Joël Ayayi


Joël Ayayi is a French-Beninese college basketball player for the Gonzaga Bulldogs of the West Coast Conference. Listed at and, he plays the shooting guard and point guard positions.

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. He was considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com and received NCAA Division I offers from Baylor, Georgia Tech, and Gonzaga. On 27 April 2017, Ayayi committed to play college basketball for Gonzaga.
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College career

Ayayi joined the Gonzaga basketball team as a 17 year old and decided to redshirt his first season and train with the team. In his redshirt freshman season, he averaged 5.6 minutes per game through 23 contests. On November 27, 2019, early in his sophomore season, Ayayi posted a career-high 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 January 9, 2020. At the conclusion of the regular season, Ayayi was named Honorable Mention All-West Coast Conference. On March 10, 2020, 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-West Coast Conference honorable mention. Following the season he declared for the 2020 NBA draft but did not hire an agent.

National team career

Ayayi holds dual citizenship to France and his parents' home country of Benin, but he plays basketball for the French national teams. At the 2016 FIBA U16 European Championship in Radom, Poland, he averaged 11.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game for France. Ayayi led his team to a bronze medal at the 2018 FIBA U18 European Championship in Latvia. After averaging 15.7 points per game, he was named to the All-Star Five. Ayayi helped France win bronze at the 2019 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup in Heraklion, Greece, where he earned All-Star Five honors. He averaged 20.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game and led all scorers with 33 points in a bronze medal game against Lithuania.

Career statistics

College

Personal life

Both of Ayayi's parents are from Benin. His father stands and played basketball professionally in France and for the Beninese national team. Ayayi's older sister Valériane has played for the French women's national team, most notably at the 2016 Summer Olympics, and in the Women's National Basketball Association. His younger brother Gérald plays professional basketball in France.