Ian Mahinmi

Ian Mahinmi

No. 28 – Indiana Pacers
Center
Personal information
Born	(1986-11-05) November 5, 1986 Rouen, France
Nationality	French
Listed height	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight	230 lb (104 kg)
Career information
NBA Draft	2005 / Round: 1 / Pick: 28th overall
Selected by the San Antonio Spurs
Pro career	2003–present
Career history
2003–2006	STB Le Havre (France)
2006–2007	ÉB Pau-Orthez (France)
2007–2010	San Antonio Spurs
2007–2009	→Austin Toros (D-League)
2010–2012	Dallas Mavericks
2012–present	Indiana Pacers
Career highlights and awards
NBA champion (2011) French League Rising Star Award (2006)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Ian Mahinmi (born November 5, 1986, in Rouen) is a French professional basketball player who plays for the Indiana Pacers of the NBA. At 6'11" and 230 lbs, he plays the position of center and power forward. He was drafted with the 28th overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft by the San Antonio Spurs.

Early life

Mahinmi was born to a Beninese father who helped other Africans immigrate to France and a Jamaican mother who taught preschool. Mahinmi preferred playing soccer as a child along with his older brother, but eventually switched to playing basketball. He was 6 feet tall when he was 14 years old. He also played some volleyball.

French basketball career

Mahinmi made his impression on international scouts at the 2004 Under-18 European Championships in Zaragoza, Spain. It was there that he first caught the attention of international scouts, including San Antonio Spurs scout Sam Presti. After playing with the French national team he signed his first contract with the club STB Le Havre (France). He played three seasons with Le Havre, averaging 9.7 points and 5.2 rebounds per game in 2005–06.

In the summer of 2006, he signed a contract to play for Pau Orthez in France's top professional league. He averaged 4.3 points and 3.2 rebounds in 12.7 minutes in the 2006–07 season, helping the team win the French Cup.

NBA career

Mahinmi was selected 28th overall in the 2005 NBA Draft by the San Antonio Spurs, which surprised many other teams and league officials because he wasn't among the 128 players listed in the league's draft guide. Mahinmi was considered a "project" that would be a couple of years from competing in the NBA. The Spurs' interest in Mahinmi relates to their need for an athletic big man since David Robinson retired. Playing for the Spurs' 2006 summer-league team at Rocky Mountain Revue, Mahinmi demonstrated his athleticism, but had difficulty maintaining rebounding or post position without fouling. After Mahinmi moved to Pau Orthez, which had a more developed strength and nutrition program than the one at Le Havre, the Spurs also began to send a strength coach to monitor his progress.

During the 2007 Summer League, Mahinmi tore his right pectoralis minor shortly after the start of play. Despite this setback, he was signed by the Spurs on August 23, 2007. Mahinmi played for the Austin Toros, the Spurs' affiliate in the NBA Development League, by November. Mahinmi averaged 17.1 points and 8.2 rebounds in the NBA Development League, leading the Austin Toros to the D-League Finals in which they lost. On October 30, 2007, Mahinmi made his NBA debut with the Spurs against the Portland Trail Blazers, playing only 74 seconds and registering no statistics.

Mahinmi signed with the Dallas Mavericks on July 13, 2010. On December 7, 2010, against the Golden State Warriors, Mahinmi recorded his first career double-double (12 points and 10 rebounds in 21 minutes).

On January 15, 2011, Mahinmi scored a career high 17 points in a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, going 6-6 from the floor and 5-6 from the free throw line while collecting 6 rebounds.

On June 12, 2011, in game 6 of the NBA Championship series against the Miami Heat with Dallas leading the series 3–2, Mahinmi collected a crucial offensive rebound in the closing seconds of the 3rd quarter before hitting a buzzer beater shot to further extend the Mavericks lead. Dallas went on to win the game 105–95 and Mahinmi won his first NBA championship with the Dallas Mavericks.

He scored a career high 19 points on December 30, 2011 in a game against the Toronto Raptors as the Mavs won their first game of the 2011-12 season. Mahinmi went 6-6 from the floor and 7-11 from the free throw line while collecting 5 rebounds.

Mahinmi recorded his first career start in a 95-86 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

On July 12, 2012 Mahinmi was traded to the Indiana Pacers for Darren Collison and Dahntay Jones.

NBA career statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2007–08	San Antonio	6	0	3.8	.500	.000	1.000	.8	.2	.0	.7	3.5
2009–10	San Antonio	26	0	6.3	.636	.000	.660	2.0	.1	.1	.3	3.9
2010–11	Dallas	56	0	8.7	.561	.000	.768	2.1	.1	.2	.3	3.1
2011–12	Dallas	61	12	18.7	.546	.000	.639	4.7	.2	.6	.5	5.8
2012–13	Indiana	80	2	16.5	.453	.000	.608	3.9	.3	.5	.8	5.0
Career		229	14	13.7	.512	.000	.660	3.4	.2	.4	.5	4.6

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2010	San Antonio	2	0	9.5	.500	.000	.750	1.0	.0	.0	.5	4.5
2011	Dallas	6	0	5.5	.600	.000	.556	1.0	.0	.2	.0	1.8
2012	Dallas	4	0	17.5	.643	.000	.846	4.5	.0	.8	.8	7.3
Career		12	0	10.2	.600	.000	.731	2.2	.0	.3	.3	4.1

Personal life

Ian Mahinmi has a daughter, Camille, who was born in April 2012.

See also

• National Basketball Association portal

External links

• Career statistics and player information from NBA.com, or Basketball-Reference.com
• "Ian Mahimi is patron of Fast Break Camp" by Michel Gomez