Joël Ayayi
Joël Ayayi is a French professional basketball player for Paris Basketball of the LNB Pro A and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs.
Early life and career
Ayayi was born and raised in Bordeaux, France. Growing up, he idolized National Basketball Association player and Bordeaux native Boris Diaw. Ayayi attended INSEP, a sports institute in Paris, and played for affiliated club Centre Fédéral.Recruiting
He was considered a four-star recruit by Rivals and received NCAA Division I offers from Baylor, Georgia Tech, and Gonzaga. On 27 April 2017, Ayayi committed to play college basketball for Gonzaga.Source:,,
College career
Ayayi joined the Gonzaga basketball team at age 17 and redshirted his first season to train with the team. In his redshirt freshman season, he averaged 5.6 minutes per game through 23 contests. On 27 November 2019, early in his sophomore season, Ayayi posted 21 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in a win over Southern Miss. He had 20 points in a 94–50 win over San Diego on 9 January 2020. At the conclusion of the regular season, Ayayi was named Honorable Mention All-West Coast Conference. On 10 March, he helped Gonzaga win the WCC tournament and was named Most Outstanding Player after scoring 17 points in the final against Saint Mary's. He averaged 10.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.2 per game for the Bulldogs and was All-WCC honorable mention. Following the season he declared for the 2020 NBA draft but did not hire an agent. On 1 August, Ayayi announced he was withdrawing from the draft and returning for his junior season.Coming into his junior season, Ayayi was named to the Preseason All-WCC team. On 9 January 2021, he recorded the first triple-double in program history, with 12 points, 13 rebounds and 14 assists in a 116–88 win over Portland. He also tallied the second-most assists for a Gonzaga player in a single game. As a junior, he averaged 12 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game and was named to the First Team All-West Coast Conference. Following the season, Ayayi declared for the 2021 NBA draft and forgo his remaining college eligibility.
Professional career
Washington Wizards (2021–2022)
After going undrafted in the 2021 NBA draft, Ayayi signed a two-way contract with the Los Angeles Lakers on 3 August 2021. Under the terms of the deal he was to split time between the Lakers and their NBA G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers. On 15 October, he was waived by Los Angeles and two days later, he signed a two-way contract with the Washington Wizards. Ayayi was then later waived on 8 March 2022.Capital City Go-Go (2022)
On 11 March 2022 Ayayi was reacquired by the Capital City Go-Go.Ayayi joined the Atlanta Hawks for the 2022 NBA Summer League.