For 90 days get to know more about the international faces of the NBA. Day 29 brings...
Festus Ezeli (C, Golden State Warriors), Nigeria
Height: 2.11m, 6-foot-11 | Weight: 115.7kg, 255 pounds | Born: 21 October 1989
So much of Festus Ezeli's climb to the NBA reads like fantasy . How his family sent him from Nigeria to California at the age of 14 because he'd already graduated high school. How he went to America to study medicine, but his uncle led the 6-foot-8 Ezeli to hoops. And how, eight years after Ezeli scored a bucket in his own basket in his first AAU game, he became a first-round pick in the NBA Draft.
And then, reality stepped in.
In 2013-14, after a rookie season that made him look like a part of Golden State's long-term plans (he started 41 games in place of an injured Andrew Bogut), a knee injury kept him out the entire season. And after he worked his knee back into order, a shin condition – one the team said isn't serious – kept him out of NBA Summer League.
"I'm stronger than I thought," Ezeli told SFGate.com. "Imagine sitting for 100 games. I never thought I could do it. … It's just added to the fire. It's all motivation."
Ezeli's expected back for the 2014-15 season, returning to a Warriors team that'll need his size and defensive ability in order to make a run at the crown.
Key Stats
2012-13, Last Season Played: GP: 78 | MIN: 14.4 | PTS: 2.4 | REB: 4.0 | BLK: 0.9 | FG%: 43.8
Five Things to Know
1. His full first name, Ifeanyi, means 'nothing is impossible with God.'
2. When Ezeli first started playing AAU ball at 14, he scored his first points in his team's own basket. (per the Sacramento Bee)
3. He holds the Vanderbilt University career and single-season records for blocked shots, breaking former NBA player Wil Perdue's marks.
4. He was cut from the Jesuit High basketball team in Sacramento at the age of 16, then started playing ball at Yuba Community College, where he also served as team videographer. (Warriors.com)
5. He finished high school, at Nigeria's Igbinedion Education Centre at 14, and studied biology when he came to America.
Check out more Ezeli's photos and video in the LEAGUE section of the NBA Game Time app!
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