Deji Akindele

Akindele Jeleel Ayodeji (born April 2, 1983) is a Nigerian professional basketball player for the Halcones de Xalapa of the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP).

Deji Akindele
No. 44 – Halcones de Xalapa
PositionCenter
LeagueLNBP
Personal information
Born (1983-04-02) April 2, 1983
Abeokuta, Nigeria
NationalityNigerian
Listed height7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)
Listed weight245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
CollegeChicago State (2003–2005)
NBA draft2005: undrafted
Playing career2005–present
Career history
2005–2006Fort Worth Flyers
2006–2007Iowa Energy
2007–2008Pau-Orthez
2008–2009Scavolini Spar Pesaro
2009–2010SPO Rouen Basket
2010–2011Nizhny Novgorod
2011–2012Spartak Primorye
2012–2013Juvecaserta Basket
2013–2014Budućnost Podgorica
2014Gran Canaria
2014–2015Baloncesto Fuenlabrada
2015–2016Vaqueros de Bayamón
2016–2017Fuerza Regia
2017Yalovaspor BK
2017–2018Capitanes de Arecibo
2018–2019Fuerza Regia
2019–2020Real Estelí
2020–2021Vaqueros de Bayamón
2021–2022Soles de Mexicali
2022–presentHalcones de Xalapa
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Nigeria
AfroBasket
Silver medal – second place2017 Tunisia/Senegal

Collegiate career

Akindele chose Chicago State over Rutgers, St. Peters and St. Marys. During Akindele's first season in Chicago, the 7'1" center averaged 7.1 points per game, 5.6 rebounds and 1.94 blocks per game.[1] In his second season, Akindele improved his block total by 8 in 4 fewer games (2.50 bpg), as well as improving his scoring average to 12 ppg.[2] His best game, statistically, was when he registered 28 points (10-for-13 field goals), 21 rebounds, and 4 blocks in 79–71 loss to Green Bay on December 1, 2004.[3] He was also named the Mid-Continent Conference defensive player of the year for 2004–2005.

Professional career

Akindele left Chicago State after his sophomore year, declaring himself eligible for the 2005 NBA draft. Going unselected in 2005, he had a short stint with the NBA team Golden State Warriors. Akindele was then selected in the fourth round of the Development League's Draft by the Fort Worth Flyers.[4]

In December 2010 he signed with Montepaschi Siena until the end of the 2010–11 season.[5] In August 2011 he returned to Russia to play for Spartak Primorye.[6] In February 2012, he signed in Iran with Petrochimi Bandar Imam.[7] In August 2012, he signed with Juvecaserta Basket.[8] In April 2013, he left them and signed with Champville in Lebanon.[9]

In August 2013, he signed with Budućnost Podgorica.[10] Once the Adriatic League regular season finished, in April 2014 Akindele signed for Gran Canaria until the end of the 2013–14 season.[11]

In September 2014, he signed with Baloncesto Fuenlabrada of Spain for the 2014–15 ACB season.[12] He won the ACB Player of the Month Award in January 2015.[13]

On June 11, 2015, he signed with Yeşilgiresun Belediye of the Turkish Basketball League for the 2015–16 season.[14] On June 27, 2015, he signed a short-term deal with Vaqueros de Bayamón of Puerto Rico for the rest of the 2015 BSN season.[15] In July 2015, he joined the Metros de Santiago of Dominican Republic for the rest of the 2015 LNB season.[16]

In October 2016, Akindele signed with Fuerza Regia of the Mexican LNBP.[17] On April 5, 2017, he re-joined the Vaqueros de Bayamón.[18]

In December 2017, Akindele signed with Yalovaspor BK of the Turkish Basketball First League.[19] On April 10, 2018, he returned to Puerto Rico with Capitanes de Arecibo.[20] Akindele rejoined Vaqueros de Bayamón on February 26, 2020, replacing the injured Greg Smith.[21]

National team

He was part of the Nigeria national basketball team, and represented Nigeria at the 2007 and 2009 African Championships, averaging 8.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 0.6 assists per game.[22]

References
  1. Chicago State Cougars Statistics – 2003–04. Sports.espn.go.com (2011-01-02). Retrieved on 2011-12-04.
  2. Chicago State Cougars Statistics – 2004–05. Sports.espn.go.com (2011-01-02). Retrieved on 2011-12-04.
  3. Green Bay vs. Chicago State – Box Score – December 01, 2004 – ESPN. Sports.espn.go.com (2004-12-01). Retrieved on 2011-12-04.
  4. D-League Draft Board 2005 Archived 2008-08-19 at the Wayback Machine. Nba.com (2009-09-29). Retrieved on 2011-12-04.
  5. Montepaschi lands Deji Akindele. Euroleague.net. Retrieved on 2011-12-04.
  6. Spartak Primorye lands Torey Thomas and Jekeel Akindele. Sportando.net. Retrieved on 2011-12-04.
  7. "Jeleel Akindele signed with Petrochimi". Eurobasket.net. 27 February 2012. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  8. "Juve Caserta announced Jeleel Akindele". Sportando.net. 30 August 2012. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  9. "Jeleel Akindele inks in Lebanon with Champville". Sportando.net. 10 April 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  10. "Jeleel Akindele (ex Champville) is a newcomer at Buducnost". Eurobasket.com. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  11. El Herbalife Gran Canaria se hace con los servicios de Jeleel Akindele Archived 2014-04-16 at the Wayback Machine; ACB.com 15 April 2014 (in Spanish)
  12. "Jeleel Akindele signs with Fuenlabrada". Sportando.com. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
  13. "ACB.COM - Jeleel Akindele, MVP del mes de Enero". acb.com. Archived from the original on 2015-10-05. Retrieved 2015-01-27.
  14. "Yesilgiresun signs Jeleel Akindele". Sportando.com. 11 June 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  15. "Vaqueros de Bayamon sign Jeleel Akindele to a short-deal". Sportando.com. 1 July 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  16. "Jeleel Akindele joins Metros de Santiago". Court-side.com. 13 July 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  17. "Jeleel Akindele (ex Bayamon) joins Fuerza Regia". Eurobasket.com. 11 October 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  18. "Deji Akindele and Hector Hernandez ink with Vaqueros de Bayamon". Sportando.com. 5 April 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  19. "Yalova Bld adds Akindele to their roster". Eurobasket.com. 24 December 2017. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  20. Modestti, Luis (10 April 2018). "Arecibo signs Souberbielle and Akindele". LatinBasket.com. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  21. Skerletic, Dario (February 26, 2020). "Los Vaqueros de Bayamón sign Jeleel Akindele". Sportando. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  22. FIBA.com profile Archived 2009-08-10 at the Wayback Machine. Libya2009.fiba.com. Retrieved on 2011-12-04.
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