He is the highest paid foreign player in CBA history, looking back on his career.

At the 2010 NBA Draft, Epayyudu, a junior forward from Baylor University, was selected by the Golden State Warriors with the 6th pick in the first round. Epayyudu became the athlete with the highest draft pick in Baylor University's history. Before the start of the summer league, the Golden State Warriors announced that they officially signed Epayyudu with a 4-year, $14.35 million rookie contract. Epayyudu has since begun his NBA career.

In the 2010-2011 season, Aipaiyudu, who was just a new member of the league, was not valued by the Warriors' coaching staff, and could only play as a substitute for David Lee. In the late season, the team's starting center Andris Biderlins was out of the game due to injury, Aipaiyudu became the team's starting inside line, and his playing time increased significantly. This season, Aipaiyudu played 58 regular season games for the Warriors, including 18 starts, averaging 17.8 minutes per game, and contributed 4.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocks. The Warriors ranked 12th in the Western Conference with 36 wins and 46 losses, missing the playoffs. In the 2011-2012 season, Epayudo still played as David Lee's substitute. His average playing time has increased compared to last season. In that season, Epayudo played 38 regular season games for the Warriors, including 6 starts, and averaged 5.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. In the middle of the season, the Warriors management chose to trade Monta Ellis in order to straighten Stephen Curry, so Epayudo was traded by the team as a bargaining chip.

On March 14, 2012, the Golden State Warriors traded Monta Ellis, Epayudo and Kwame Brown to the Milwaukee Bucks, winning Australian Dog Te and Stephen Jackson.

After coming to the Bucks, Aipaiyudu played as a substitute for Drew Guden, and his data reached the highest in his career. This season, Aipaiyudu played 23 regular season games for the Bucks, including 5 starts, averaging 5.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.6 blocks per game. The Bucks ranked ninth in the Eastern Conference with 31 wins and 35 losses and missed the playoffs. In the 2012-2013 season, Aipaidu still played as the team's substitute inside. His career-high appearances in a single season. In this season, Aipaidu played 76 regular season games for the Bucks, including 9 starts, and averaged 17.3 minutes per game, contributing 4.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. The Bucks ranked eighth in the Eastern Conference with 38 wins and 44 losses. They were swept out by the Miami Heat 0-4 in the first round.

In the 2013-2014 season, as Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis left the team one after another, the Bucks officially entered the reconstruction period. Although Epiyudu played as Eisen Iliasova's substitute, he did not get much chance to play. In the later stage of the season, Epiyudu became the team's starting inside again due to injury problems. In that season, Epiyudu played 42 regular season games for the Bucks, including 14 starts, and averaged 19.1 minutes per game to contribute 3.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1 block. The Bucks ranked last in the league with 15 wins and 67 losses. On September 4, 2014, the Los Angeles Clippers announced that they would sign Aipaidu for a one-year contract of $980,000.

In the 2014-2015 season, Epayoudu played as Blake Griffin's second substitute and usually only played in games with a score of points. His average playing time and data reached the lowest level in his career. In this season, Epayoudu played 33 regular season games for the Clippers, all of which played as a substitute, and averaged 0.9 points and 0.8 rebounds per game. The Clippers ranked third in the Western Conference with 56 wins and 26 losses. They defeated the San Antonio Spurs 4-3 in the first round. The Western Conference semi-finals lost 3-4 to the Houston Rockets 3-4 in the situation and missed the Western Conference Finals.

Aipaidu, who became a free agent in the offseason, did not receive the signing contract from the NBA team. He then went to Europe to join the Turkish League powerhouse Fenerbahce and continued his career.

On July 22, 2017, the Utah Jazz announced that they had signed Aipaiyudu for a two-year, $6.56 million contract, so Aipaiyudu returned to the NBA again. In the 2017-2018 season, Epayudo, as a substitute for Derek Fevers, usually only starts in the games where Derek Fevers missed. In that season, Epayudo played 63 regular season games for the Jazz, including 3 starts, averaging 12.8 minutes per game, contributing 2.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocks. The Jazz ranked fifth in the Western Conference with 48 wins and 34 losses. They defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 4-2 in the first round, and lost to the Houston Rockets 1-4 in the Western Conference semi-finals and missed the Western Conference Finals.

In the 2018-2019 season, Epayyudu still played as Derek Ferworth's second substitute. His average playing time per game declined significantly compared to last season. In that season, Epayyudu played 51 regular season games for the Jazz, including one starter, and averaged 2.3 points and 1.8 rebounds per game. The Jazz ranked fifth in the Western Conference with 50 wins and 32 losses, and lost to the Houston Rockets 1-4 in the first round.

Ai Paiudu, who became a free agent in the offseason, did not receive the signing contract provided by the NBA team. He then chose to go to the CBA League to continue his career and signed with Beijing Beijing Enterprises Club. He became the highest-paid foreign aid in the history of the CBA League.. In September 2019, Aipaiyudu was selected for the Nigerian men's basketball team and competed with the team in the 2019 Men's Basketball World Cup. Nigeria failed to qualify in the group stage with 1 win and 2 losses. Nigeria defeated Côte d'Ivoire 83-66, defeated China 86-73, and won the 17th place in this Basketball World Cup.

In August 2021, Aipaiyudu was selected for the Nigerian men's basketball team and competed with the team in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Nigeria lost all three games in the group stage and failed to qualify, and finally only won the 10th place in the men's basketball team in this Olympics. In June 2023, Aipaidu announced his official retirement, ending his player career, and joining the Atlanta Hawks coaching staff. Since then, the thin blocker has completely left the NBA arena.