Kelenna Azubuike is a former professional basketball player of Nigerian-American descent. He was born in London, England to Kenneth and Chy Azubuike in the early ’80s as Kelenna David Azubuike. Here is everything we know about him.
Kelenna Azubuike, Age, High School, College and NBA
Kelenna was born on December 16, 1983. He attended Victory Christian School in Tulsa, Oklahoma where he was raised. He was recruited by Coach Tubby Smith, the then University of Kentucky coach. He is 38 years old.
He went ahead to complete his high school career cum laude as the second all-time leading scorer in Oklahoma prep basketball history after amassing 3,530 career points.
Also, he was the only player to earn Oklahoma “Super 5” recognition three times, an honor rewarded only to the state’s top five players, regardless of classification.
During his college career, Kelenna was opportune to play for the Kentucky Wildcats for three years, averaging 15 points in each game during his Junior season.
After his Junior year, he entered the 2005 NBA Draft, unfortunately, he was not drafted, but he played some preseason games for the Cleveland Cavalier; he got waived at the end of the preseason and acquired by the Fort Worth Flyers.
Putting up an impressive performance through his first season in the D-league, he was able to collect all D-league honors while leading his team to the championship, which they lost to the Albuquerque Thunderbirds.
On August 4, 2006, Kelenna was signed by Houston Rockets to their training camp roster but got waived on October 24 after just two preseason games.
However, he returned to the Flyers where he averaged 26 points and 5 rebounds while leading the D-league in scoring and ranking third in the three-point field goal percentage.
On January 2, 2007, the Golden State Warriors signed Kelenna to shove up their injury-inflicted blackout. The details of the contract remain obscure as they were not disclosed to the public.
On July 17, 2008, Kelenna signed a three-year offer sheet with the Clippers, a $9 million contract, with Golden State having seven days to match it. On July 24, 2008, the Clippers’ offer was matched by the Warriors, thereby allowing Kelenna remain a Warrior.
On November 17, 2009, it was brought to public knowledge that Kelenna will miss the rest of the 2009-2010 season because of a knee injury.
In 2012, he was signed by the Dallas Mavericks. Just as he had his return back, he was signed to a team known as the Texas Legends.
Kelenna Azubuike: Broadcasting career
After being in attendance in the NBA Players Association-sponsored Sportscaster U program In the summer of 2015, Kelenna was able to acquire the training needed for a career in broadcasting. Since then, Kelenna 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 CSN Bay Area in 2016, covering Warriors games as a studio analyst. Additionally, In August 2020, Terrance Doyle and Chris Lopez sat down with the star basketballer, Kelenna Azubuike to discuss how he got started investing in real estate and his current strategy.
READ ALSO: Marc Swint bio
From the interview, it was noted that Kelenna started with single-family fix and flips in Denver in 2009. Proceeding, he worked as a team with his mother and brother finding bank-owned or foreclosure properties, renovating them, and either selling or holding them. After following that strategy from 2009-2014, he changed to buying turnkey buy-and-hold properties. However, along the line, it was obvious that his full-time job doesn’t leave time for dealing with contractors and tenants. His goal is to build a real estate portfolio that provides a passive income stream.
Personal life
Kelenna grew up alongside three siblings: Nonso, Nesochi, and Adaeze. He is a gospel music fan and enjoys creating his own music. During the 2006–07 season, he made an appearance on Bay Area hip hop station KMEL and conducted an interview while the station played music which he personally produced.
Moreover, Kelenna has participated selflessly in many humanitarian causes during his time in the NBA. He accepted a personal invitation from Jakaya Kikwete, the President of Tanzania, to take part in Leon H. Sullivan Summit VIII, a five-day convention held from June 2 to June 6, 2008 in Arusha, 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.
Image source: TheAthletic
