Amile Jefferson

Amile Jefferson, born on May 7, 1993, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, established a significant presence in basketball through his playing career and subsequent transition into coaching. He attended Friends’ Central in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, before committing to Duke University. At Duke, Jefferson was a key player, demonstrating consistent performance and leadership. He played for Duke from 2012 to 2017, participating in 150 games and starting 103 of them. During his collegiate career, he maintained averages of 7.2 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. A national champion in 2015, a three-time team captain, and a four-time All-ACC Academic Team selection, Jefferson’s commitment to both athletics and academics was notable. He earned an undergraduate degree in history in 2016 and a master’s degree from Duke’s Divinity School in 2017.

Following his college career, Jefferson pursued professional basketball. He spent time in the NBA G-League with the Iowa Wolves during the 2017-18 season. His NBA career included stints with the Orlando Magic from 2018 to 2020 and the Boston Celtics in 2020. He then played internationally for Galatasaray in the Turkish Basketball Super League from 2020 to 2021. In total, he played 30 NBA regular season games, averaging 1.4 points and 1.5 rebounds per game. After concluding his playing career, Jefferson returned to Duke University in July 2021 as the Director of Player Development. He was promoted to Assistant Coach in April 2022 by head coach Jon Scheyer.

As an assistant coach at Duke, Jefferson contributed to the team’s success, including an ACC regular season title and a Final Four appearance in 2022. He was instrumental in the development of defensive players such as Mark Williams and Dereck Lively II. Williams was recognized as the ACC Defensive Player of the Year in 2022, and Lively earned spots on the ACC All-Defensive Team and ACC All-Freshman Team in 2023. In July 2023, Jefferson accepted an assistant coaching position with the NBA’s Boston Celtics, further advancing his coaching career at the professional level.