Rasheed Wesley Sulaimon (born March 9, 1994) is an American-Nigerian 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

KK Budućnost KK Budućnost (, ), currently known as Budućnost VOLI () for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball Sports club, club based in Podgorica, Montenegro. The club competes in Montenegrin Basketball League and Adriatic League. It is a par ...

of the

ABA League The ABA League, renamed the ABA League First Division in 2017, is the top-tier regional men's professional basketball league that originally featured clubs from former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedoni ...

. He was selected as a

McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American multinational fast food chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese chain Mixue Ice Cream & Tea. Brothers ...

as well as a Jordan Brand Classic All-American in 2012. He was the primary reserve off the bench for the

Duke Blue Devils men's basketball The Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team represents Duke University in NCAA Division I college basketball and competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The team is fourth all-time in wins of any NCAA men's basketball program, and is curr ...

team during the 2014–15 season before being dismissed from the team on January 29, 2015. He subsequently transferred to Maryland for his senior season.

College recruitment

Receiving offers from many colleges around the country, including

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, Baylor,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

and

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

, Sulaimon committed to

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

on February 10, 2011, during an unofficial visit, signing a

National Letter of Intent The National Letter of Intent (NLI) is a document used to indicate a student athlete's commitment to participating in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) colleges and universities in the United States. The NCAA Eligibility Center manag ...

on November 9, 2011.

College career

Sulaimon was dismissed from the Duke basketball program on January 29, 2015, after appearing in 90 games over three seasons. He was the first player ever dismissed by coach

Mike Krzyzewski Michael William Krzyzewski ( , ; born February 13, 1947), nicknamed "Coach K", is an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at Duke University from 1980–81 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team, 1980 to 2021� ...

for failing to meet the standards set for a Duke basketball player. It was later revealed that two women had accused Sulaimon of sexual assault in the months preceding his eventual dismissal. Sulaimon transferred to

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

for his senior season, where in 36 games, he averaged 11.3 points on .425 shooting from three-point range, 3.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 32.9 minutes per game, garnering a 2015–16 All-Big Ten honorable mention.

Professional career

After going undrafted in the

2016 NBA draft The 2016 NBA draft was held on June 23, 2016, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. It was televised nationally in the U.S. by ESPN, and was live streamed for the first time in NBA draft history by The Vertical. National Basketball Association (NBA) ...

, Sulaimon joined the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

for the

2016 NBA Summer League The 2016 NBA Summer League consisted of three pro basketball leagues organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA): the Orlando Pro Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas Summer League. Ten teams participated in the week ...

. On September 7, 2016, he signed with the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

, but was waived on October 22 after appearing in four preseason games. On October 31, he was acquired by the

Greensboro Swarm The Greensboro Swarm are an American basketball team of the NBA G League based in Greensboro, North Carolina, and are affiliated with the Charlotte Hornets. The Swarm play their home games at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex. The team became the ...

of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

as an affiliate player of the Hornets. On July 3, 2020, he signed with

Casademont Zaragoza Basket Zaragoza 2002 S.A.D., more commonly referred to as Basket Zaragoza and as Casademont Zaragoza for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in Zaragoza, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and the FIBA Europe Cup. ...

of the

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 ...

. On October 8, Sulaimon was ruled out between six and eight weeks after injuring his leg. On July 1, 2021, he signed with

JL Bourg Jeunesse Laïque de Bourg-en-Bresse, commonly known as JL Bourg or simply Bourg, is a basketball club based in Bourg-en-Bresse, France that plays in the LNB Élite, the national top division. Their home arena is Ekinox, which has a capacity of 3, ...

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 ...

for the 2021–22 season. On July 15, 2022, Sulaimon signed with

Konyaspor Konyaspor Kulübü (, Konya Sports Club), commonly referred to as Konyaspor, is a Turkish professional football club based in Konya, one of the largest cities in central Anatolia. Due to sponsorship agreements, the club is also officially known ...

of the Turkish

Basketbol Süper Ligi The Basketball Super League (; TBSL), also known as the Türkiye Sigorta Basketbol Süper Ligi for sponsorship reasons, is the top men's professional basketball division of the Turkish basketball league system. It replaced the former Turkish Bas ...

(BSL). He averaged 18 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.2 assists in 23 games played. On July 5, 2023, he joined with

Hong Kong Bulls The National Basketball League () is a professional basketball minor league in China, called the Chinese Basketball League (CBL) before 2006. It is commonly known as the NBL, and this name (spelled out in letters) is often used even in Chinese. ...

of the National Basketball League. On August 14, 2023, Sulaimon signed a one-year deal with

BC Wolves Basketball Club Wolves, officially named Wolves Twinsbet for sponsorship reasons, was a professional basketball club based in Vilnius, Lithuania. The team competed in the Lietuvos krepšinio lyga, Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL). The team pla ...

of the

Lithuanian Basketball League Lithuanian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Lithuania, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe ** Lithuanian language ** Lithuanians, a Baltic ethnic group, native to Lithuania and the immediate geographical region ** L ...

(LKL). He was selected to the All-LKL Team after averaging 16 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists per contest.

National team career

Sulaimon was selected for the

Nigeria national basketball team The Nigeria men's national basketball team represents Nigeria in international basketball, and it is governed by the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF). In March 2021, the global governing body FIBA ranked Nigeria as Africa's top men's bask ...

in November 2020, to play in the

AfroBasket 2021 qualification The AfroBasket 2021 qualification was a basketball competition that was played from January 2020 to July 2021, to determine the fifteen FIBA Africa nations who would join the automatically qualified host Rwanda at the AfroBasket 2021 final tourn ...

. He was forced to miss the games due to a leg injury, however.

Awards and honors

Club

;JDA Dijon *

LNB Pro A Leaders Cup The Leaders Cup, sometimes referred to as the French Basketball League Cup and previously known as the Tourney des As Cup and Semaine des As Cup, is the annual national league cup competition for teams from the French basketball league system, top- ...

: (2020) *LNB Pro A Leaders Cup MVP: (2020)

High school

*2011 All American Championship *2011

Nike Global Challenge The Nike Global Challenge was an annual men's prep basketball tournament held in the Portland metropolitan area during the summer. Sponsored by Nike, Inc., games were usually played at Liberty High School in Hillsboro, Oregon. The tournament star ...

*2011 ESPN Boost Mobile Elite 24 *2012

*2012 Jordan Brand Classic All American *2012 First-team ''Parade'' All-American *2012 Guy V. Lewis Award winne

References

External links

*
RealGM profileMaryland Terrapins bioDuke Blue Devils bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sulaimon, Rasheed 1994 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Lithuania American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players Basketball players from Houston Basket Zaragoza players BC Wolves players Duke Blue Devils men's basketball players Greensboro Swarm players JDA Dijon Basket players JL Bourg Basket players Liga ACB players Maryland Terrapins men's basketball players McDonald's High School All-Americans Nigerian men's basketball players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Metropolitans 92 players Shooting guards Strake Jesuit College Preparatory alumni Hong Kong Bulls players American expatriate basketball people in Hong Kong 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century Nigerian sportsmen Konyaspor Basketbol players