Nick Ward
Position: 5/4
Height: 205cm/6’9”
Weight: 115kg
Date of Birth: 02/09/1997
College: Michigan St.
Passport: USA
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Player Profile
Nick Ward is a powerful, paint-dominant big man with soft hands, a high motor, and a throwback post game. Known for his physicality and efficiency around the rim, Ward carves out space with his strong frame and finishes through contact with touch and control. He thrives in low-block situations, using a mix of quick footwork, spin moves, and jump hooks to get buckets inside. Ward is also a high-level rebounder, particularly on the offensive glass, where he creates second-chance opportunities and wears down opposing frontlines. Defensively, he’s a physical presence in the paint—capable of anchoring the interior, altering shots, and holding his ground in one-on-one matchups. A standout at Michigan State, Ward played under Tom Izzo and was a key part of several deep NCAA Tournament runs. His experience in a winning program, combined with his strength and scoring ability in the post, make him a valuable presence for teams looking to dominate the interior and set a physical tone.
Achievements
HS OCC-Ohio Champion -2014, 15, 16
Nike Elite 100 Skill Academy in St.Louis, MO -2014
HS All-Junior Team -2015
HS All-State Division I Third Team by PrepHoopsOhio.com -2015
HS first-team All-League -2015, 16
HS first-team Associated Press Central Division I All-District -2015, 16
HS Third-Team Associated Press All-Ohio -2015
HS regional Finals -2016
HS Associated Press Division I All-Ohio Team -2016
HS Ohio-Kentucky All-Star Game -2016
HS Columbus Dispatch All-Metro Team -2016
HS Ohio Capital Conference-Ohio Division Co-Player of the Year -2016
HS Ohio Division I-II North-South All-Star Game MVP -2016
HS Rated among the Top 50 players in his class by ESPN 100 (#39), Rivals.com (#41), Scout.com (#48) -2016
All-Big Ten Honorable Mention -2017, 18
Big Ten Regular Season Champion -2018
Big Ten Tournament Semifinals -2018
Big Ten Regular Season Co-Champion -2019
Big Ten Tournament Winner -2019
All-Big Ten Third Team -2019Turkish TBL Regular Season Runner-Up -2020
USBasket.com All-CEBL First Team -2021, 24
CEBL Semifinals -2021, 23
Spanish LEB Gold -2022 (Player of the Week: 5 times)
Eurobasket.com All-Spanish LEB Gold First Team -2022
Eurobasket.com Spanish LEB Gold All-Imports Team -2022
USBasket.com All-CEBL Honorable Mention -2023
Kosovan Superliga -2024 (Player of the Week Rd.1)
Lithuanian LKL -2024 (Player of the Week Rd.5)
CEBL Western Conference Regular Season Champion -2024
CEBL Finalist -2024
Portuguese Liga Betclic -2025 (Player of the Week: 2 times)
Portuguese Cup Finalist -2025
Basketball Career & Stats
2013-2014: Gahanna, OH / Lincoln High School
2014-2015: Gahanna, OH / Lincoln High School: 18ppg, 8rpg, 2bpg
2015: All-Ohio Red (AAU)
2015-2016: Gahanna, OH / Lincoln High School: 21.0ppg, 8.5rpg
2016-2017: Michigan State University (NCAA, starting five): 35 games: 13.9ppg, 6.5rpg, 1.5bpg, FGP: 59.2%, FT: 61.5%
2017-2018: Michigan State University (NCAA, starting five): 35 games: 12.4ppg, 7.1rpg, 1.3bpg, FGP: 64.7%, FT: 62.1%
2018: declared for the NBA Draft 2018 early entry, withdrew before the deadline
2018-2019: Michigan State University (NCAA, starting five): 34 games: 12.9ppg, 6.1rpg, 1.2bpg, FGP: 57.7%, FT: 65.3%
2019: declared for the NBA Draft 2019 early entry
2019 July: Atlanta Hawks (MGM Resorts NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, starting five): 4 games: 4.3ppg, 4.8rpg
2019 August: NBA G League Player Invitational in Chicago, IL
2019-2020: Hapoel Galil Gilboa (Israel-Winner League), in Oct.'19 signed at Lokman Hekim Fethiye Belediye Spor (Turkey-TBL, starting five): 4 games: 22.0ppg, 6.3rpg, in Nov.'19 moved to College Park SkyHawks (NBA G League, starting five): 34 games: 13.3ppg, 6.7rpg, 2FGP: 60.5%, FT: 62.9%, in Mar.'20 agreed terms with Lokman Hekim Fethiye Belediye Spor (Turkey-TBL, starting five): 5 games: 19.6ppg, 7.0rpg, FGP: 65.4%, FT: 69.8%
2020: Big X (The Basketball Tournament)
2020-2021: Istanbul Basket (Turkey-TBL, starting five): 4 games: 21.3ppg, 8.3rpg, 1.5apg, 1.8spg, left in Nov.'20
2021: Ottawa Blackjacks (Canada-CEBL, starting five): 14 games: Score-5(17.3ppg), Reb-3(8.9rpg), Blocks-3(1.1bpg), FGP: 63.6%, 3PT: 42.9%, FT: 59.7%
2021-2022: Leyma Basquet Coruna (Spain-LEB Gold, starting five): 36 games: 13.8ppg, Reb-4(7.1rpg), FGP: 59.3%, 3PT: 42.9%, FT: 56.4%
2022: Bucketneers (The Basketball Tournament): 3 games: 7.3ppg, 4.0rpg, FGP: 45.0%, FT: 66.7%
2022-2023: Al-Najma Manama (Bahrain-Premier League)
2023: Vancouver Bandits (Canada-CEBL, starting five): 20 games: 18.7ppg, 7.8rpg, 1.1apg, FGP: 62.6%, 3PT: 33.3%, FT: 52.1%
2023-2024: Sigal Prishtina (Kosovo-Superliga, starting five): 2 games: 19.5ppg, 7.5rpg, left in Oct.'23, later that month moved to Gargzdu SC Gargzdai (Lithuania-LKL, starting five): 13 games: 20.2ppg, 6.9rpg, 1.0spg, 1.0bpg, 2FGP: 60.1%, 3FGP: 33.3%, FT: 53.9%, in Feb.'24 signed at Boulogne-Levallois Metropolitans 92 (France-Betclic ELITE ProA, starting five): 11 games: 11.0ppg, 5.1rpg, FGP: 65.2%, FT: 47.7%
2024: Vancouver Bandits (Canada-CEBL, starting five): 22 games: 16.2ppg, Reb-5(6.6rpg), 1.2apg, 1.1bpg, FGP: 59.0%, FT: 68.6%
2024-2025: Sporting Clube de Portugal Lisboa (Portugal-Liga Betclic, starting five)