Olumide Oyedeji

"Oyedeji" redirects here. For the Ghanaian sports historian, see James Oyedeji.

Olumide Oyedeji

Olumide Oyedeji warming up for the London Lions
Personal information
Born	(1981-05-11) 11 May 1981 (age 43) Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria
Nationality	Nigerian / British
Listed height	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight	255 lb (116 kg)
Career information
NBA draft	2000: 2nd round, 42nd overall pick
Selected by the Seattle SuperSonics
Playing career	1996–2016
Position	Center
Number	00
Career history
1996–1997	Ebun Comets
1997–1998	Dynamo Moscow
1998–2000	DJK Würzburg
2000–2002	Seattle SuperSonics
2002–2003	Orlando Magic
2003	Ilysiakos
2003–2004	Union Olimpija
2004	Beijing Ducks
2004	Al-Kuwait SC
2004–2005	Beijing Ducks
2005	Cangrejeros
2005–2006	Seoul Thunders
2006	Cangrejeros
2006–2007	Seoul Thunders
2007	Al-Kuwait SC
2007–2008	Beijing Ducks
2008	Liaoning Hunters
2008	Granada
2008–2009	Shanxi Zhongyu
2009	Vaqueros
2009–2010	Liaoning Hunters
2010	ASU Sports Club
2010	Juvecaserta Basket
2011	Changwon LG Sakers
2011–2012	Qingdao
2013–2013	Link Tochigi Brex
2015–2016	London Lions
Career highlights and awards
2× BSN All-Star (2008, 2006) CBA All-Star (2010) 3× CBA rebounding leader (2004, 2008, 2009) Korean League All-Star Game MVP (2007) BBL All-Star Game MVP (2000) 2× BBL Slam Dunk Contest champion (1998, 1999) Nigerian League MVP (1997)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference
Medals Men's Basketball Representing   Nigeria FIBA Africa Championship 2015 Tunisia National Team 2005 Algeria National Team 2011 Madagascar National Team

Olumide Oyedeji (born 11 May 1981) is a Nigerian former professional basketball center. He is now President of Hoops N' Read basketball club.

He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for three seasons.

He is the President of Nigeria Olympian Association, (NOA)), and the Vice President of Nigeria Olympic Committee, (NOC).

Professional career

Oyedeji played at the 1999 and 2000 Nike Hoop Summits. He was selected by the Seattle SuperSonics, in the 2nd round (42nd overall) of the 2000 NBA draft. He played a total of 93 games during 3 seasons in the NBA, and had career averages of 1.4 points per game, 2.1 rebounds per game, 0.1 assists per game, and 0.2 steals per game. ^[1] His final NBA game was played on April 1, 2003, in a 105–118 loss to the San Antonio Spurs where he recorded no stats. He also played in the Spanish League with Granada.

Oyedeji played with Shanxi Zhongyu in the Chinese Basketball Association. ^[2] He played with Changwon LG Sakers of the Korean Basketball League in 2011. However, he was released from the team, despite averaging 10.8 points, 15.0 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game. Oyedeji then signed on with the London Lions, who compete in the British Basketball League, in 2015.

National team

Oyedeji has been a member of the senior men's Nigerian national basketball team since 1997. He contributed immensely to his national team's participation at the FIBA Africa Nations Cup in 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2013 and 2015. He led Nigeria to its first ever AfroBasket trophy in Tunisia in 2015. Oyedeji won silver medals in 1997, 1999 and 2003 respectively during the FIBA Africa Nations Cup. He won the bronze medal at the 2005 FIBA Africa Championship and 2011 FIBA Africa Championship. Oyedeji has represented his home country in the All Africa Games winning bronze in 1999, 2007 and 2015, silver in 2003 and gold in 2011. He also played at the FIBA World Cup in 1999 and at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Oyedeji is the inaugural African player to ever feature in all major basketball tournaments on the global stage, including Olympic Games, World Cup, Commonwealth Games, All Africa Games, NBA, Euro-League, and Asia Championships.^{[ citation needed ]}

Oyedeji featured in the invitational tournament in South Africa where he captained the team and led them to victory in the finals. Nigeria's basketball team, D'Tigers, emerged overall winners of the 2015 Four Nations' invitational basketball tournament hosted by South Africa on Sunday 22 March 2015. Oyedeji, the long serving captain of the Nigerian Men's national team, emerged the MVP of the tournament. D'Tigers beat Mozambique 72–59 in their final game to win the inaugural tournament held at the Wembley Indoor Arena in Johannesburg. He retired from the Nigerian national basketball team several weeks before the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. ^[3]

FIBA

The International Basketball Federation, FIBA, Central Board appointed Oyedeji, to the FIBA Players commission for the 2014–2019 term. Oyedeji's appointment resulted from his nomination by the Nigerian Basketball Federation in line with the criteria provided by the world governing body of basketball. He is expected to serve in the newly inaugurated FIBA Players commission under the chairmanship of former Serbian International and NBA great, Vlade Divac. Oyedeji is also a member of the board of the Nigeria Basketball Federation.

Personal life

Oyedeji had his secondary education at Loyola College, Ibadan where he started playing as a member of the school's senior basketball team.

Oyedeji is married to Adejoke Fajemisin. They have five children together. ^[4]

References

1. "Olumide Oyedeji Historical Profile". Nba.com. 11 May 1981.
2. "Bonzi Wells joins CBA with Shanxi Zhongyu". News.xinhuanet.com. 12 December 2008. Archived from the original on 15 December 2008.
3. "It was tough calling it quits with d'tigers — Oyedeji". Punch Newspapers. 28 January 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
4. "OLUMIDE OYEDEJI- My wife is four in one!". The Nation Nigeria. 21 December 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2019.