On November 10, 2012, Vonleh signed a letter of intent to play for Indiana University, turning down offers from Kansas, North Carolina, UCLA, and Ohio State, among others. Upon committing to Indiana he said, "Their academics are good, they're the No. 1 team in the country and they've got another great class coming in next year."[6]
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:
College career
In his lone season at Indiana, Vonleh was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and third team All-Big Ten by the coaches and media.[4] In 30 games (29 starts), he averaged 11.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 26.5 minutes per game.[7]
On April 3, 2014, Vonleh declared for the NBA draft, forgoing his final three years of college eligibility.[8]
Professional career
Charlotte Hornets (2014–2015)
On June 26, 2014, Vonleh was selected with the ninth overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets.[9] On July 25, 2014, he signed with the Hornets.[10] On September 2, 2014, he underwent successful surgery to repair a sports hernia and was ruled out for six to eight weeks.[11] After making just four appearances for the Hornets to start the 2014–15 season, he was assigned to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA Development League on December 28, 2014.[12] He was recalled three days later.[13] On April 12, 2015, he had a season-best game with 16 points and 12 rebounds against the Detroit Pistons. Three days later in Charlotte's season finale, Vonleh had another 12-rebound game against the Toronto Raptors.[14]
Portland Trail Blazers (2015–2018)
On June 24, 2015, Vonleh was traded, along with Gerald Henderson, to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Nicolas Batum.[15] On November 15, 2015, he registered his first career start in a game against his former team, the Charlotte Hornets. In just under 24 minutes of action, he recorded nine points and six rebounds.[16] On January 23, 2016, he scored a season-high 11 points against the Los Angeles Lakers. In late March, Vonleh was replaced in the starting lineup by Maurice Harkless.[17]
In his 47 games prior to center Jusuf Nurkić joining the Trail Blazers in a trade in February 2017, Vonleh averaged just 3.3 points and 4.1 rebounds in 13 minutes per game. With Nurkić in the lineup, Vonleh began to thrive after the All-Star Break,[18] averaging 6.7 points on 57.5% shooting and 7.2 rebounds in the final 26 games of the season. Vonleh recorded four double-doubles in that span, and netted his first game-winner as Portland topped the San Antonio Spurs at the buzzer on April 10.[19] He had 11 double-digit rebounding performances during the season, with six coming in March and April, culminating in a career-high 19-rebound game against the New Orleans Pelicans in the regular season finale.[18]
On November 20, 2017, Vonleh had a season-best game with 11 points and 18 rebounds in a 100–92 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.[20]
Chicago Bulls (2018)
On February 8, 2018, Vonleh was traded, along with cash considerations, to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for the draft rights to Milovan Raković.[21]
New York Knicks (2018–2019)
On July 24, 2018, Vonleh signed with the New York Knicks.[22] On January 25, 2019, he had a career-high 22 points and 13 rebounds in a 109–99 loss to the Brooklyn Nets.[23]
On August 2, 2022, Vonleh signed with his hometown team the Boston Celtics on a 1-year contract.[31] On October 15, 2022, reports confirmed Vonleh secured a Celtics roster spot for the 2022 regular season.[32] On January 5, 2023, Vonleh was traded to the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for draft consideration. The Spurs then waived Vonleh later that day.[33]
Second stint with the Shanghai Sharks (2023–present)
Vonleh is the son of Samuel Vonleh and Renell Kumeh, and has two siblings: Aaronette Vonleh, a college basketball player at U. Arizona and U. Colorado from 2021-2024,[35] and Samnell Vonleh.[4] His paternal great-grandfather, Chief Blahsue Vonleh, was Paramount Chief of the Doe Clan, Nimba County, Liberia from 1920 until his death in 1947.[36]
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