Precious Achiuwa

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Precious Achiuwa
File:Precious Achiuwa (51655475460) (cropped).jpg
Achiuwa with the Toronto Raptors in 2021
No. 5 – New York Knicks
Position Power forward / center
League NBA
Personal information
Born (1999-09-19) September 19, 1999 (age 25)
Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Listed height 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight 243 lb (110 kg)
Career information
High school
College Memphis (2019–2020)
NBA draft 2020 / Round: 1 / Pick: 20th overall
Selected by the Miami Heat
Playing career 2020–present
Career history
2020–2021 Miami Heat
2021–2023 Toronto Raptors
2023–present New York Knicks
Career highlights and awards

Precious Ezinna Achiuwa (born September 19, 1999) is a Nigerian professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He attended high school in the United States, where he was a consensus five-star recruit and named a McDonald's All-American. Achiuwa played college basketball for the Memphis Tigers, earning conference player of the year honors as a freshman in the American Athletic Conference (AAC) in 2020. He was selected by the Miami Heat in the first round of the 2020 NBA draft with the 20th overall pick. After his rookie year ended in Miami, he was traded to the Toronto Raptors during the 2021 offseason.

Early life and high school career

Achiuwa was born in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, to Nigerian parents of Igbo descent and grew up mainly playing soccer.[1] He started focusing on basketball while in eighth grade, when he moved to the United States.[2] Achiuwa and his family settled in The Bronx, New York.[3] As a high school freshman, Achiuwa played basketball for Our Saviour Lutheran School in The Bronx, New York.[4] For his next two years, he attended St. Benedict's Preparatory School in Newark, New Jersey. The school had a nationally ranked basketball program and he was teammates with several NCAA Division I recruits.[5] In his junior season, Achiuwa averaged 18.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.9 blocks, and 2.2 steals per game, leading his team to a 28–2 record. He was named to the MaxPreps Junior All-American second team.[6]

Entering his senior year, Achiuwa transferred to Montverde Academy, a prep school in Montverde, Florida with a successful basketball program that held the No. 1 national ranking in the previous season.[7] He led Montverde with 14 points and 7.2 rebounds per game and helped his team reach the semifinals at GEICO High School Nationals.[8][9] Achiuwa earned MaxPreps All-American fifth team, USA Today All-USA third team, and USA Today All-USA Florida first team honors.[9][10][11] On March 27, 2019, he played for the East team in the McDonald's All-American Game, leading all scorers with 22 points.[12] On April 12, Achiuwa joined the World team at the Nike Hoop Summit.[13]

Recruiting

On May 17, 2019, Achiuwa committed to play college basketball for Memphis under head coach Penny Hardaway. He joined his former Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) teammate, Lester Quinones, and the number one player in the 2019 class, James Wiseman.[14]

Name Home town High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Precious Achiuwa
PF/ C		 The Bronx, New York [15] Montverde Academy (FL) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) May 17, 2019 
Scout: N/A   Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports:5/5 stars    ESPN:5/5 stars   ESPN grade: 95
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 17  247Sports: 9  ESPN: 17
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

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College career

In his debut for Memphis, Achiuwa had 14 points and eight rebounds as the Tigers defeated South Carolina State 97–64.[16] Achiuwa scored a season-high 25 points in an 87–86 win over Ole Miss on November 23. As a result, he was named American Athletic Conference player of the week on November 25.[17] He earned conference freshman of the week honors on December 23 after recording 20 points and nine rebounds in a 77–49 victory over Jackson State.[18] At the conclusion of the regular season, Achiuwa was named AAC Player and Freshman of the Year.[19] He averaged 15.8 points, 10.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game as a freshman.[20] He declared for the 2020 NBA draft after his freshman season.[21]

Professional career

Miami Heat (2020–2021)

Achiuwa was selected with the 20th pick in the 2020 NBA draft by the Miami Heat.[22] On November 25, 2020, Achiuwa signed his rookie scale contract with the Heat.[23]

Toronto Raptors (2021–2023)

On August 6, 2021, the Toronto Raptors acquired Achiuwa and Goran Dragić from the Heat via a sign-and-trade deal in exchange for Kyle Lowry.[24] On October 20, 2021, on his season debut with the Raptors, Achiuwa had six points, seven rebounds, two assists and a steal in 19 minutes of play in a 96–83 loss to the Washington Wizards.[25] On November 24, 2021, Achiuwa made a career-high three 3-pointers while having 17 points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal in a 126–113 win against the Memphis Grizzlies.[26]

New York Knicks (2023–present)

On December 30, 2023, Achiuwa was traded alongside O.G. Anunoby and Malachi Flynn to the New York Knicks in exchange for RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, and a second-round draft pick.[27]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

NBA

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2020–21 Miami 61 4 12.1 .544 .000 .509 3.4 .5 .3 .5 5.0
2021–22 Toronto 73 28 23.6 .439 .359 .595 6.5 1.1 .5 .6 9.1
2022–23 Toronto 55 12 20.7 .485 .269 .702 6.0 .9 .6 .5 9.2
2023–24 Toronto 25 0 17.5 .459 .277 .571 5.4 1.8 .6 .5 7.7
Career 214 44 18.9 .472 .314 .602 5.4 1.0 .5 .5 7.8

Play-in

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2023 Toronto 1 0 9.4 .500 – 1.000 4.0 .0 .0 .0 6.0
Career 1 0 9.4 .500 – 1.000 4.0 .0 .0 .0 6.0

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2021 Miami 3 0 4.0 .750 — .250 2.0 .0 .0 .7 2.3
2022 Toronto 6 1 27.8 .481 .313 .600 4.8 1.0 .2 .8 10.2
Career 9 1 19.9 .500 .313 .500 3.9 .7 .1 .8 7.6

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2019–20 Memphis 31 31 30.4 .493 .325 .599 10.8 1.0 1.1 1.9 15.8
Career 31 31 30.4 .493 .325 .599 10.8 1.0 1.1 1.9 15.8

Personal life

Achiuwa's older brother, God'sgift Achiuwa, played college basketball for St. John's from 2011 to 2014.[28] His mother, Eunice, and father, Donatus, are both Pentecostal ministers.[29] In addition to God'sgift, he has two other brothers, God'swill and Promise, and two sisters, Grace and Peace.[30]

References

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External links

  • Career statistics and player information from NBA.comLua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). and Basketball-Reference.comLua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
  • Career statistics and player information from WNBA.comLua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). and Basketball-Reference.comLua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
  • Memphis Tigers bio
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