basketball team that reached the NCAA Championship game.

College statistics

Source [3]

Legend
  GPGames 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 Points FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2004–05 Rutgers 3543441.6 26.2 72.2 2.9 3.5 2.2 0.2 12.4
2005–06 Rutgers 32 402 43.334.1 75.0 2.8 4.5 2.60.4 12.6
2006–07 Rutgers 32 383 41.5 39.570.6 3.1 3.8 1.7 0.4 12.0
2007–08 Rutgers 33 403 39.8 25.2 78.83.65.21.8 0.3 12.2
Career Rutgers 132 1622 41.5 30.9 74.1 3.1 4.2 2.1 0.3 12.3

USA Basketball

Ajavon played for the USA team in the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The team won all five games, earning the gold medal for the event. [4]

Professional

Ajavon played primarily off the bench during her rookie WNBA season, but averaged 8.0 points per game. When the Houston Comets folded in 2008, Ajavon was selected second in the dispersal draft by the Washington Mystics.

During the 2008–2010 WNBA offseason, Ajavon played in the EuroLeague Women for Fenerbahçe Istanbul. [5]

In her first season with Washington, Ajavon put up remarkably similar numbers to her first WNBA campaign. Again mainly playing as a reserve, she scored 8.0 points per game. Ajavon helped the Mystics reach the playoffs, where she played well, scoring 19 points in just 34 total minutes, but Washington suffered a two-game sweep at the hands of the Indiana Fever.

WNBA career statistics

Legend
  GPGames played  GS Games started MPG Minutes per game RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game SPG  Steals per game BPG  Blocks per game PPG Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game FG%  Field-goal percentage 3P%  3-point field-goal percentage FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold Career best°League leader

Regular season

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGTOPPG
2008 Houston 34217.8.332.194.7911.81.70.90.21.58.0
2009 Washington 34417.3.336.341.6731.91.11.10.11.48.0
2010 Washington 34014.6.346.184.7731.61.41.10.11.55.9
2011 Washington 343331.3.391.276.8292.43.11.70.33.014.7
2012 Washington 332221.6.299.301.8271.82.01.60.21.97.9
2013 Washington 342721.6.299.301.8271.72.90.90.02.28.9
2014 Atlanta 2419.2.278.111.7241.72.90.90.00.92.2
2015 Atlanta 331117.6.405.167.8221.82.51.40.11.85.9
2016 Atlanta 33210.6.305.231.7501.61.20.30.21.03.3
2017 Atlanta 3128.1.289.000.7951.21.00.30.00.92.4
Career10 years, 3 teams32310417.4.347.266.7821.81.81.00.11.76.9

Postseason

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGTOPPG
2009 Washington 2017.0.375.250.8332.51.52.00.01.09.5
2010 Washington 2017.5.440.400.7500.01.51.50.01.018.0
2013 Washington 3321.9.235.000.7503.32.32.00.02.64.7
2014 Atlanta 2017.5.000.000.0001.00.50.00.00.50.0
2016 Atlanta 2115.6.500.0001.0002.50.50.00.01.57.0
Career5 years, 2 team11415.7.368.190.8062.01.41.20.01.57.5

Notes

  1. "Matee Ajavon Receives Honor as 'Great Immigrant'". Rutgers University Athletics. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  2. "WBCA High School All-America Game Box Scores". Women's Basketball Coaches Association. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  3. "Women's Basketball Player stats". NCAA. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  4. "Fifteenth Pan American Games – 2007". USA Basketball. November 19, 2010. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  5. "Matee Ajavon | EuroLeague Women (2009) | FIBA Europe". www.fibaeurope.com. Retrieved August 30, 2017.

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