Kyle O'Quinn

At 34 years old, Kyle O'Quinn has this physical status:

Kyle Brandon O'Quinn (born March 26, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association.

He played for the Norfolk State Spartans, and led them to a victory over the #2 seed Missouri Tigers in the second round of the 2012 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.

He was drafted in the second round of the 2012 NBA draft with the 49th overall pick, by the Orlando Magic.

Early and personal life

O'Quinn was born in Queens, New York, and grew up in South Jamaica, Queens. His parents are Tommie (who moved to New York from Mississippi in 1963, worked for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and died in a car accident in September 2015) and Regina O’Quinn. He has an older sister, Rasheena Moss, who earned a degree in broadcast journalism from Hampton University in 2008.

O'Quinn has moonlighted by booking gigs in New York as a bar mitzvah and bat mitzvah entertainer; dancing with the teenagers, signing autographs, joining in selfies with the kids, and chatting with the parents.

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High school career

O'Quinn appeared in Holy Cross High School for the first two years of high school, but he was only a part of the school's junior varsity team. He then attended Math, Science Education & Technology High School in Queens, originally to play football, but he didn't play as a teenager and nearly dropped basketball when he didn't participate as a junior. He had 20 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 blocks per game in his senior year, but he had his only scholarship offer was to Norfolk State University. In his senior year, he was a first-team All-Queens and third-team All-Public School Athletic League (PSAL) pick.

College career

Even after receiving a scholarship from Norfolk State mainly because of his basketball skills, O'Quinn originally planned on pursuing a career in football. O'Quinn might have given up basketball as he did with football, but this time, he chose the other option and concentrated on a career in the NBA. He earned his degree in interdisciplinary studies.

He played in 129 games, average 12.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.19 blocks, and shot.553 (610-1,104) from the field in his Norfolk State career. On February 16, 2019, Norfolk State retired his number 10 jersey.

He appeared in all 31 games, including two starts, during O'Quinn's freshman season at Norfolk State (2008–09). He averaged 5.3 points per game and 3.4 rebounds per game. He was also named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference rookie of the week twice.

O'Quinn played in 30 games in his sophomore season (2009–10), beginning in 29 of them. At 11.5 points per game, he was third on Norfolk State in scoring at 11.5 points per game, led the team in rebounds at 8.7 rebounds per game, and had 1.70 blocks per game. He was also the head coach of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) in terms of field goal percentages of 59%. O'Quinn was also named to the All-MEAC Second Team and twice named MEAC Defensive Player of the Week.

He averaged 16.4 points per game, 11.1 rebounds per game, and 3.44 blocks per game during O'Quinn's junior season in 2010-11. He was fourth in blocked shots, fifth in rebounds, and eighth in double-doubles (19). O'Quinn led the MEAC in blocks and rebounds and came second in field goal percentage (.556) and fifth in points per game. With 110 blocked shots and 355 rebounds, he set single-season school records (NCAA Division I era) (NCAA Division I). He was also named MEAC Defensive Player of the Year for the first time since Norfolk State. O'Quinn was named MEAC Defensive Player of the Week four times, and he was named MEAC Player of the Week four times as well, and was named to the MEAC All-Tournament Team.

In O'Quinn's senior season, he averaged 15.9 points per game, 10.3 rebounds per game, and 2.69 blocks per game. He ruled the conference and finished fifth in the country with 20 double-doubles. He finished 14th in the nation in field goal percentage (.573; 205-358), 15th in blocked shots, and 16th in rebounding. He was named as the MEAC Player of the Year and the MEAC Defensive Player of the Year. He was named as the country's best mid-major player by Lou Henson in 2012.

Norfolk State qualified as a 15 seed in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, beating the Missouri Tigers in the second round of 64 for the first time in history. O'Quinn had 26 points and 14 rebounds in the game. "We messed up some brackets!" a ecstatic O'Quinn began joking around the school's hallways after the game.

We messed up some brackets!"

Norfolk State defeated the Florida Gators in the next round, but O'Quinn had only four points and three rebounds.

Following the season, O'Quinn appeared in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, averaging 11.7 PPG, 11.7 RPG, and 3.7 BPG. O'Quinn was named the Tournament MVP and was also selected to the All-Tournament Team.

Professional career

With the 49th overall pick by the Orlando Magic, O'Quinn was drafted in the second round of the 2012 NBA draft. He began his Magic rookie scale on August 9, 2012. He went on to win the 2012–13 Hustle Player of the Year award for his continued participation in every game with more enthusiasm than the previous. In 57 games, he had averages of 4.1 points and 3.7 rebounds.

O'Quinn led the Magic from 2013-2014, averaging 1.3 blocked shots per game. He was tied for 20th in the league. He had 3.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game throughout the season.

O'Quinn missed 15 games in a row until returning to action on November 16. He strained his ankle against the New Orleans Pelicans on October 28, 2014. Nikola Vuevi was out for five games between December 2 and December 12, O'Quinn started all five games and later averaged 15.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.

O'Quinn was signed-and-traded from the Magic to the New York Knicks in return for cash considerations and the right to trade 2019 second-round draft picks. In the team's season opener against the Milwaukee Bucks on October 28, he made his Knicks debut against the Milwaukee Bucks, scoring 8 points and 11 rebounds. In a 108-105 loss to the Indiana Pacers on February 24, 2016, he scored a season-high 19 points off the bench.

In a 118-114 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on December 2, 2016, O'Quinn recorded season highs of 20 points and 13 rebounds. In a 106-95 victory over the Orlando Magic, he had 14 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. In a 121–110 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on March 16, 2017, he came off the bench for a career high of 23 points.

In a 117-102 loss to the Houston Rockets on November 25, 2017, O'Quinn had his first double-double of the season, with 20 points and 15 rebounds starting in place of the injured Enes Kanter.

Since opting out of his first year of his deal in New York, O'Quinn agreed to a one-year contract with the Indiana Pacers on July 9, 2018. His decision earned him $4.5 million, a $200,000 raise.

O'Quinn signed a one-year contract with the Philadelphia 76ers on July 11, 2019.

O'Quinn and Fenerbahçe of the Turkish Basketball Super League and the EuroLeague agreed to a one-year contract on January 20, 2021. O'Quinn officially left the Turkish club on June 17, 2021.

O'Quinn joined the LNB Pro A in Paris on September 2, 2021.

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