Deandre Ayton's father is Nigerian and his mother is of Jamaican and Bahamian heritage.
30 Facts About Deandre Ayton
2.
Deandre Ayton moved from the Bahamas to San Diego, California to play high school basketball.
3.
Deandre Ayton attended Balboa School in California and started on the varsity basketball team for two years.
4.
Deandre Ayton racked up double-doubles in 21 of 22 regular season games.
5.
Deandre Ayton led Hillcrest to a Grind Session World Championship, earning Finals MVP and season MVP.
6.
Deandre Ayton was considered one of the top prospects in the 2017 recruiting class by Scout.
7.
Deandre Ayton was rated as a five-star recruit and the No 3 overall recruit and No 1 center in the 2017 high school class.
8.
Deandre Ayton had narrowed his choices between three schools: Arizona, Kansas and Kentucky.
9.
Deandre Ayton had recorded 17 20-point games and 23 double-doubles through 34 games.
10.
However, while Deandre Ayton had some great successes during his freshman season, there were controversies mired during his last few months there.
11.
The wiretapped conversation reportedly occurred in 2016, when Deandre Ayton was still attending the Hillcrest Prep Academy.
12.
Deandre Ayton would be named the Pac-12 Tournament's Most Outstanding Player during the event.
13.
Furthermore, Deandre Ayton was one of three freshman to be a part of the All-American First Team, joining Marvin Bagley III and Trae Young for the most consensus freshmen First Team members in a season.
14.
Deandre Ayton was the franchise's first No 1 pick in their history.
15.
Deandre Ayton joined the 2018 NBA Summer League Suns squad on July 1,2018, signing his rookie-scale contract five days later.
16.
Deandre Ayton averaged 18.2 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1.4 assists, and 0.8 steals per game in five games during the 2018 preseason with the Suns.
17.
On January 29,2019, Deandre Ayton was named a member of the World Team for the Rising Stars Challenge in the 2019 NBA All-Star Weekend.
18.
However, Deandre Ayton sprained his left ankle three days later against the Memphis Grizzlies, ending his rookie season early.
19.
Deandre Ayton became the third rookie in a decade to average a double-double in their rookie season, joining Blake Griffin and Karl-Anthony Towns.
20.
On May 21, Deandre Ayton was selected to the 2019 All-Rookie First Team.
21.
Two days later, Deandre Ayton was announced to return to the Rising Stars Challenge for the World Team; he joined only Amar'e Stoudemire and Devin Booker as announced participants in the event for the Suns as both a rookie and sophomore, though he would not play due to a left ankle injury, eventually being replaced by Nicolo Melli.
22.
Deandre Ayton became the quickest player in franchise history to reach 1,000 rebounds at 94 games, as well as the fourth-quickest player to reach 1,000 since 1992.
23.
Deandre Ayton became the first Suns player since Shawn Marion in 2007 to put up at least 25 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 blocks in a single game, as well as the only other Suns player to do it in the last 30 seasons.
24.
Deandre Ayton would help Phoenix clinch their first playoff berth since 2010.
25.
Unable to agree on a contract extension with the Phoenix Suns, Deandre Ayton became a restricted free agent in the offseason.
26.
On July 18,2022, Deandre Ayton signed the Suns' multi-year contract.
27.
Deandre Ayton became the first player to have at least 28 points and 20 rebounds in a game for the Suns since Amar'e Stoudemire in 2007.
28.
Deandre Ayton's wingspan has been projected to be at 7'5", while his vertical leap is slated to be at 43.5".
29.
Deandre Ayton sees his game as something akin to Hakeem Olajuwon's with the competitive mentality of Kevin Garnett.
30.
Deandre Ayton represented The Bahamas in the 2016 Centrobasket, the regional basketball championship of FIBA Americas for the Central American and Caribbean subzone where he averaged a tournament-leading 11.1 rebounds per game.