Last Updated on April 14, 2026 by Mat Diekhake

Here’s information about Jodie Meeks:

Player Profile

  • Full Name: Orestes Jodie Meeks II.
  • Nickname: Jodie.
  • Nationality: American / United States.
  • Date of Birth: August 21, 1987.
  • Hometown: Norcross, Georgia. He was born in Nashville, Tennessee. (Wikipedia)
  • Height: 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m).
  • Weight: 210 lb (95 kg).
  • Wingspan: Not readily confirmed.
  • Shoe Size: Not readily confirmed.
  • Jersey Number: No. 23 at Kentucky; No. 23 with the Milwaukee Bucks; No. 20 with the Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, Washington Wizards, and Toronto Raptors.
  • Position: Shooting guard.
  • High School: Norcross High School (Norcross, Georgia).
  • College: Kentucky (2006–2009).
  • NBA Draft: Milwaukee Bucks, 2009 NBA Draft, second round, 41st overall pick.
  • Player Archetype: Movement shooter / floor-spacing scoring guard. This is consistent with scouting reports and career usage as a perimeter specialist. (NBADraft)
  • Primary Offensive Role: Off-ball scoring guard, especially as a spot-up shooter, transition trailer, and floor spacer who could also attack closeouts. (NBADraft)
  • Defensive Role: Competitive team defender on the perimeter; generally solid rather than disruptive, with enough strength to hold his spot but not ideal length for bigger matchups. (Wikipedia)
  • Play Style: Fast-trigger jump shooter who moved well without the ball, used screens effectively, could heat up in a hurry, and supplemented his shooting with straight-line drives and transition scoring. (NBADraft)
  • Handedness / Shooting Hand: Right-handed shooter. This is consistent with his documented right-thumb injury on his shooting hand. (Wikipedia)
  • Athletic Profile: Good speed and functional strength for a guard, with enough burst to attack gaps, though not built around elite length or above-the-rim play. (NBADraft)
  • Recruiting Status: Four-star recruit in the 2006 class; Rivals listed him as the No. 7 shooting guard and No. 39 player nationally. (Wikipedia)
  • Draft Status Detail: Early-entry junior who declared in 2009, stayed in the draft, and was selected in the second round. (Wikipedia)
  • Injury Status Category: Former player whose career included notable foot, back, thumb, and sports-hernia issues, so “had recurring injury interruptions” is the fairest summary. (Wikipedia)
  • Career Stage: Retired player; currently an NBA assistant coach with the New Orleans Pelicans. (NBA)
  • Comparison Style: Ben Gordon / Wayne Ellington style scoring guard — a compact off-ball shooter who could swing games with perimeter shot-making. This is an interpretive comparison based on role and style, not an official comp.
  • Teams Played For:
    • Milwaukee Bucks (2009–2010)
    • Philadelphia 76ers (2010–2012)
    • Los Angeles Lakers (2012–2014)
    • Detroit Pistons (2014–2016)
    • Orlando Magic (2016–2017)
    • Washington Wizards (2017–2018)
    • Toronto Raptors (2019)
    • Raptors 905 (2022)
  • Championship Rings: 1 NBA championship (Toronto Raptors, 2019).
  • Parents: His father played college basketball at Memphis, and his mother played college basketball at Oklahoma and BYU; both parents are immigrants from Mali. His father is publicly referenced as Orestes Meeks. (NBA)
  • Children: Twin daughters. (On3)
  • Siblings: Public web results indicate siblings named Brianna and Kolby, but I could not verify that from a stronger primary source. (Famous Birthdays)
  • Athlete Relatives: Both parents played college basketball. No other athlete relatives were reliably confirmed in the sources I checked. (NBA)
  • Retirment Age: 35. He officially stated in September 2022 that he was retiring from professional basketball, shortly after turning 35 in August 2022. (On3)
  • Retirement Year: 2022. (On3)

Jodie Meeks’ player archetype was that of a movement shooter and floor-spacing scoring guard, the kind of wing who could punish defenses without needing the ball for long stretches. Defensively, he was more solid than flashy, usually working as a competitive perimeter team defender rather than a true stopper. Offensively, his main value came from three-point shooting, sprinting into space, reading screens, and attacking hard closeouts when defenders sold out on the jumper. At 6-foot-4 and around 210 pounds, he had good strength for a guard and enough quickness to play at pace, even if he was not especially long for the position. His overall play style was built on shot preparation, movement, and instant scoring bursts, which made him a useful complementary piece when teams needed spacing, tempo, and reliable catch-and-shoot offense. (NBADraft)

Fun Facts

  • He set a record for the University of Kentucky by scoring 54 points in a game (against Tennessee in 2009).

Sources:

NBA Draft — Jodie Meeks
Wikipedia — Jodie Meeks
Los Angeles Lakers — Back to School with Jodie Meeks
On3 — Jodie Meeks has officially retired from professional basketball
New Orleans Pelicans — Pelicans announce basketball operations promotion and staff additions for 2024-25 NBA season
Land of Basketball — NBA Players: Jodie Meeks Profile and Basic Stats
Big Blue History — Kentucky Jersey Numbers