| Intro | French basketball player |
| A.K.A. | Alexis Ajinca |
| Is |
Athlete Basketball player |
| From | France |
| Type | Sports |
| Gender | male |
| Birth | 6 May 1988, Saint-Étienne |
| Age: | 32 years |
| Star sign | Taurus |
Alexis Ajinça (French pronunciation: [alɛksi aʒɛ̃sa]; born May 6, 1988) is a French professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m), 248 lb (112 kg; 17.7 st) center.
Junior career
From 2003–2006, he played junior basketball for INSEP Centre Federal.
Professional career
Pau-Orthez (2006–2007)
In 2006, he joined Pau-Orthez for the 2006–07 season.
Hyères-Toulon (2007–2008)
In 2007, he joined Hyères-Toulon for the 2007–08 season.
Charlotte Bobcats (2008–2010)
Ajinça was selected with the 20th overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Bobcats. On March 9, 2009, he was assigned to the Sioux Falls Skyforce. On April 20, 2009, he was recalled by the Bobcats.
On October 29, 2009, the Bobcats exercised their third-year team option on Ajinça, thus keeping him under contract through the 2010–11 season.
On November 30, 2009, he was assigned to the Maine Red Claws. He was recalled on February 2, 2010.
Dallas Mavericks (2010–2011)
On July 13, 2010, Ajinça was traded to the Dallas Mavericks along with Tyson Chandler for Erick Dampier, Matt Carroll, Eduardo Najera, and cash considerations.
Toronto Raptors (2011)
On January 24, 2011, he was traded to the Toronto Raptors.
Return to Hyeres-Toulon (2011)
On November 2, 2011, Ajinça joined Paris-Levallois for a one-week try-out. On November 8, he left Paris-Levallois. On November 10, he joined Hyeres-Toulon. He left Hyeres-Toulon after two games.
SIG Strasbourg (2011–2013)
On December 29, 2011, he signed with SIG Strasbourg for the rest of the 2011–12 season. In August 2012, he re-signed with Strasbourg for the 2012–13 season.
In August 2013, he re-signed with Strasbourg for the 2013–14 season. On December 18, 2013, he left Strasbourg.
New Orleans Pelicans (2013–present)
On December 20, 2013, he signed with the New Orleans Pelicans. On February 27, 2015, he scored a then career-high 24 points off the bench in the Pelicans’ 104–102 win over the Miami Heat.
On July 9, 2015, he re-signed with the New Orleans Pelicans. On April 8, 2016, he recorded career highs with 28 points and 15 rebounds in a 110–102 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
French national team
Ajinça has played internationally for the senior men’s French national basketball team. He represented France at the EuroBasket 2013.
International stats
| Tournament | Games played | Points per game | Rebounds per game | Assists per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 EuroBasket | 11 | 9.1 | 7.0 | 0.6 |
Career statistics
| Legend | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | PIR | Performance Index Rating | ||
| Bold | Career high | ||||||
Note: The EuroLeague is not the only competition in which the player participated for the team during the season. He also played in domestic competition, and regional competition if applicable.
NBA
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008–09 | Charlotte | 31 | 4 | 5.9 | .362 | .000 | .714 | 1.0 | .1 | .2 | .2 | 2.3 |
| 2009–10 | Charlotte | 6 | 0 | 5.0 | .500 | .000 | .000 | .7 | .0 | .2 | .2 | 1.7 |
| 2010–11 | Dallas | 10 | 2 | 7.5 | .375 | .429 | .667 | 1.7 | .2 | .3 | .5 | 2.9 |
| 2010–11 | Toronto | 24 | 0 | 11.0 | .465 | .333 | .733 | 2.5 | .3 | .3 | .6 | 4.8 |
| 2013–14 | New Orleans | 56 | 30 | 17.0 | .544 | .000 | .836 | 4.9 | .7 | .4 | .8 | 5.9 |
| 2014–15 | New Orleans | 68 | 8 | 14.1 | .550 | .000 | .818 | 4.6 | .7 | .3 | .8 | 6.5 |
| 2015–16 | New Orleans | 59 | 17 | 14.6 | .476 | .000 | .839 | 4.6 | .5 | .3 | .6 | 6.0 |
| Career | 254 | 61 | 13.1 | .503 | .316 | .807 | 3.8 | .5 | .3 | .6 | 5.3 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | New Orleans | 3 | 0 | 3.3 | 1.000 | .000 | .000 | .3 | .3 | .3 | .0 | 2.7 |
| Career | 3 | 0 | 3.3 | 1.000 | .000 | .000 | .3 | .3 | .3 | .0 | 2.7 | |
Euroleague
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–07 | Pau-Orthez | 2 | 0 | 4.2 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 1.5 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | -3.0 |
| 2013–14 | SIG Strasbourg | 9 | 9 | 25.5 | .553 | .000 | .757 | 5.4 | 1.7 | .9 | .9 | 17.1 | 17.2 |
| Career | 11 | 9 | 21.6 | .534 | .000 | .757 | 4.7 | 1.4 | .7 | .7 | 14.0 | 13.5 | |
Personal life
Married Courtney Sadler on March 10, 2014.
On October 12, 2014, Ajinça’s wife, Courtney, gave birth to the couple’s first child, a son named Carter.