Jakim Nestekaya Donaldson (born September 3, 1983), nicknamed "The Machine", 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 ...

player, who lastly played for

Bnei Herzliya Bnei Herzliya Basket (, lit. ''Sons of Herzliya''), is a professional basketball club that is based in Herzliya, in central Israel. The club plays in the Israeli Basketball Premier League, the top division of Israeli basketball. History The club w ...

of the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl (, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is a professional basketball league in Israel and the highest level of basketball in the country. The league's name is abbreviated as either BSL ...

. He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for

Edinboro University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Western University, Edinboro (abbreviated as PennWest Edinboro) is a campus of Pennsylvania Western University in Edinboro, Pennsylvania. The campus had an enrollment of 2,259 as of fall 2024. History PennWest Edinboro was foun ...

before playing professionally in Portugal, Spain, Israel and France.

Early life and college career

Donaldson attended

Oliver High School David B. Oliver High School, commonly known as Oliver High School, was a public school that was located in the Northside area of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. This school was one of ten high schools in the Pittsburgh Public Schools. ...

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. He played

for

's Fighting Scots. Donaldson finished his college career as Edinboro's all-time leading rebounder (1,100), ranks third in blocked shots (185) and tenth in career scoring (1,355 points).

Professional career

In 2005, Donaldson started his professional career with the Portuguese team Barreirense Basket. After playing four seasons in Spain with Ciudad de La Laguna, both in LEB-2 and

LEB Oro The Primera FEB, formerly known as LEB or LEB Oro, is the second basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system after the Liga ACB. It is run by the Spanish Basketball Federation, FEB. The FEB leagues are divided into three categorie ...

, in July 2010 he signed for Menorca Basquet to play in the

ACB League The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administered by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, w ...

. Menorca Basquet general manager said about him, "He has improved a lot since he arrived to Spain, with a high standard of professional ethics. We hope he keeps the improvement and his contribution to many fields of the game". One season later, Donaldson returned to Iberostar Canarias. Donaldson has been named LEB Oro Most Valuable Player three times – in 2009, 2010 and 2012. On July 24, 2013, Donaldson signed with the Israeli team

for the 2013–14 season. In 28 games played for Herzliya, Donaldson averaged 10.6 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.4 steals per game. On August 2, 2014, Donaldson signed a one-year deal with the French team

ESSM Le Portel Étoile Sportive Saint-Michel Le Portel Côte d'Opale, commonly known as ESSM Le Portel or simply Le Portel, is a professional basketball team based in Le Portel, France. The team currently plays in the LNB Pro A, Pro A, the first tier in France. ...

. On May 5, 2015, Donaldson signed a one-year contract extension with Le Portel. That season, Donaldson helped the team to promote to the

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 ...

as the second seed. In his fourth season with Le Portel, Donaldson helped the team to reach the 2018 FIBA Europe Cup Quarterfinals, where they eventually lost to the

Bakken Bears Bakken Bears is a Danish professional basketball club based in Aarhus. The club plays in the Basketligaen, the top-tier basketball league in Denmark. Founded in 1953, the club has won the Basketligaen 20 times, holding the record for the most c ...

. On September 18, 2018, Donaldson signed a one-year deal with

Hapoel Be'er Sheva Hapoel Be'er Sheva Football Club (, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Be'er Sheva'') is an Israeli professional association football, football club from the city of Beersheba, Be'er Sheva, that competes in the Israeli Premier League. The club was estab ...

of the

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League (, Ligat HaAl, ) is a professional association football league in Israel and the highest level of the Israeli football league system. The league is contested by 14 clubs, and operates on a system of promotion and rele ...

. In 36 games played for Be'er Sheva, he finished the season as the

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

second-leading rebounder with 9.4 per game, to go with 11.3 points, 3 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Donaldson helped Be'er Sheva reach the 2019 Israeli League Playoffs, where they eventually were eliminated by

Hapoel Jerusalem Hapoel Jerusalem is a sport organization in Jerusalem as a local branch of the Hapoel movement. The branch was established in the 1920s and represents the city in more sports than any other sport organization in Jerusalem. Today, the club's lead ...

in the Quarterfinals. On October 17, 2019, Donaldson returned to

for a second stint, signing a one-year deal.

Titles and awards

Titles

*National competitions: ::*

LEB 2 The Segunda FEB, formerly known as LEB 2 and LEB Plata, is the third basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system and the second basketball division organized by the Spanish Basketball Federation. Since 2019, three teams are promote ...

runner-up and promotion to

with Ciudad de La Laguna: 2006/2007. ::*

Copa Príncipe de Asturias The Copa Princesa de Asturias de Baloncesto ( English: ''Princess of Asturias' Cup of Basketball'') is an annual 2nd-tier level national cup competition for Spanish professional basketball teams, that is organized by Spain's 2nd-tier level profes ...

champion with Iberostar Canarias: 2012. ::*

title with Iberostar Canarias and promotion to

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administered by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, w ...

Awards

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

: 2008–2009. *

: 2009–2010. *

: 2011–2012. * 1 ACB MVP of the week, 7th week: 2010–2011. * 1 ACB 5th on the rebounds leaders :2012–2013.

Career statistics

: ''Correct as of 8 November 2010''

References

External links

RealGM profileLNB Pro B profileACB Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Donaldson, Jakim 1983 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in Portugal American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players Barreirense Basket players Basketball players from Pittsburgh Bnei Herzliya basketball players CB Canarias players Edinboro Fighting Scots men's basketball players ESSM Le Portel players Hapoel Be'er Sheva B.C. players Liga ACB players Menorca Bàsquet players Power forwards