Matee Ajavon (born May 7, 1986) is a Liberian American basketball player. A 5'8" guard, Ajavon was chosen by the Houston Comets as the fifth overall draft pick in the 2008 WNBA draft.

Matee Ajavon
Personal information
Born (1986-05-07) May 7, 1986 (age 38)
NationalityAmerican / Liberian
Listed height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Listed weight160 lb (73 kg)
Career information
High schoolMalcolm X Shabazz
(Newark, New Jersey)
CollegeRutgers (2004–2008)
WNBA draft2008: 1st round, 5th overall pick
Selected by the Houston Comets
Playing career2008–present
PositionPoint guard
Career history
2008Houston Comets
2008–2010Fenerbahçe Istanbul
20092014Washington Mystics
2010–2011Istanbul University
2011–2012Optimum Ted Kolejliler
2013CSM Târgovişte
2013–presentMersin Büyükşehir Belediyesi
2014–2017Atlanta Dream
Career highlights and awards
Stats at WNBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference
Medals
Representing USA
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2007 Brazil Team Competition

Early life

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As a child, Ajavon immigrated to the United States with her family from Monrovia, Liberia.[1]

High school

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Ajavon graduated from Malcolm X Shabazz High School in Newark, New Jersey. She led the Shabazz girls' basketball team to victory in the State of New Jersey's "Tournament of Champions" in both 2003 and 2004, the first time a school had repeated as champion. Ajavon was named a WBCA All-American. She participated in the 2004 WBCA High School All-America Game, where she scored nine points.[2]

College

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Ajavon graduated from Rutgers University in 2008, having majored in Africana Studies. She was a key member of the 2006–2007 Scarlet Knights women's basketball team that reached the NCAA Championship game.

College statistics

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Source[3]

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
Year Team GP Points FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2004–05 Rutgers 35 434 41.6 26.2 72.2 2.9 3.5 2.2 0.2 12.4
2005–06 Rutgers  32 402 43.3 34.1 75.0 2.8 4.5 2.6 0.4 12.6
2006–07 Rutgers  32 383 41.5 39.5 70.6 3.1 3.8 1.7 0.4 12.0
2007–08 Rutgers  33 403 39.8 25.2 78.8 3.6 5.2 1.8 0.3 12.2
Career Rutgers  132 1622 41.5 30.9 74.1 3.1 4.2 2.1 0.3 12.3

USA Basketball

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Ajavon played for the USA team in the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The team won all five games, earning the gold medal for the event.[4]

Professional

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Ajavon played primarily off the bench during her rookie WNBA season, but averaged 8.0 points per game. When the Houston Comets folded in 2008, Ajavon was selected second in the dispersal draft by the Washington Mystics.

During the 2008–2010 WNBA offseason, Ajavon played in the EuroLeague Women for Fenerbahçe Istanbul.[5]

In her first season with Washington, Ajavon put up remarkably similar numbers to her first WNBA campaign. Again mainly playing as a reserve, she scored 8.0 points per game. Ajavon helped the Mystics reach the playoffs, where she played well, scoring 19 points in just 34 total minutes, but Washington suffered a two-game sweep at the hands of the Indiana Fever.

WNBA career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold  Career best ° League leader

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2008 Houston 34 2 17.8 .332 .194 .791 1.8 1.7 0.9 0.2 1.5 8.0
2009 Washington 34 4 17.3 .336 .341 .673 1.9 1.1 1.1 0.1 1.4 8.0
2010 Washington 34 0 14.6 .346 .184 .773 1.6 1.4 1.1 0.1 1.5 5.9
2011 Washington 34 33 31.3 .391 .276 .829 2.4 3.1 1.7 0.3 3.0 14.7
2012 Washington 33 22 21.6 .299 .301 .827 1.8 2.0 1.6 0.2 1.9 7.9
2013 Washington 34 27 21.6 .299 .301 .827 1.7 2.9 0.9 0.0 2.2 8.9
2014 Atlanta 24 1 9.2 .278 .111 .724 1.7 2.9 0.9 0.0 0.9 2.2
2015 Atlanta 33 11 17.6 .405 .167 .822 1.8 2.5 1.4 0.1 1.8 5.9
2016 Atlanta 33 2 10.6 .305 .231 .750 1.6 1.2 0.3 0.2 1.0 3.3
2017 Atlanta 31 2 8.1 .289 .000 .795 1.2 1.0 0.3 0.0 0.9 2.4
Career 10 years, 3 teams 323 104 17.4 .347 .266 .782 1.8 1.8 1.0 0.1 1.7 6.9

Postseason

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2009 Washington 2 0 17.0 .375 .250 .833 2.5 1.5 2.0 0.0 1.0 9.5
2010 Washington 2 0 17.5 .440 .400 .750 0.0 1.5 1.5 0.0 1.0 18.0
2013 Washington 3 3 21.9 .235 .000 .750 3.3 2.3 2.0 0.0 2.6 4.7
2014 Atlanta 2 0 17.5 .000 .000 .000 1.0 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.5 0.0
2016 Atlanta 2 1 15.6 .500 .000 1.000 2.5 0.5 0.0 0.0 1.5 7.0
Career 5 years, 2 team 11 4 15.7 .368 .190 .806 2.0 1.4 1.2 0.0 1.5 7.5

Notes

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  1. ^ "Matee Ajavon Receives Honor as 'Great Immigrant'". Rutgers University Athletics. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  2. ^ "WBCA High School All-America Game Box Scores". Women's Basketball Coaches Association. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  3. ^ "Women's Basketball Player stats". NCAA. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  4. ^ "Fifteenth Pan American Games – 2007". USA Basketball. November 19, 2010. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  5. ^ "Matee Ajavon | EuroLeague Women (2009) | FIBA Europe". www.fibaeurope.com. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
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