There always has been something different about Akai Fleming where basketball is concerned.
“He was able to spin the ball on his finger at age 4 or 5,” Fleming’s father, Atibah Fleming, laughed.
Whether it was doing household chores while keeping his dribble going with only his left hand, or mastering the ballhandling spider drill, Fleming was ahead of the curve at a young age. His propensity to pick up basketball skills was matched by his passion for the game, leading to a lifelong love affair which has turned into an opportunity to play for Georgia Tech starting with the 2025-26 season.
Akai Fleming, now a 6-foot-4, 195-pound guard who turned 18 on Monday, signed with Tech and coach Damon Stoudamire in November. That signified the culmination of one part of his career and the commencement of another.
“They’re (Tech) gonna get an exciting, electrifying player that can play on all three levels,” Fleming told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “A guy that can play above the rim, get out in transition. It’s definitely gonna be a fun thing to watch. I’m coming to play.”
Fleming said he knew he was a step ahead of his basketball peers at about the age of 8 or 9 when he excelled on the AAU circuit. A few years later, as a freshman at Osborne High School in Marietta, he began to get recruited and soon had scholarship offers from Kansas State, Indiana, Florida, Auburn, Alabama and Georgia, among others.
At Osborne, Fleming continued to stake his claim as one of the top rising players in the state. He averaged 22 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block as a junior after scoring 18.1 points per game as a sophomore.
In May, Fleming, considered a four-star recruit by the 247Sports Composite, decided to forego his senior season at Osborne and play at Overtime Elite in Atlantic Station.
“It was definitely a big decision knowing where my career is heading,” Fleming said. “I feel like coming here was just a good move for me in terms of a skill standpoint and just trying to get better. This is one of the places to get to the next level, and they’ve proved it. I came here to work and compete with other high-level guys.”
Fleming had been scoring 15.6 points per game this season for his team, Cold Hearts, to go with 4.2 rebounds and 1.3 steals per contest. But a nagging knee injury brought forth a tough decision on what was best for the future. In December, Fleming opted to end his final season of prep basketball and have surgery on his knee.
“I could have played the season, but I decided to get that dealt with and be ready for Georgia Tech. That was really the ultimate goal for me, just being ready for when the season starts next year,” he said. “I love basketball, I really wanna play, I like being here. It was definitely tough.”
Added Atibah: “It killed him. That’s all he wants to do. He wanted to be there for his teammates. Overtime is a great environment, great people, great organization. He wanted to continue playing there, build his name for the city of Atlanta, being that he’s a hometown kid. The fact that he went out teared him up. But, like I told him, ‘We just gotta look at the bigger picture. We’re still home, you’re getting ready to go to Georgia Tech, so you wanna be all the way healthy for Georgia Tech.’ We just wanted to make sure he’s ready for the big stage.”
Atibah Fleming has a bit of a basketball story of his own. A native of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Atibah played for the Virgin Islands junior national team and had a few college basketball scholarships of his own before graduating from high school. He moved to Georgia in the late 1990s to attend Morris Brown.
His influence on Akai’s basketball development has been key, Akai said.
And influence from both his parents, actually, has been crucial, Akai added. He recognized his grandparents, extended relatives, members of his church group and basketball coaches who have all lent a helping hand along the way. Most of that group was at Overtime Elite during Fleming’s signing ceremony in November.
“Like they say, it takes a village,” Fleming said. “Some of my church members that came out, family from different parts in Georgia came out, that was a big thing for me.”
An McDonald’s All-American nominee, Fleming is part of a five-man recruiting class that includes Cole Kirouac of OTE, Eric Chatfield Jr. of Pace Academy, Brandon Stores from New York City and Mouhamed Sylla of Senegal. Fleming recognizes being one of three local players out of that quintet holds an added weight of expectation when he enrolls later this year.
But that’s nothing the Fleming family hasn’t come to terms with. If anything, Fleming will relish the opportunity to live up those expectations.
“It’s no pressure. You’re home, you’re pretty familiar with everyone, the basketball community here, there’s really no pressure just to go out there and play the game that he knows how to play,” Atibah said. “I think the expectation when he gets to Tech is to be a solid contributor, to help bolster the team, to help them have a winning season and possibly get to the tournament and, hopefully, win it all.”
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