Michael Olowokandi
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This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. (March 2010) |
 Olowokandi in 2006 with Earl Barron. |
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| Center | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 3, 1975 Lagos, Nigeria |
| Listed height | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) |
| Listed weight | 270 lb (122 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Newlands Manor School (Seaford, East Sussex) |
| College | Brunel (1993–1995) Pacific (1995–1998) |
| NBA Draft | 1998 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1st overall |
| Selected by the Los Angeles Clippers | |
| Pro career | 1998–2007 |
| Career history | |
| 1998 | Kinder Bologna (Italy) |
| 1998–2003 | Los Angeles Clippers |
| 2003–2006 | Minnesota Timberwolves |
| 2006–2007 | Boston Celtics |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 4,135 (8.3 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 3,414 (6.8 rpg) |
| Blocks | 697 (1.4 bpg) |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Michael Olowokandi (born April 3, 1975) is a retired Nigerian-born professional basketball center who played in the American National Basketball Association from 1998 to 2007.
Olowokandi was born in Lagos, Nigeria; his father was a diplomat in Nigeria. His family moved to London, England. Olowokandi attended the Newlands Manor School in Seaford, East Sussex and Brunel University. At Brunel, Olowokandi was an athlete in track and field, cricket, and rugby union and began playing basketball when he was 18.[1][2]
Olowokandi's #55 jersey was retired by the Pacific Tigers.[3]
Contents |
College career [edit]
In 1995, he enrolled at the University of the Pacific in the United States after discovering it through Peterson's Guide to American Colleges and Universities. At a 7-foot height, Michael Olowokandi called the basketball office at Pacific in the hopes that he would be accepted.[1] During his junior year, Olowokandi led his team to the NCAA tournament. He averaged 22 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks per game his senior year and graduated with a degree in economics in 1998. After his senior year, he was drafted with the first overall pick of the 1998 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Clippers.[1]
Professional career [edit]
Because of the 1998–99 NBA lockout, in the season when he was drafted, Olowokandi signed for Italian team Kinder Bologna. When he eventually signed for the Clippers he played there for five seasons before signing with the Minnesota Timberwolves as an unrestricted free agent before the 2003-04 NBA season.
In 500 career regular season NBA games (399 games started), Olowokandi averaged 8.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.39 blocked shots per game. In 15 playoff games (2 starts), he averaged 2.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 0.73 blocks per game. In the 2001–2002 season, Olowokandi saw the most playing time of his career and averaged 11.1 points and 8.8 rebounds. During the last 20 games of that season, he averaged 17 points a game and 11 rebounds, and was considered one of the biggest free agents in the 2002–2003 free agency class.[4][5] He played 36 games in the 2002–2003 season before sustaining an injury that forced him to miss the rest of the season. In his last year with the Los Angeles Clippers, he sustained a hernia and knee injury, which greatly hindered his ability after being listed as a top free agent prospect for the 2002–03 season. He finished that season averaging 12.3 points (on 42.7% shooting from the floor) 9.1 rebounds, 2.2 blocks, and 2.7 turnovers per game. During that offseason, he signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves. His time with the Timberwolves was marked by serious injury and inconsistent play.
On January 26, 2006, he was traded to the Boston Celtics in a multi-player trade.[6]
Personal [edit]
Olowokandi has two children with ex-fiancee Suzie Ketcham, who stars on VH1's Basketball Wives.[7]
He is also noted for various charitable contributions. He had proceeds from the sale of his college jersey donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. He also donated $100,000 the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles for the purchase of a new incubator for the premature babies' ward.[citation needed] In Boston, a few days before the Thanksgiving holidays, he was with patients at the Children's Hospital who were not able to go home to see their families. Then on Thanksgiving Day, he celebrated the holiday by serving home cooked meals to over 200 homeless men and women at the Pine Street Inn.[8]
References [edit]
- ^ a b c "Michael Olowokandi bio". NBA. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
- ^ "U. of Pacific center Michael Olowokandi of Nigeria tops NBA draft". Jet. FindArticles.com. July 13, 1998. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
- ^ Retired Numbers. Pacifictigers.cstv.com. Retrieved on 2012-01-02.
- ^ CNNSI.com – SI Online – Marty Burns – Inside the NBA – Marty Burns: Free agents may be disappointed – Tuesday July 02, 2002 10:58 am. Quicktime.cnnsi.com (2002-07-02). Retrieved on 2012-01-02.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ Celtics@Timberwolves recap. Sports.yahoo.com (2006-01-30). Retrieved on 2012-01-02.
- ^ Sangweni, Yolanda (Thursday, May 20, 2010). "Basketball Wives Star Suzie Ketchum on NBA "Wife" Life". Essence.com. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
- ^ JPG image. NBA.com
External links [edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Michael Olowokandi |
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- 1975 births
- Living people
- Alumni of Brunel University
- Boston Celtics players
- British expatriate sportspeople in the United States
- Centers (basketball)
- English basketball players
- English expatriates in the United States
- English people of Nigerian descent
- Expatriate basketball people in Italy
- Los Angeles Clippers draft picks
- Los Angeles Clippers players
- Minnesota Timberwolves players
- Nigerian basketball players
- Nigerian emigrants to the United Kingdom
- Nigerian expatriates in Italy
- Nigerian expatriate basketball people in the United States
- Pacific Tigers men's basketball players
- People from Lagos
- People from Seaford, East Sussex
- Sportspeople from London
- Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna players
