Melvin Ejim

College career

Ejim started 30 of 32 games as a freshman at Iowa State, averaging 10.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game while shooting 48.6 percent from the field. His 214 rebounds that season ranked third among Iowa State freshmen. As a sophomore, he started 29 of 34 games, averaging 9.3 points and 6.6 rebounds, earning Big 12 Honorable Mention and first-team Academic All-Big 12 honors. In his junior year, Ejim earned All-Big 12 third team and NABC All-District 8 second team selections.

He became the first Cyclone to lead the Big 12 in rebounding (9.3 per game) since Jackson Vroman in 2004, and was just the third player 6'6" or shorter to lead the league in that category. He was a finalist for the Oscar Robertson Trophy and became the fifth Academic All-American in school history. On February 8, 2014, he scored a Big 12-record 48 points against TCU. He finished his career as the winningest Cyclone men's basketball player with 88 wins, and became the fourth player in league history to record 1,500 points and 1,000 rebounds.

He ended his college career ranked 12th in scoring (1,643 points), second in rebounding (1,051), tied for 10th in steals (146), and 15th in blocks (59), while setting school records for games played (135) and games started (126).

Professional career

After going undrafted in the 2014 NBA draft, Ejim played for the San Antonio Spurs in the Las Vegas Summer League. He began the 2014–15 season with Virtus Roma in Italy, averaging 7.7 points and 6.3 rebounds in 29 league games, and 8.1 points and 4.3 rebounds in 18 EuroCup games. After a training camp contract with the Orlando Magic in 2015, he was waived and joined the Erie BayHawks of the NBA Development League, where he averaged 14.6 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.6 steals in 39 games.

He then signed with Reyer Venezia Mestre for the remainder of the 2015–16 season, averaging 9.3 points and 6.0 rebounds in 16 games. He re-signed with Reyer Venezia for 2016–17 and helped the team win the Italian League championship, earning Finals MVP honors. Ejim then played two seasons with Russian club UNICS (2017–18 and 2018–19), averaging around 9 points and 5 rebounds per game in league play. He later signed with Spanish club Unicaja in 2019, then played for KK Budućnost in Montenegro and KK Cedevita Olimpija in Slovenia.

He returned to Unicaja in 2022, signing a contract extension in April 2023. In the 2024–25 season with Unicaja, he averaged 5.1 points in 32 games. In July 2025, he signed a two-year deal with Força Lleida.

National team career

Ejim played for the Nigerian national team on a tour of China in June 2012. He represented Canada at the 2013 World University Games, averaging eight points and four rebounds per game.

He was named to the Canadian roster for the 2015 Pan American Games and also played at the Tuto Marchand Cup and FIBA Americas Championship that year. In 2016, he represented Canada at the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament. He agreed to a three-year commitment with the Canadian senior men's national team in May 2022 and was named to Canada's roster for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Did You Know?

• Ejim was born in Toronto, Ontario, to Nigerian parents and started playing basketball in grade 7.
• His brothers Ryan, Kenny, and Deon, as well as his sister Yvonne, all played basketball professionally.