Ahmad Naadir Nivins (born February 10, 1987) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

coach and former player. He played college basketball for Saint Joseph's.

Early life

Nivins attended County Prep High School in New Jersey, where he began as a baseball player before switching to basketball in his freshman year. In his junior year he transferred to St. Anthony's High school, which is also in New Jersey. As a senior, he averaged 15 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks and helped the team to a 30–0 record and the school's ninth Tournament of Champions title in 2003–04.

College career

Nivins attended

Saint Joseph's University Saint Joseph's University (SJU or St. Joe's) is a Private university, private Jesuits, Jesuit university in Philadelphia, Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, and Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The university was founded by the Jesuits, Society of J ...

. He is the school's leader in career field goal percentage (63.4%) and also one of 26 Hawks to record 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in his career. Nivins is fifth on the team's all-time list with 110 blocks. As a senior, he averaged a double-double (19.2 points, 11.8 rebounds) and nationally, he ranked fourth in rebounds per game behind John Bryant, Blake Griffin and

Kenneth Faried Kenneth Bernard Faried Lewis ( ; born November 19, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for Pallacanestro Reggiana of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). Known as "the Manimal" due to his hustle on the court, he attended Morehea ...

. Nivins was the 2009 Atlantic-10 Player of the Year and 2009 Big 5 Player of the Year. In 2018, he was enshrined in the Saint Joseph's University Basketball Hall of Fame. In 2022, Nivins was inducted into the

Philadelphia Big 5 The Philadelphia Big 5, known simply as the "Big 5", is an association of six college athletic programs in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is not a conference, but rather a group of NCAA Division I basketball schools who compete for the city’ ...

Hall of Fame.

Professional career

After being selected by the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

with the 56th overall pick of the

2009 NBA draft The 2009 NBA draft was held on June 25, 2009, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In this draft, the National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball p ...

, on August 6, 2009, he signed for

Bàsquet Manresa Club Bàsquet Manresa S.A.D., also known as Baxi Manresa for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in Manresa, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and the Champions League. It home arena is the Pavelló Nou Congost. In ...

in the Spanish ACB. On January 4, 2011, he signed with Belgian team Dexia Mons-Hainaut. On December 10, his draft rights were traded to the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

, along with the draft rights to Giorgos Printezis and Tyson Chandler in a three-way trade. The Mavericks received Andy Rautins from the Knicks and a second round pick from the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

. The Wizards received Ronny Turiaf from the Knicks in addition to a Dallas 2012 second round pick, and 2013 Knicks second round pick, and cash considerations. On August 20, 2012, Nivins moved to the French league, signing with Poitiers Basket 86 after averaging 10.4 points and 4.7 rebounds in 2011–12 in Belgium. On June 21, 2013, Nivins signed with Élan Béarnais Pau-Orthez after averaging 14.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game with Poitiers. On June 3, 2014, Nivins signed with

ASVEL Basket ASVEL Basket, currently known as LDLC ASVEL for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional basketball team located in the commune of Villeurbanne, a suburb of Lyon, France. The club, which is the basketball section of the ASVEL multi-sports ...

after averaging 15.5 points and 6.3 rebounds with Pau-Orthez. On June 14, 2016, Nivins signed with

Orléans Loiret Basket Orléans Loiret Basket, formerly known as Entente Orléanaise and Entente Orléanaise 45 Loiret, is a professional basketball club that is based in the city of Orléans, France. "45" is the number of Loiret. The club plays in the LNB Pro B, French ...

. On March 20, 2017, he parted ways with Orléans. On November 11, 2017, Nivins signed with the Israeli team Hapoel Tel Aviv for the 2017–18 season. However, on November 17, 2017, Nivins was released by Hapoel before appearing in a game for them.

College statistics

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2005–06 , style="text-align:left;", Saint Joseph's , 30 , , 12 , , 22.7 , , .613 , , .000 , , .706 , , 4.97 , , 0.27 , , 0.40 , , 1.30 , , 6.13 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2006–07 , style="text-align:left;", Saint Joseph's , 31 , , 31 , , 34.9 , , .630 , , .000 , , .678 , , 7.58 , , 0.35 , , 1.03 , , 1.03 , , 16.65 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2007–08 , style="text-align:left;", Saint Joseph's , 33 , , 33 , , 33.7 , , .647 , , .000 , , .741 , , 5.85 , , 0.48 , , 0.67 , , 1.18 , , 14.42 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2008–09 , style="text-align:left;", Saint Joseph's , 32 , , 32 , , 39.3 , , .612 , , .000 , , .787 , , 11.81 , , 1.00 , , 0.81 , , 1.75 , , 19.16

Personal life

Nivins majored in sociology. Nivins' father, Larry, played basketball at Slippery Rock University. He currently resides in Central Florida with his partner and together they have 3 children.

References

External links

Ahmad Nivins
at Saint Joseph's Hawks
Ahmad Nivins
at

LNB Élite The LNB Élite, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Betclic Élite, is a professional basketball league in France and is the highest level of the French basketball system. The competition has existed since 1921. Since 1987, the Ligue Nat ...

Ahmad Nivins
at

LNB Pro A LNB may refer to: Sport * Liga Nacional de Baloncesto, a professional basketball league in the Dominican Republic * Liga Nacional de Básquetbol, an Argentine basketball league * Liga Nacional de Básquetbol (Paraguay), Liga Nacional de Básquetb ...

(archived) {{DEFAULTSORT:Nivins, Ahmad 1987 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Belgium American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players ASVEL Basket players Basketball players from Jersey City, New Jersey Bàsquet Manresa players Belfius Mons-Hainaut players Dallas Mavericks draft picks Élan Béarnais players Liga ACB players Orléans Loiret Basket players Osceola Magic coaches Poitiers Basket 86 players Power forwards Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball players