Jonah Bolden

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Jonah Bolden
Power forward
LeagueBSN
Personal information
Born (1996-01-02) 2 January 1996 (age 28)
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
NationalityAustralian / American
Listed height203 cm (6 ft 8 in)
Listed weight106 kg (234 lb)
Career information
High school
CollegeUCLA (2014–2016)
NBA draft2017: 2nd round, 36th overall pick
Selected by the Philadelphia 76ers
Playing career2016–2020, 2023–present
Career history
2016–2017FMP
2017–2018Maccabi Tel Aviv
20182020Philadelphia 76ers
2018–2020Delaware Blue Coats
2020Phoenix Suns
2023–2024Sydney Kings
2024–presentCapitanes de Arecibo
Career highlights and awards
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com

Jonah Anthony Bolden (born 2 January 1996) is an Australian-American professional basketball player for the Capitanes de Arecibo of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). He started his professional career with FMP in Serbia, where he was named the ABA League Top Prospect in 2017. He played a season-and-a-half with the Philadelphia 76ers before joining the Phoenix Suns.

Bolden is the son of an American former pro basketball player

Australia national under-19 basketball team in the 2013 FIBA Under-19 World Championship
.

Early life

Bolden was born in Melbourne to an American father Bruce Bolden and Egyptian mother Marie Therese Yacoub. He has a younger sister Cairo Bolden.[1] His mother is an author, screenwriter and producer. His father played professional basketball,[2][3] including 17 years in the National Basketball League in Australia.[4] Jonah grew up in Sydney and began playing basketball for the Bankstown Bruins at five years of age.[5] As a teenager, he attended Homebush Boys High School and was first selected to represent his home state of New South Wales at the 2013 Basketball Australia Under 18 National Championships.[6] Bolden led the NSW Metro state team to the national final by averaging 18 ppg and 13 rpg throughout the competition and his outstanding performance in the national championships saw him selected as the youngest player to represent Australia at the 2013 FIBA Under-19 World Championship.[7][8] In August 2013, he relocated to the United States to play as a senior at Findlay College Prep, a private preparatory school in Henderson, Nevada, near Las Vegas.[9][10] However, his high school eligibility expired after his first semester and he transferred midseason to Brewster Academy in New Hampshire.[11][12]

In December 2013, Bolden chose to play college basketball at UCLA over Louisville, Kentucky, Indiana, USC and SMU.[13] A consensus four-star recruit,[14] he was listed as the No. 25 player in his class by Scout.com, No. 32 by Rivals.com, and No. 69 by ESPN.com, while also being ranked as the No. 5 power forward by Scout.com.[2]

College career

Bolden was a

torn meniscus in his right knee that was expected to sideline him for six to eight weeks.[20][21]

A 6-foot-10-inch (2.08 m)

Norman Powell and combo forward Kevon Looney, who both moved on to the National Basketball Association (NBA).[22][23] However, his college debut was delayed after he violated unspecified team rules and was held out of UCLA's season opener, an 84–81 upset loss to Monmouth.[24] He made his first appearance the following game, making an impact on defense while scoring 11 points and adding five rebounds in an 88–83 win over Cal Poly.[25] On 12 December, Bolden played 30 minutes and had 10 points and 11 rebounds for his first career double-double in a 71–66 road win over No. 20 Gonzaga.[26] UCLA coach Steve Alford inserted him into the game to guard a hot Kyle Wiltjer, who finished with 20 points but shot only 4 of 12 for the remainder of the game. Tony Parker had the initial defensive assignment, but Bolden provided more athleticism and mobility.[27] In the following game against Louisiana–Lafayette, Bolden made his first career start when center Thomas Welsh was out sick, and the Bruins won 89–80.[28] While he emerged as UCLA's top player off the bench, Bolden's impact on offense was minimal.[29]

After UCLA struggled on defense while starting 3–5 in their

power forward in place of Parker against Washington State.[18][30] Bolden scored only three points, but his defense helped the team win 83–50 for their widest margin of victory of the season.[31] On 14 February 2016, he led the team with a career-high 16 points to go with nine rebounds in a 78–65 win over Arizona State.[32] The Bruins lost their final five games of the season to finish with a 15–17 record.[33] Bolden made 11 starts, and averaged 4.6 points and 4.8 rebounds in 21.7 minutes in 31 games. He ranked third on the team with 27 blocks.[2]

Bolden felt that he was underutilized during his first season. During the offseason, he hoped to move to

NBA, Bolden decided to forego his remaining two years of college eligibility and play professionally, despite having already missed out on declaring for the 2016 NBA draft.[35][36]

Professional career

FMP (2016–2017)

Bolden signed with FMP of the ABA League and the Basketball League of Serbia, where he played both forward positions.[37] On 15 March 2017, Bolden was awarded the ABA League Top Prospect title after averaging 12.9 points and 7.2 rebounds per game in his rookie season.[38] He also averaged 4.2 three-point field goal attempts per game, making 41.9 per cent, and added one steal and one block per game.[39]

Maccabi Tel Aviv (2017–2018)

On 10 June 2017, Bolden signed a two-year contract with Crvena zvezda.[40] Twelve days later, Bolden was selected with the 36th pick of the 2017 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. In July 2017, he joined the 76ers for the 2017 NBA Summer League.

Before even suiting up for a single regular season game for the Crvena zvezda, on 21 July 2017, Bolden signed a three-year contract with the Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv.[41] On 12 December 2017, Bolden recorded a season-high 23 points, shooting 8-of-14 from the field, along with 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals in a 98–90 win over Ironi Nahariya.[42] Bolden went on to win the 2017 Israeli League Cup and the 2018 Israeli League Championship titles with Maccabi.

Philadelphia 76ers (2018–2020)

On 25 July 2018, Bolden signed with the

assignments to the Delaware Blue Coats, the 76ers' NBA G League affiliate.[45] He was part of the 76ers' rotation during the 2019 playoffs.[46]

Bolden was waived on 7 February 2020.[47]

Phoenix Suns (2020)

On 12 February 2020, Bolden was signed to a 10-day contract by the Phoenix Suns, who were without big men Frank Kaminsky, Aron Baynes, Dario Šarić and Deandre Ayton during that time. In his debut that day, he had six points, seven rebounds and a plus–minus of +17 in 26 minutes in a 112–106 win over the Golden State Warriors.[48] Bolden played in two more games for the Suns, which saw all of their big men (minus Kaminsky) return to action before he was not signed for a second 10-day contract on February 24.[49]

Bolden subsequently retired from basketball at age 25 to pursue a career in cryptocurrency.[50]

Sydney Kings (2023–2024)

On 19 June 2023, Bolden came out of retirement and signed with the Sydney Kings for the 2023–24 NBL season.[51][52]

Capitanes de Arecibo (2024–present)

On 18 March 2024, Bolden signed with the Capitanes de Arecibo.[53]

National team career

Bolden played for the

Australian Boomers in an exhibition win against Canada leading up to the 2019 FIBA World Cup.[58] Although he was one the best players in that game, he withdrew from the World Cup afterwards, citing personal reasons.[59]

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  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high

Professional

NBA

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2018–19 Philadelphia 44 10 14.5 .494 .354 .481 3.8 .9 .4 .9 4.7
2019–20 Philadelphia 4 0 3.5 .667 .000 .000 .3 .0 .3 .0 1.0
Phoenix 3 0 11.0 .250 .000 1.000 2.7 .0 .7 .7 2.0
Career 51 10 13.5 .486 .340 .484 3.4 .8 .4 .8 4.3
Playoffs
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2019 Philadelphia 10 0 7.9 .263 .250 .500 1.4 .3 .2 .1 1.6
Career 10 0 7.9 .263 .250 .500 1.4 .3 .2 .1 1.6

EuroLeague

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2017–18
Maccabi Tel Aviv 29 28 21.1 .487 .319 .512 5.5 1.6 1.2 .9 6.9 10.4
Career 29 28 21.1 .487 .319 .512 5.5 1.6 1.2 .9 6.9 10.4

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2015–16 UCLA 31 11 21.7 .415 .250 .733 4.8 1.1 .7 .9 4.6

See also

References

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  2. ^ a b c "Jonah Bolden Bio". UCLABruins.com. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  3. ^ Jones, Steven (23 September 2013). "Louisville makes Jonah Bolden's final 10". The Courier-Journal. Archived from the original on 13 July 2015.
  4. ^ "Legend leads Australians in tuneup vs RP five". The Philippine Star. 24 March 2009. Archived from the original on 15 July 2015.
  5. ^ Walker-Mitchell, Donna (2 February 2019). "NBA rookie Jonah Bolden on life with the Sixers". The Saturday Paper.
  6. ^ "U18 AJC - Player Spotlight - Jonah Bolden (NSW Metro)". Basketball Australia. 27 April 2013.
  7. ^ Uluc, Olgun (2 February 2019). "Jonah's Journey: ABP Interviews Jonah Bolden – UCLA's newest Aussie signee". The Pick and Roll.
  8. ^ "Jonah Bolden Interview at the 2013 FIBA U19 World Championship in Prague". Draft Express. 8 July 2013.
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  49. ^ Jonah Bolden: Doesn't receive second 10-day - CBSSports.com
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  53. ^ La Guerra del BSN [@LaGuerraBSN] (18 March 2024). "#BSNPR OFICIAL: El centro australiano Jonah Bolden es el nuevo refuerzo de los Capitanes de Arecibo hasta la llegada de Jahlil Okafor. Bolden mide 6'10 y viene de promediar 8.5 PPJ y 6.4 RPJ en 18.4 MPJ con el club Sydney Kings en la NBL de Australia" (Tweet). Retrieved 18 March 2024 – via Twitter.
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  59. ^ Ward, Roy (18 August 2019). "Jonah Bolden withdraws from Boomers for personal reasons". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 19 June 2023.

External links