Jonah Bolden

Jonah Bolden
Jonah Bolden
Born	January 2, 1996 (age 30); Melbourne, Australia
Occupation	Professional basketball player
Years active	2016–present
Known for	Playing for Illawarra Hawks in Australia's NBL; former NBA player for Philadelphia 76ers and Phoenix Suns

Jonah Anthony Bolden (born 2 January 1996) is a professional basketball athlete holding Australian and American nationality, currently competing for the Illawarra Hawks in Australia's NBL. His professional journey commenced with Serbian team FMP, where he was honored as the ABA League Top Prospect in 2017. Bolden spent one and a half seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) playing for the Philadelphia 76ers before moving on to the Phoenix Suns.

The son of former professional player Bruce Bolden, Jonah relocated to the United States to complete his final year of high school. As a highly regarded recruit, he played collegiate basketball with the UCLA Bruins. Due to NCAA partial qualifier status, he was ineligible during his freshman year (2014–15). After completing one season at UCLA, Bolden opted to turn professional by signing with FMP. Selected 36th overall by Philadelphia in the 2017 NBA draft, he spent a season with Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv prior to joining the 76ers. Additionally, Bolden represented Australia at the 2013 FIBA Under-19 World Championship as part of the national under-19 squad.

Early life

Born in Melbourne, Bolden is the son of American Bruce Bolden and Egyptian Marie Yacoub. His father had a lengthy professional basketball career, including 17 years competing in Australia's NBL. Raised in Sydney, Jonah began playing basketball at age five with the Bankstown Bruins. During his teenage years, he attended Homebush Boys High School and competed for New South Wales at the 2013 Basketball Australia Under 18 National Championships. Leading the NSW Metro team to the national final, he averaged 18 points and 13 rebounds per game. This performance earned him selection as Australia's youngest participant at the 2013 FIBA Under-19 World Championship.

In August 2013, Bolden moved to the United States to spend his senior year at Findlay College Prep in Henderson, Nevada. After exhausting his high school eligibility midway through the season, he transferred to Brewster Academy in New Hampshire.

By December 2013, Bolden committed to UCLA for his college basketball career, choosing them over offers from Louisville, Kentucky, Indiana, USC, and SMU. As a consensus four-star recruit, Scout.com ranked him No. 25 nationally, Rivals.com placed him at No. 32, and ESPN.com rated him No. 69 overall. Scout.com also ranked him as the fifth-best power forward prospect.

College career

Due to NCAA partial qualifier status linked to his mid-senior year transfer from Australia, Bolden was designated a redshirt during his freshman season at UCLA (2014–15), rendering him ineligible for competition. He was permitted to practice starting January 2015 but underwent arthroscopic surgery for a torn meniscus in May that sidelined him for six to eight weeks.

Measuring , Bolden entered the 2015–16 season as a versatile guard/forward expected to fill roles vacated by NBA-bound Norman Powell and Kevon Looney. His debut was postponed due to undisclosed team rule infractions; however, upon entering competition, he contributed defensively and scored 11 points while grabbing five rebounds against Cal Poly. He achieved his first double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds during an important road victory over No. 20 Gonzaga, where coach Steve Alford assigned him defensive duties against a leading scorer.

Bolden earned his first starting role facing Louisiana–Lafayette and quickly became UCLA's premier bench contributor, though his offensive output remained limited. Following defensive difficulties and a slow Pac-12 start of 3–5, coach Alford inserted Bolden into the starting power forward position, which notably enhanced team defense. He reached a personal best of 16 points along with nine rebounds during a win over Arizona State; nevertheless, UCLA concluded the season with a disappointing 15–17 record after losing their final five contests. Throughout the season, Bolden started in 11 games and averaged 4.6 points and 4.8 rebounds per game while ranking third on the team with 27 blocked shots.

Feeling underused offensively and desiring to play small forward—the position for which he was originally recruited—Bolden remained positioned as an interior player despite competition from György Golomán. Acknowledging his potential for an NBA career, he decided to relinquish his remaining two years of college eligibility and pursue professional opportunities despite missing the deadline for the 2016 NBA draft.

FMP (2016–2017)

Bolden joined FMP, competing in both the ABA League and the Basketball League of Serbia, where he played at both forward spots. On 15 March 2017, he was honored as the ABA League Top Prospect after posting averages of 12.9 points and 7.2 rebounds per contest during his rookie campaign. Additionally, he attempted 4.2 three-pointers per game, converting 41.9% of them, while also contributing approximately one steal and one block each game.

Maccabi Tel Aviv (2017–2018)

On 10 June 2017, Bolden inked a two-year deal with Crvena zvezda. Shortly thereafter, twelve days later, he was picked 36th overall in the 2017 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers and participated in their 2017 NBA Summer League squad.

Prior to appearing in any official games for Crvena zvezda, Bolden committed to a three-year contract with Israeli powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv on 21 July 2017. He achieved a season-best performance on 12 December 2017, recording 23 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals in a victory against Ironi Nahariya. During his tenure, Bolden contributed to Maccabi's capture of both the 2017 Israeli League Cup and the 2018 Israeli League Championship.

Philadelphia 76ers (2018–2020)

Bolden signed with the Philadelphia 76ers on 25 July 2018. He debuted in the NBA on 16 October 2018, logging one minute in a 107–85 defeat to the Boston Celtics. Throughout his rookie season (2018–19), Bolden was assigned multiple times to the Delaware Blue Coats, the team's NBA G League affiliate. He was included in the Sixers' rotation during the 2019 postseason. On 7 February 2020, he was waived by Philadelphia.

Phoenix Suns (2020)

On 12 February 2020, Bolden secured a 10-day contract with the Phoenix Suns, who were dealing with injuries among their big men. In his first appearance, he posted six points, seven rebounds, and a +17 plus–minus rating over 26 minutes in a 112–106 win versus the Golden State Warriors. After two more games, he was not retained for a second 10-day contract on 24 February. Following this stint, Bolden retired at age 25 to focus on a career in cryptocurrency.

Sydney Kings (2023–2024)

Bolden ended his retirement on 19 June 2023 by signing with the Sydney Kings for participation in the 2023–24 NBL season.

Capitanes de Arecibo (2024)

On 18 March 2024, Bolden joined Capitanes de Arecibo of the BSN for the upcoming 2024 season. Prior to this move, he averaged 8.5 points and grabbed 6.4 rebounds over an average of 18.4 minutes per game while playing with Australia's Sydney Kings in the NBL.

New Zealand Breakers (2024–2025)

On 2 May 2024, Bolden committed to the New Zealand Breakers for the upcoming 2024–25 NBL season.

Capitanes de Arecibo and Cangrejeros de Santurce (2025)

In 2025, Bolden made a return to Capitanes de Arecibo for the 2025 Baloncesto Superior Nacional season. Shortly thereafter, on 8 May 2025, he signed with Cangrejeros de Santurce, appearing in three contests before rejoining Capitanes for a concluding match on June 22.

Illawarra Hawks (2025–present)

Bolden inked a deal with the Illawarra Hawks on 7 August 2025, securing his place for the 2025–26 NBL season.

National team career

At 17 years old, Bolden represented Australia during the 2013 FIBA Under-19 World Championship, where he averaged 2.6 points and 2.9 rebounds across eight games, with his highest scoring effort being nine points against Senegal. In August 2019, he made his senior debut for the Australian Boomers in a pre-2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup exhibition victory over Canada. Despite delivering a solid performance, Bolden later withdrew from the World Cup roster due to personal reasons.

Regular season

|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia | 44 || 10 || 14.5 || .494 || .354 || .481 || 3.8 || .9 || .4 || .9 || 4.7 |- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| | style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia | 4 || 0 || 3.5 || .667 || .000 || .000 || .3 || .0 || .3 || .0 || 1.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix | 3 || 0 || 11.0 || .250 || .000 || 1.000 || 2.7 || .0 || .7 || .7 || 2.0 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 51 || 10 || 13.5 || .486 || .340 || .484 || 3.4 || .8 || .4 || .8 || 4.3

Playoffs

|- | style="text-align:left;"| 2019 | style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia | 10 || 0 || 7.9 || .263 || .250 || .500 || 1.4 || .3 || .2 || .1 || 1.6 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 10 || 0 || 7.9 || .263 || .250 || .500 || 1.4 || .3 || .2 || .1 || 1.6

EuroLeague

|- | style="text-align:left;"| 2017–18 | style="text-align:left;"| Maccabi | 29 || 28 || 21.1 || .487 || .319 || .512 || 5.5 || 1.6 || 1.2 || .9 || 6.9 || 10.4 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan=2| Career | 29 || 28 || 21.1 || .487 || .319 || .512 || 5.5 || 1.6 || 1.2 || .9 || 6.9 || 10.4

College

|- | style="text-align:left;"| 2015–16 | style="text-align:left;"| UCLA | 31 || 11 || 21.7 || .415 || .250 || .733 || 4.8 || 1.1 || .7 || .9 || 4.6

External links