Nerlens Noel was born on April 10 in 1994.He is an American professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association. His collegiate basketball career ended in his first season with a tear of his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) at the University of Kentucky. Noel was drafted with the sixth overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft by the New Orleans Pelicans. His rights were later traded to the Philadelphia 76ers. He plays center and power forward, and was one of the top high school basketball players in the class of 2012.Born in Malden, Massachusetts to Haitian immigrant parents, Noel spent his first two years of high school at Everett High School. After his sophomore year, he transferred to Tilton School in Tilton, New Hampshire. Noel was originally a part of the class of 2013, but reclassified to the 2012 college recruiting class. Noel averaged 12.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.9 blocks per game as a senior. He was rated as the #1 player in the class of 2012 by ESPNAfter deliberating among several elite college basketball programs,[2] Noel decided in April 2012 that he would be going to the University of Kentucky to play NCAA Division I basketball. He made his verbal commitment by revealing the UK logo shaved in the back of his head on national television.On January 29, 2013, Noel set the UK single-game record with 12 blocks in an 87–74 team victory over #16 Ole Miss.On February 12, 2013, in a game against the Florida Gators, Noel tore the ACL in his left knee after blocking a Florida lay-up, forcing him to sit out the remainder of the season. Before his injury, it was projected that he would be the 1st overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft. Despite his injury, Noel decided to declare for the 2013 draft on April 15, 2013.Noel was honored with many awards, including SEC Freshman of the Year, SEC Defensive Player of the Year, SEC First Team, SEC All Freshman Team, and SEC Community Service Team. In addition to earning All-SEC first team honors by the league's coaches, Noel earned first-team honors from the Associated Press, continuing a four-year streak of UK players earning first-team AP honors.Noel entered the 2013 NBA draft after playing one season at the University of Kentucky and was projected to be one of the top picks, with many considering Noel the favorite to be picked first in the draft. He was invited to sit in the "green room", a room of the projected top 10–15 collegiate basketball players during the draft and ended up being selected with the sixth overall pick by the New Orleans Pelicans. There were concerns around the league about his torn left ACL, which may have caused him to slide down the draft. Later that night, Noel's draft rights were traded along with a 2014 first round pick to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for guard Jrue Holiday and the draft rights to Pierre Jackson.On July 12, 2013, the trade sending Noel to the 76ers was finalized. On September 24, 2013, he signed with the 76ers. Although the 76ers' original plan was to have Noel play during the 2013–14 season, Noel missed the entire season as he recovered from knee surgery.In July 2014, Noel joined the Philadelphia 76ers for the 2014 NBA Summer League. In game one of the 76ers' Orlando Summer League schedule, Noel played his first minutes of professional basketball, scoring a game-high 19 points in the 76ers' 83–77 loss to the Orlando Magic.On October 29, 2014, Noel made his long-awaited NBA debut in the 76ers' 103–91 loss to the Indiana Pacers. In just under 35 minutes of action as a starter, he recorded 6 points on 2-of-11 shooting, along with 10 rebounds and 3 blocks.On October 30, 2015, the 76ers exercised their fourth-year team option on Noel's rookie scale contract, extending the contract through the 2016–17 season.On February 23, 2017, Noel was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Justin Anderson, Andrew Bogut and a 2017 protected first-round pick He made his debut for the Mavericks two days later, recording nine points and 10 rebounds off the bench in a 96–83 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.On June 23, 2017, the Mavericks tendered a $4.1 million qualifying offer to make Noel a restricted free agent. On August 26, 2017, he accepted the one-year, $4.1 million qualifying offer, officially re-signing with the Mavericks two days later.On July 6, 2018, Noel signed a two-year contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder.