Jump to content

Wenyen Gabriel

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Monkbot (talk | contribs) at 06:34, 2 February 2021 (Task 18 (cosmetic): eval 21 templates: hyphenate params (5×);). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Wenyen Gabriel
Gabriel with Kentucky in 2016
No. 32 – New Orleans Pelicans
PositionPower forward
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1997-03-26) 26 March 1997 (age 27)
Khartoum, Sudan
NationalitySouth Sudanese / American
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school
CollegeKentucky (2016–2018)
NBA draft2018: undrafted
Playing career2018–present
Career history
2018–2020Sacramento Kings
2018–2019→Stockton Kings
2020Portland Trail Blazers
2020–presentNew Orleans Pelicans
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference

Wenyen Gabriel (born 26 March 1997) is a South Sudanese-American professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats. Gabriel was a 5-star prospect who in 2016 was ranked number 14 on ESPN's Top 100.

High school career

Gabriel (32) at the 2016 Jordan Brand Classic

Gabriel attended Wilbraham & Monson Academy in Wilbraham, Massachusetts since 2014.[1] Prior to that, he played at Trinity High School in Manchester, New Hampshire for three years.[2] As a senior in 2015-16, he averaged 22.0 points per game, 14.0 rebounds per game, 7.0 blocks per game and 6.3 assists per game. In October 2015, he announced his decision to enroll at the University of Kentucky. Maryland, Duke, UConn and Providence were other schools on his shortlist.[3] He played 19:17 minutes in the 2016 Nike Hoop Summit, scoring two points, grabbing four rebounds and dishing out two assists.[4] He also played in the 2016 Jordan Brand Classic. Gabriel was rated as a five-star recruit and ranked #14 in the Class of 2016 by ESPN.

College career

He made his debut for the Kentucky Wildcats in an exhibition game on 31 October 2016 against Clarion University, tallying nine points, two rebounds and one assist in 17 minutes coming off the bench.[5] As a freshman, he played in 38 games, including 23 starts, averaging 4.6 points and 4.8 rebounds in 17.8 minutes.[6] During his sophomore year, Gabriel became more of a key figure for Kentucky's success that season, tallying 6.8 points and 5.4 rebounds in 37 games. He led Kentucky with 40 blocked shots.[7]

Professional career

Sacramento Kings (2018–2020)

2018–19 season

Gabriel declared for the 2018 NBA draft,[8] but went undrafted.[9] He joined the Sacramento Kings for the 2018 NBA Summer League.[10] On 31 July 2018, he signed a two-way contract with the Kings.[11] However, he did not appear in a game during that season.

2019–20 season

Just prior to the start of the 2019–20 season, the Kings converted Gabriel’s contract to a standard deal.[12] He had a double-double of 16 points and 16 rebounds for the Stockton Kings on 20 December 2019, in a win over the Delaware Blue Coats.[13] On 11 January 2020, Gabriel had 37 points, 11 rebounds and three assists for Stockton in its 163–143 win over the Iowa Wolves.[14]

Portland Trail Blazers (2020)

On 20 January 2020, Gabriel was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers along with Trevor Ariza and Caleb Swanigan in exchange for Kent Bazemore, Anthony Tolliver and two future second round picks.[15] He made his debut for the Trail Blazers on 31 January, going 0-for-3 from the field with one rebound, one assist and a block in 13 minutes as the Blazers defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 127–119.[16]

New Orleans Pelicans (2020–present)

On 30 November 2020, Gabriel signed with the New Orleans Pelicans.[17]

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

NBA

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2019–20 Sacramento 11 0 5.5 .353 .125 .600 .9 .3 .3 .2 1.7
2019–20 Portland 19 1 9.2 .484 .417 .750 2.2 .3 .4 .3 2.7
Career 30 1 7.8 .438 .300 .682 1.7 .3 .4 .2 2.1

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2020 Portland 4 2 13.3 .600 .400 .500 2.5 1.0 .5 .5 5.3
Career 4 2 13.3 .600 .400 .500 2.5 1.0 .5 .5 5.3

Personal life

Gabriel was born in Khartoum, Sudan, on 26 March 1997.[18] Because his sister – born a year earlier – had died in infancy, Gabriel was given the name "Wenyen", which means "wipe your tears" in his native Dinka language.[18] Two weeks after he was born, Gabriel's mother, Rebecca Gak, moved with him and his three siblings to Cairo, Egypt to escape the violence of the Second Sudanese Civil War.[18] While Gabriel's mother worked to earn enough money to move his father, Makuac, to Cairo, his seven-year-old brother, Komot, became Gabriel's primary care giver.[18][19] Two years after moving to Egypt, the United Nations granted an appeal to move the refugee family to Manchester, New Hampshire, an American city with a large South Sudanese population.[18]

Gabriel received a US passport in 2015[20] and represented the USA Basketball Junior National Select Team at the 2016 Nike Hoop Summit. He considers South Sudan his rightful home country.[21]

References

  1. ^ "Wenyen Gabriel's High School Basketball Stats". MaxPreps.com. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  2. ^ "Ex-Trinity hoop star Wenyen Gabriel commits to Kentucky". UnionLeader.com. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  3. ^ "Kentucky basketball: Wenyen Gabriel commits to Wildcats, coach John Calipari". UPI. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  4. ^ "USA Wins Nike Hoop Summit 101-67". www.usab.com. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  5. ^ "Live Basketball (M)! Clarion vs. Kentucky". University of Kentucky - Official Athletics Site. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  6. ^ "Basketball (M) Stats - UK Wildcats". University of Kentucky - Official Athletics Site. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  7. ^ "Wenyen Gabriel - 2017-18 Men's Basketball Roster - University of Kentucky". ukathletics.com. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  8. ^ "Forty-three international early entry candidates withdraw from NBA Draft 2018". NBA.com. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  9. ^ "NBA Draft 2018: Kentucky's Wenyen Gabriel goes undrafted". CatsPause. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  10. ^ "Official: Wenyen Gabriel joins Sacramento Kings for Summer League". kentuckysportsradio.com. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  11. ^ "Kings Sign Wenyen Gabriel to a Two-Way Contract". Sacramento Kings. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  12. ^ "Kings Announce Roster Moves Wenyen Gabriel Elevated to Roster Spot, DaQuan Jeffries Added as Two-Way Contract". NBA.com. 21 October 2019. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  13. ^ "Kings' Wenyen Gabriel: Collects double-double Thursday". CBS Sports. 20 December 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  14. ^ "Kings' Wenyen Gabriel: Returns from G League". CBS Sports. 12 January 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  15. ^ "Trail Blazers Acquire Trevor Ariza, Wenyen Gabriel, and Caleb Swanigan from Sacramento". NBA.com. 20 January 2020. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  16. ^ Aubin, John (1 February 2020). "Wenyen Gabriel starts game for Blazers on Friday". Fantasy Pros. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  17. ^ "Pelicans sign Wenyen Gabriel and Willy Hernangómez". NBA.com. 30 November 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  18. ^ a b c d e Tipton, Jerry (7 October 2016). "Gabriel's journey to UK includes stops in Sudan, Cairo, New Hampshire". Lexington Herald-Leader.
  19. ^ Braziller, Zach. "Wenyen Gabriel: From Africa war to doorstep of NCAA hoops elites". New York Post. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  20. ^ "PREP SCHOOL BASKEBALL: Wilbraham & Monson standout Wenyen Gabriel selected to the USA Basketball Juniors National Team". www.bostonherald.com. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  21. ^ "USA Selection Caps Rise For Wenyen Gabriel". www.usab.com. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wenyen_Gabriel&oldid=1004360577"