Kelenna David Azubuike (born 16 December 1983) is an English-born Nigerian-American former 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 and currently the

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television analyst on NBC Sports Bay Area. Born in

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to Nigerian parents, Azubuike moved to the United States as a child. He was raised in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

, where he became a standout player at Victory Christian High School, and was eventually recruited to play for the Wildcats of the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

. After finishing his junior season in college, Azubuike declared himself eligible for the 2005 NBA draft, eventually going undrafted that year. Azubuike then played for the Fort Worth Flyers of the NBA Development League, leading the league in scoring during the 2006–07 season and eventually being called up to play for the

Early life

Azubuike was born in

, England, to Nigerian parents Kenneth and Chi Azubuike. His parents were doctors and had moved to London for work. Azubuike relocated with his family to

, in 1989 when his father was offered a fellowship at Saint Francis Hospital; his family became American citizens. Playing for Victory Christian High School, Azubuike led his team to the state title as a sophomore. He eventually became an All-State selection, averaging 39.1 points and 13.3 rebounds and leading his team to the Class 4A State Championship Game as a senior. He was the top scorer in the state of Oklahoma during his last three seasons of high school, averaging 28.5 points as a sophomore and 38.7 points as a junior. Azubuike finished his prep career with 3,530 points, 89 points short of the all-time state scoring mark. Considered a four-star recruit by Scout.com, Azubuike was listed as the No. 8 small forward and the No. 34 player in the nation in 2002.

College career

Playing under coach Tubby Smith, Azubuike said that the biggest improvement to his game at Kentucky was the ability to create offense through intense defense. As a junior, Azubuike was named to the All-SEC Second Team by the

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and the league's coaches after leading the team and ranking tenth in the SEC in points per game, averaging 14.7 overall. Azubuike was named to the 2005 SEC All-Tournament Team after averaging 18.0 points in three contests. During his time with the organization, Azubuike helped the Wildcats to earn two Southeastern Conference titles, two SEC Tournament titles, and two NCAA

Elite Eight In the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, NCAA men's Division I basketball championship or the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, NCAA women's Division I basketball championship, the "Elite Eight" comprises the final eight t ...

appearances. Azubuike averaged 10.0 points and 3.7 rebounds in 97 career games at the University of Kentucky, shooting a 48.5% field goal average for his college career. While attending the

, Azubuike majored in business marketing.

Professional career

Fort Worth Flyers (2005–2007)

In April 2005, Azubuike announced his plans to enter the draft after his junior year, signing with agent Joel Bell and ending his college eligibility. In the 2005–06 season, Azubuike averaged 12.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in forty-one games with the Fort Worth Flyers of the NBA's Developmental League. Azubuike played with the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

in the 2006 Toshiba Vegas Summer League, where he averaged 16.4 points and finished tied at tenth in the league in scoring. In August 2006, Azubuike was signed by the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

as a free agent, but eventually waived by October. Playing for Fort Worth of the Development League again, Azubuike averaged 5.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.17 steals, and a league-best 26.0 points in 37.7 minutes per contest, shooting 51.4% from the field and 48.5% from three-point range over twelve games.

Golden State Warriors (2007–2010)

After going undrafted, Azubuike was signed by the

on 2 January 2007. Azubuike was the first

Gatorade Gatorade is an American brand of sports-themed beverage and food products, built around its signature line of sports drinks. The drink is owned and manufactured by PepsiCo and is distributed in over 80 countries. The beverage was develope ...

Call-Up of the 2006–07 NBA Development League season, and the 49th player overall to be called up to the NBA since the D-League began play in November 2001. During his second season with Golden State, Azubuike expressed an interest in playing for the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

team during the build-up to the 2012 London Olympic Games, but was denied British citizenship under the 1981 British Nationality Act. He was also eligible to play for the Nigeria national team. On 17 July 2008, Azubuike signed an offer sheet with the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The ...

for a three-year deal worth $9 million, with Golden State having seven days to match the offer. In the final hour, Golden State matched the offer made by the Clippers on 24 July 2008, allowing Azubuike to remain a Warrior. On 17 November 2009, it was announced that Azubuike would miss the rest of the 2009–10 season after tearing his right patellar tendon in a game at the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

. On 9 July 2010, Azubuike was 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 Anthony Randolph, Ronny Turiaf and a future second-round pick in a sign and trade deal for David Lee. Azubuike never played in a game for the Knicks. He was waived by the Knicks on 28 February 2011.

Dallas Mavericks (2012)

On 23 March 2012, Azubuike was signed 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 ...

Texas Legends (2012)

As part of his comeback, he was assigned to the Mavericks' D-League affiliate, the Texas Legends. On 9 April 2012, he was recalled by the Mavericks. On 20 April 2012, Azubuike played in his first NBA game since 14 November 2009, against the Golden State Warriors. On 28 June 2012, during the

2012 NBA draft The 2012 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2012, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The draft started at 7:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (2300 UTC), and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National Basketball A ...

, Azubuike was traded to the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

. He was waived by the Cavaliers on 14 October 2012.

Broadcasting career

In the summer of 2015, Azubuike attended the Sportscaster U. program at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

sponsored by the NBPA, training for a career in broadcasting. Since then, he has been assigned to announce 11 of the 19 NBA D-League games produced by NBA TV in 2016. Various of these games have been broadcast by ESPNU. He joined NBC Sports Bay Area in 2015, covering Warriors games as a studio analyst for the pregame, halftime, and postgame shows. Beginning in 2019, he became the television analyst alongside

Bob Fitzgerald Robert James Fitzgerald (born 1966) is an American sports broadcaster who is currently the TV play-by-play announcer for the NBA's Golden State Warriors on NBC Sports Bay Area and was a co-host of the radio talk show ''Fitz and Brooks'' on K ...

, replacing Jim Barnett, who had been the color analyst for the last 34 seasons and is now the color analyst on KGMZ-FM's 95.7 The Game. Azubuike has also worked as an analyst for the NBA on ESPN Radio since 2022.

Personal life

Azubuike has three siblings: Nonzo, Nesochi and Adaeze. He is a Christian music fan and enjoys creating his own music. During the 2006–07 season, Azubuike made an appearance on

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose. The Association of Bay Area Governments ...

hip hop station KMEL and conducted an interview while the station played music which he personally produced. Azubuike is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

. Azubuike has been involved with many humanitarian causes during his time in the NBA. Azubuike accepted a personal invitation from

Jakaya Kikwete Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete (born 7 October 1950) is a Tanzanian politician who was the List of Presidents of Tanzania, fourth president of Tanzania, in office from 2005 to 2015. Prior to his election as president, he was the Ministry of Foreign Aff ...

, the President of

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

, to take part in Leon H. Sullivan Summit VIII, a five-day convention held from 2 to 6 June 2008 in

Arusha Arusha is a city in Tanzania. The city is the Capital city, capital of the Arusha Region. It has a population of 617,631 people.

, Tanzania. The convention brought together many of the world's political and business leaders to focus attention and resources on Africa's economic and social development. Azubuike is also the co-founder of The Athletes' Corner, which is a nonprofit organization working with professional athletes to create faith-based and family-focused media content.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left", , align="left", Golden State , 41, , 9, , 16.3, , .445, , .430, , .782, , 2.3, , .7, , .5, , .2, , 7.1 , - , align="left", , align="left", Golden State , 81, , 17, , 21.4, , .445, , .364, , .717, , 4.0, , .9, , .6, , .4, , 8.5 , - , align="left", , align="left", Golden State , 74, , 51, , 32.1, , .464 , , .448, , .808, , 5.0, , 1.6, , .8, , .7 , , 14.4 , - , align="left", , align="left", Golden State , 9 , , 7 , , 25.7 , , .545 , , .370 , , .679 , , 4.6 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , 1.0 , , 13.9 , - , align="left", , align="left",

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

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Playoffs

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2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

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References

External links

*
ESPN.com profile''Sports Illustrated'' Summary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Azubuike, Kelenna 1983 births Living people Christians from Oklahoma American basketball players of Nigerian descent Dallas Mavericks players ESPN people Golden State Warriors players Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball players Nigerian men's basketball players Shooting guards Small forwards Basketball players from Tulsa, Oklahoma Texas Legends players Undrafted NBA players American men's basketball players African-American Christians Nigerian Christians 21st-century Nigerian sportsmen