Jaylen Hoard (born March 30, 1999) is a French-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 for

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv () is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such as football, basketball, j ...

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 ...

and the

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

. 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 the

Wake Forest Demon Deacons The Wake Forest Demon Deacons are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Wake Forest University, located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Assoc ...

. Born in

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

, France, he began his career at INSEP in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, competing with the amateur club

Centre Fédéral de Basket-ball Centre Fédéral de Basket-ball (), shortly CFBB, is a French basketball club, based in Paris. The club's squads are filled with players from the training institute INSEP. The first team of the club currently plays in the Nationale Masculine 1, th ...

of the

Nationale Masculine 1 The Nationale Masculine 1, abbreviated as NM1, (English language, English: National Male 1), is the professional sports, professional level French basketball league system, third-tier division of men's club basketball in France. The two top teams ...

(NM1). He became among of the most sought-after prospects of the class of 2018, and a consensus five-star recruit, after moving to Wesleyan Christian Academy in

High Point, North Carolina High Point is a city in the Piedmont Triad region of the United States, U.S. state of North Carolina. Most of the city is in Guilford County, North Carolina, Guilford County, with parts extending into Randolph County, North Carolina, Randolph, ...

Early life

Hoard was born in

, France to an American father and French mother, both with

experience. His father Antwon Hoard played for Murray State in college and spent multiple seasons in France in 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 ...

. His mother Katia Foucade played for the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

and was a member of the French national team. Hoard's younger sister Anaia, one of four siblings, has played with the French national under-17 team.

Youth career

In 2015, Hoard signed a two-year contract with the French athlete institute INSEP in

, joining affiliated club

(CFBB). With CFBB, Hoard competed in the

, the third-tier division in France, for the 2015–16 season. In April 2015, he was named

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

(MVP) of the

Jordan Brand Classic The Jordan Brand Classic is a high school all star basketball game played annually in April. The game's rosters feature the best and most highly recruited high school boys and girls in the senior class. In 2015, a girl's game was introduced. Th ...

International Game, recording 16 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 steals. On April 16, 2016, Hoard recorded a season-high 23 points, shooting 9-of-15 from the field, in a win over

Caen Basket Calvados Caen Basket Calvados is a French basketball team located in the commune of Caen in Northwestern France. The club competes in LNB Pro B, France's second-division men's league. History Caen Basket Club (CBC) was founded in 1959 after the scrapping ...

. He finished the NM1 season averaging 8.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.1 steals per game.

High school career

In the summer of 2016, Hoard arrived in the United States to begin playing

for Wesleyan Christian Academy in

. He was encouraged to join the program because his father had become friends with its head coach Keith Gatlin during his playing career. After making the move, Hoard said, "I just felt like it was time to come over here and compete against the best. A lot of people know me for basketball in France, but I want to make it over here. This is where all the talent is so I want to prove myself." Entering the season, Wesleyan was ranked among the top-10 in the nation by

MaxPreps MaxPreps is an American website that specializes in coverage of American high school sports. The site is currently owned by PlayOn. Founded on August 1, 2002, the company has covered up to 29 sports, including boys, girls, and co-ed sports. ...

, and in the top-20 by ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'' High School Sports. In the beginning of the season, he spent time adjusting to the American style of basketball. Hoard was rated as a five-star recruit and considered one of the best players of the 2018 class. He was ranked 22nd in the class of 2018 by

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

College career

On August 26, 2017, Hoard committed to attend and play for

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The R ...

. Before the start of the 2018–19 season, Hoard was named to the Julius Erving Award preseason watchlist. On November 10, 2018, Hoard scored 19 points and 13 rebounds in a 90–78 win against North Carolina A&T. On November 18, 2018, the Demon Deacons would defeat Valparaiso 69–63 behind Hoard's 14 points and 9 rebounds. On January 2, 2019, he scored 23 points and 15 rebounds in an 83–61 victory over

Cornell Cornell University is a private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson White in 1865. Since ...

. On January 15, 2019, Hoard scored 16 points and 10 rebounds in a 71–67 victory over

NC State North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina sy ...

. On February 5, 2019, Hoard tallied 19 points and a career high 17 rebounds in a win over

Pittsburgh 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 ...

. As a freshman at Wake Forest, Hoard averaged 13.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 1.5 assist per game.

National team career

Hoard made his debut with the French youth national team at the

2015 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship The 2015 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship was the 29th edition of the European Under-16 Basketball Championship. 16 teams participated in the competition, held in Kaunas, Lithuania in two venues ( Arvydas Sabonis Basketball Centre and the legenda ...

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

, Lithuania. In his first game at the event, he recorded 16 points and 6 rebounds to help defeat

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. At the tournament, he averaged 7.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game, leading France to a fifth-place finish. In April 2016, Hoard represented France at the

Albert Schweitzer Tournament The DBB Albert Schweitzer Tournament (, abbreviated as AST), full name DBB Albert Schweitzer World Under-18 Tournament (), is an international basketball competition that is played between national teams of the Under-18 men's age category. It t ...

, playing six games and averaging 7.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game, en route to fourth place. He was considered one of the top prospects from the event, although basketball website NBAdraft.net said that he "underachieved." However, Hoard drew attention later in the year, at the 2016 FIBA Under-17 World Championship, held in

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

, Spain. He averaged a team-high 22.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.7 steals per game, as France finished in sixth place. On June 23, 2016, in his opening game, Hoard erupted for 41 points against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, shooting 15-of-28 from the field. The performance tied the tournament's single-game scoring record set by Isaac Humphries in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

Professional career

Portland Trail Blazers (2019–2020)

Hoard went undrafted in the

2019 NBA draft The 2019 NBA draft was held on June 20, 2019. It took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible p ...

. On July 1, 2019, Hoard signed a two-way contract with the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

. On October 27, 2019, Hoard was assigned to the

Texas Legends The Texas Legends are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Frisco, Texas, and are affiliated with the Dallas Mavericks. The Legends play their home games at the Comerica Center. The team began as the Colorado 14 ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

by the

. Hoard participated in the 2020 NBA Bubble.

Oklahoma City Thunder / Blue (2021–2022)

On December 4, 2020, Hoard signed with the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Confer ...

, but was waived three days later. On January 28, 2021, he was included in the roster of the

Oklahoma City Blue The Oklahoma City Blue are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City and are affiliated with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Blue compete in the NBA G League as members of the Western Conference. The Blue play their home games ...

. In 15 games, he averaged 9.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 22.0 minutes per contest while shooting 49.1 percent from the field. On April 5, 2021, the

signed Hoard to a

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless o ...

. Hoard rejoined the Oklahoma City Blue for the 2021–22 season. On December 29, 2021, Hoard signed a 10-day contract with the Thunder and returned to the Blue after it expired. On April 1, he signed a second 10-day contract with the Thunder. On April 6, 2022, he recorded career highs of 24 points and 21 rebounds against his former team,

Hapoel Tel Aviv (2022–2024)

On August 14, 2022, Hoard signed with Hapoel Tel Aviv 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 ...

. On July 31, 2023, he signed two-year extension with the club. Maccabi Tel Aviv (2024–present) In July 2024, Hoard signed with Maccabi Tel Aviv of the

and the Israeli basketball Priemer league

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

, 13 , , 0 , , 7.9 , , .469 , , .000 , , .615 , , 2.5 , , .3 , , .4 , , .0 , , 2.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

, 19 , , 0 , , 16.8 , , .500 , , .000 , , .683 , , 3.4 , , 1.3 , , .7 , , .3 , , 6.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 7 , , 5 , , 34.2 , , .489 , , .360 , , .429 , , 12.0 , , 2.4 , , .9 , , .7 , , 14.7 , - class="sortbottom" , colspan=2 style="text-align:center", Career , 39 , , 5 , , 17.0 , , .490 , , .231 , , .618 , , 4.6 , , 1.2 , , .6 , , .3 , , 6.6

Playoffs

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2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

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, 3 , , 0 , , 13.7 , , .583 , , — , , — , , 3.0 , , .3 , , .0 , , .0 , , 4.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 3 , , 0 , , 13.7 , , .583 , , — , , — , , 3.0 , , .3 , , .0 , , .0 , , 4.7

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;", Wake Forest , 31 , , 30 , , 30.2 , , .458 , , .226 , , .717 , , 7.6 , , 1.5 , , .6 , , .6 , , 13.1

References

External links

RealGM profileWake Forest Demon Deacons bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoard, Jaylen 1999 births Living people 21st-century French sportsmen Black French sportspeople French expatriate basketball people in the United States French men's basketball players French people of African-American descent Hapoel Tel Aviv B.C. players Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. players NBA players from France Oklahoma City Blue players Oklahoma City Thunder players Portland Trail Blazers players Small forwards Sportspeople from Le Havre Texas Legends players Undrafted NBA players Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball players