Bologna –
Sculpted between mighty biceps and recent experiences with the Bucks and Clippers, on Semi Ojeleye’s five-year NBA career the four with the Celtics’ shamrock remains mostly imprinted: accounting for 323 games, including 38 postseason games, at 14 minutes and 3-point averages. Selected in the second round of the 2017 Draft with No. 37, he has been making a name for himself as a 3, shooting from three and defending since that Oct. 17, 2017 debut day against Cleveland. At the end of that first regular season Ojeleye finished with 73 appearances, 2.2 rebounds and 2.7 points per night. He made his first NBA playoff appearance in 2018, averaging 1.6 rebounds and nearly 2 points, holding Giannis Antetokounmpo to just 16 points in Game 5, among the keys to Boston’s success over Milwaukee. A crescendo materialized from the third season onward, when Ojeleye traveled 37 percent from the arc. Tied by a mutual curiosity to get to know each other better, Semi and Segafredo will also try to understand how useful will be the defensive ability of this Kansas boy, an effective stopper who prefers position defense to man defense, thanks to his marked talent in reading situations away from the ball, with the added value of a dynamism also useful in defending on strong wings within low quintets. Readings that on the offensive end translate into excellent timing on tip-ins and cuts to get into the heart of the area: the more than 2 meters of height seasoned by 110 kilos in a particularly muscular build and an important wingspan, will in fact offer Ojeleye the possibility in Europe to be much more dangerous even inside the painted area.
