NBA Player from Africa

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Hasheem Thabeet

Nationality - Tanzanian
Height - 7 ft 3 in
Thabeet was late coming basketball, only developing an interest when he started watching pickup games in his native city of Dar es Salaam. He attended the University of Connecticut. In 2008 and 2009 he was named the NABC Defensive Player of the Year. He became the first Tanzanian player to play for the NBA when he was drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies in 2009. He then played for the Houston Rockets and the Portland Trail Blazers before moving to his current team the Oklahoma City Thunder. Thabeet is the tallest active player in the NBA. In November this year Thabeet recorded his first career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Festus Ezeli
Nationality - Nigerian
Height - 6 ft 11 in
Ezeli spent his early life in Nigeria concentrating on academics. It was only when he came to stay with an uncle in the United States aged 14 that he started playing basketball. His first forays into the game were disastrous and included him scoring in his own net. It was only in 2006 that he finally started to catch on and by July 2007 he had earned an invitation to the Reebok All-American Camp. He was at Vanderbilt University for three years before he became a breakout star, averaging 13 points and 6.3 rebounds. That season he was named a second-team All-SEC (Southeastern Conference) performer. The Golden State Warriors drafted the 23-year-old in 2012, signing him on a rookie scale contract.

DeSagana Diop
Nationality - Senegalese
Height - 7 ft 0 in
Diop grew up in Senegal, where he used to play soccer. He started playing basketball aged 15. He attended Virginia's title Oak Hill Academy for secondary school, where he led them to a number one national ranking. Diop was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers straight out of high school. He spent four seasons in Cleveland before moving to the Dallas Mavericks, the New Jersey Nets and finally to the Charlotte Bobcats in 2009. He is still playing for the Bobcats. Diop, who speaks five languages, is a Muslim. He has a twitter account where he tweets about his life, particularly his children.

Al-Farouq Aminu
Nationality - American/Nigerian (represents Nigeria internationally)
Height - 6 ft 9 in
Aminu attended Georgia's eminent Norcross High School, a school known for producing top athletes. He led his high school side to back to back state titles and played for the McDonald's All-American Team. He played college basketball for Wake Forest. While at college he was on the 2009 Sporting News All-Freshman Team. In 2010 he was the eighth pick by the LA Clippers in the draft. He was traded to the New Orleans Hornets in 2011 where he is currently plays as a power forward. He played for the Nigerian national team in the 2012 2012 Summer Olympic Games.

Bismack Biyombo
Nationality - Congolese
Height - 6 ft 9 in
Biyombo was discovered at a youth tournament in Yemen when he was just 16-years-old. His discovery led to him playing with Spanish side Illescas, where he was eventually called up to the senior side. He made his debut as a professional for Fuenlabrada. Biyombo drew the attention of international scouts when he was the first player to record a triple double (with 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 blocks) at the 2011 Nike Hoops Summit. Later in 2011 he was drafted by the Sacramento Kings, he was then traded to the Charlotte Bobcats, where he now is now on a rookie scale contract.

Christian Eyenga
Nationality - Congolese
Height - 6 ft 7 in
Eyenega started out playing for Congolese side Onatra Kinshasa. It wasn’t long before he made the move to Spain, he was 17 when he started playing for DKV Joventut. Thereafter Eyenga bounced between Spain's Prat and DKV Joventut. In 2010 he played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, first in the NBA Summer League then on a two year contract worth $2 million. He was traded to the La Lakers in March 2012; he was then traded to the Orlando Magic and is now playing with the Texas Legends. The 23-year-old has a twitter account where he posts about basketball, music and video games.

source MSN