Jaedon LeDee

Jaedon LeDee
LeDee with San Diego State in 2024
No. 9 – Iowa Wolves
PositionPower forward
LeagueNBA G League
Personal information
Born (1999-07-25) July 25, 1999 (age 25)
Houston, Texas, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight240 lb (109 kg)
Career information
High schoolThe Kinkaid School
(Piney Point Village, Texas)
College
NBA draft2024: undrafted
Playing career2024–present
Career history
2024–presentIowa Wolves
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata

Jaedon Herbert LeDee (born July 25, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for the Iowa Wolves of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Ohio State Buckeyes, the TCU Horned Frogs, and the San Diego State Aztecs.

High school career

LeDee comes from Houston and starred at The Kinkaid School, where he grew seven inches during his high school career, shifting from the point guard position to the frontcourt. He chose Ohio State over several other offers.[1][2]

College career

After his freshman season for the Buckeyes, LeDee transferred to Texas Christian University (TCU). He played two seasons at TCU, averaging 4.1 points and 3.3 rebounds per game, often playing out of position at center. Dissatisfied with his lack of playing time, he again transferred, this time to San Diego State.[1][3]

After sitting out a season due to transfer requirements, LeDee became a key part of the rotation in his first season on the court for the Aztecs, averaging 7.9 points and 5.3 rebounds coming off the bench. LeDee helped propel the Aztecs to the Mountain West Conference (MWC) regular season and conference tournament titles, and in the NCAA Tournament, their first Final Four appearance and a national runner-up finish. Following the season, he declared for the 2023 NBA draft, but did not hire an agent and ultimately decided to return to San Diego State for his fifth and final year of eligibility.[4]

In his final season on the Mesa, LeDee made significant strides as he became a starter and established himself early in the season as a force on the court. In November 2023, he led the Aztecs to victories over Saint Mary’s and Washington to win the Continental Tire Main Event tournament, and he was named Most Valuable Player for the event. Although the Aztecs finished fifth in the Mountain West Conference regular season, he averaged 21.4 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game on the season. With LeDee leading the way, the Aztecs once again made a run in the NCAA Tournament, but fell in the Sweet 16 to eventual champion UConn.

LeDee led the MWC in field goal attempts and field goals, free throw attempts and free throws, points, and points per game. He also broke several San Diego State single season records including for points, field goals, free throws, and combined points, rebounds, and assists. He was named to the All-Mountain West first team and was named Conference Player of the Year by the conference media.[5]

Nationally, LeDee was named ESPN, Lute Olson, and NCAA March Madness Player of the Week (once each) and Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week twice. He was named a second-team All-American by The Sporting News, National Association of Basketball Coaches and a third-team All-American by the Associated Press. He was also named a John R. Wooden Award All-American.[6]

On April 6, 2024, LeDee was named by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as the winner of the 2024 Karl Malone Award, awarded to the best power forward in the nation. He is the first winner of the award in SDSU history.[7]

Professional career

Iowa Wolves (2024–present)

After going undrafted in the 2024 NBA draft, LeDee joined the Minnesota Timberwolves for the 2024 NBA Summer League[8] and on September 25, 2024, he signed with the team.[9] However, he was waived on October 2[10] and on October 25, he joined the Iowa Wolves.[11]

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

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2018–19 Ohio State 26 2 6.6 .383 .000 .745 1.7 .2 .1 .2 3.0
2019–20 TCU 30 0 11.7 .523 .706 2.9 .1 .4 .4 2.7
2020–21 TCU 23 1 15.2 .538 .000 .700 3.9 .3 .3 .1 5.8
2021–22 San Diego State Redshirt Redshirt
2022–23 San Diego State 39 1 18.1 .489 .000 .728 5.3 .9 .5 .4 7.9
2023–24 San Diego State 36 36 32.6 .560 .444 .734 8.4 1.3 1.2 .5 21.4
Career 154 40 17.8 .528 .328 .728 4.7 .6 .6 .4 8.9

References

  1. ^ a b Zeigler, Mark (November 20, 2022). "SDSU's Jaedon LeDee: not your typical college basketball player". SanDiegoUnionTribune.com. The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  2. ^ Zucker, Joseph (September 19, 2017). "4-Star SF Prospect Jaedon LeDee Commits to Ohio State over UCLA, Texas A&M". BleacherReport.com. Bleacher Report. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  3. ^ Jardy, Adam (November 21, 2022). "San Diego State's Jaedon LeDee ready to face former team Ohio State in Maui". Dispatch.com. The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  4. ^ "LeDee Returning to SDSU for the 2023-24 Season". GoAztecs.com. San Diego State Aztecs. May 20, 2022. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  5. ^ Zeigler, Mark (March 11, 2024). "SDSU's Jaedon LeDee named Mountain West Player of the Year by media, but it's not unanimous". SanDiegoUnionTribune.com. San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  6. ^ "LeDee Named a Wooden All-American Team Honoree". GoAztecs.com. San Diego State Aztecs. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  7. ^ "LeDee First Aztec to Win Karl Malone Award for Nation's Best Power Forward". TimesOfSanDiego.com. Times of San Diego. April 6, 2024. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  8. ^ "2024 NBA2K25 Summer League Roster". NBA.com. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
  9. ^ Nardinger, Taylor (September 25, 2024). "Timberwolves Sign Trevor Keels, Jaedon LeDee, Skylar Mays and Eugene Omoruyi". NBA.com. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  10. ^ Timberwolves PR [@Timberwolves_PR] (October 2, 2024). "NEWS: @Timberwolves Waive forward Jaedon LeDee" (Tweet). Retrieved October 3, 2024 – via Twitter.
  11. ^ "2024-2025 Iowa Wolves Transaction History". RealGM.com. Retrieved November 11, 2024.