Michael Olowokandi

Michael Olowokandi (born 3 April 1975) is a British-Nigerian former professional basketball player. Born in Lagos, Nigeria and raised in London, he played collegiately for the Pacific Tigers. Olokowandi was selected as the first pick in the 1998 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Clippers. He played professionally until 2007, when he was forced to retire due to severe hernia and knee injuries.

Michael Olowokandi
Olowokandi with the Boston Celtics in 2006
Personal information
Born (1975-04-03) 3 April 1975
Lagos, Nigeria
Listed height7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight270 lb (122 kg)
Career information
CollegePacific (1995–1998)
NBA draft1998 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1st overall
Selected by the Los Angeles Clippers
Playing career1998–2007
PositionCenter
Number34, 41
Career history
1999Kinder Bologna
1999–2003Los Angeles Clippers
2003–2006Minnesota Timberwolves
2006–2007Boston Celtics
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points4,135 (8.3 ppg)
Rebounds3,414 (6.8 rpg)
Blocks697 (1.4 bpg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Due to his underwhelming career he is considered one of the biggest draft busts in NBA history.[1]

Early years

Olowokandi was born in Lagos, Nigeria; his father was a diplomat.[2] His family moved to London when he was 4. Olowokandi attended the Newlands Manor School in Seaford, East Sussex, where he set British age group records in long jump and triple jump and also played center midfield in football.

Olowokandi had a height of 6'8 at age 16, growing six inches in two years. He first touched a basketball at the age of 17, and began playing basketball when he was 18.[3]

Olowokandi then entered Brunel University as a mechanical engineering major, where he was an athlete in track and field, cricket, and rugby union.[4][5] He had a tryout with the Thames Valley Tigers of the Budweiser Basketball League but did not receive a contract.[6]

College career

In 1995, on Olowokandi's 20th birthday, he opened the Peterson's Guide to American Colleges and Universities and found the school page of University of the Pacific. Olowokandi then called the UOP basketball office in hopes that he would be accepted to play basketball.[4] After being informed that there were no more available basketball scholarships in UOP, Olowokandi offered to pay for his schooling (about $23,000 annually) for two years. He started out in a poor basketball condition but eventually became a star for the team, averaging a team high 12.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.9 blocks. [3]

During his junior year, he led his team to the 1997 NCAA Tournament and as a senior he led the Tigers to the 1998 National Invitation Tournament. He averaged 22 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks per game his senior year and was the 1997–98 Big West Conference Player of the Year. He graduated from Pacific with a degree in economic and had his No. 55 jersey retired by the university in 1998.[7][8]

Professional career

Olowokandi was considered to be a top two pick in the 1998 NBA draft due to his 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m) wingspan and "unlimited upside".[2] He was drafted with the first overall pick by the Los Angeles Clippers.[4][9] The start of the 1998–99 NBA season was hampered due to a lockout and Olokowandi signed with Italian team Kinder Bologna on 5 January 1999 – only two days before the lockout was resolved.[10][11] In 3 regular season Italian League games played with Bologna, he averaged 4.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 0.3 assists in 17.3 minutes per game.[12] He also played for 3 games in the FIBA EuroLeague, where he averaged 10.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 0.3 assists in 21.3 minutes per game.[13] Bologna granted Olowokandi an early release to sign with the Clippers as he did not have a considerable impact and was poorly conditioned.[14] Olowokandi claimed that he felt misused by the team and did not have his offensive abilities utilised.[11]

Olowokandi signed with the Clippers on January 29, 1999.[14] Olowokandi averaged 9.9 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.6 blocked shots in 30.4 minutes per game in a 323 game stint for five seasons with the Clippers.[15] Clippers assistant coach Kareem Abdul-Jabbar considered Olowokandi "talented but uncoachable" and cited his lack of willingness to accept criticism in practice as being detrimental to his career.[16]

Afterwards, Olowokandi signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Minnesota Timberwolves for the 2003–04 NBA season. On 26 January 2006, he was traded to the Boston Celtics in a multi-player trade.[17]

In 500 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 .7 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.[18][19][20]

Before his injuries occurred due to overtraining, Olowokandi was noted for his large size and skills with scoring, blocking shots, and rebounding, readily helping the Clippers against top NBA defenders such Dikembe Mutombo.[21][22] Out of 20 top free agents in 2003, Olowokandi was the 4th most valuable free agent prior to his injury.[23]

In 2002, Olowokandi was the first choice to be signed by the San Antonio Spurs to replace Hall of Famer David Robinson.[24] He was also a top choice for the Denver Nuggets, with Kiki VanDeWeghe of the Denver Nuggets considering Olowokandi to be a "legitimate center."[25] Eventually, due to financial issues with the L.A. Clippers, Olowokandi left the Clippers to join the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2003.[26][27]

During the 2002-03 season, Olowokandi's performance was not as strong when he began to experience severe tendonitis in his left knee, which eventually required surgical treatment as he was forced to miss out on the final 2.5 months of the season.[28] Despite facing injuries that had been unsuccessfully treated, he continued to play dozens of games for the L.A. Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves, and finally the Boston Celtics before finally retiring in 2007.[29] In 2009, he received hernioplasty treatment in Munich, Germany.

Charity

In 2001, Olowokandi and his Clippers teammates participated in the BasketBowl Challenge at Keystone Lanes in Norwalk, to raise funds for the Los Angeles Clippers Foundation and Children's Hospital Los Angeles.[30]

During Thanksgiving of 2006, Olowokandi volunteered his time at the Boston Children's Hospital and served meals for over 200 homeless people at the Pine Street Inn in Boston.[31] He has also donated to various charities and hospitals, including over $100,000 to the Children's Hospital Los Angeles for a new incubator for premature newborn infants. Many of Olowokandi's charitable projects were undisclosed and done privately without his teams' affiliations.[32]

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
1998–99 L.A. Clippers 453628.4.431–.4837.9.6.61.28.9
1999–2000 L.A. Clippers 807731.2.437–.6518.2.5.41.89.8
2000–01 L.A. Clippers 828225.9.435–.5456.4.6.41.38.5
2001–02 L.A. Clippers 807932.1.433–.6228.91.1.71.811.1
2002–03 L.A. Clippers 363638.0.427–.6579.11.3.52.212.3
2003–04 Minnesota 432521.5.425–.5905.7.6.41.66.5
2004–05 Minnesota 623419.6.456–.6675.2.5.2.95.9
2005–06 Minnesota 322423.5.446–.4875.6.5.6.86.0
2005–06 Boston 16010.4.444–.6252.6.4.2.42.8
2006–07 Boston 2409.8.413–.6672.0.2.3.51.7
Career 50039326.3.435–.5976.8.7.51.48.3

Playoffs
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2004 Minnesota 15214.9.324.000.8753.5.1.1.72.1
Career 15214.9.324.000.8753.5.1.1.72.1

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1995–96 Pacific 25–10.3.526–.5563.4.2.11.34.0
1996–97 Pacific 19–22.8.570–.3336.6.4.41.710.9
1997–98 Pacific 33––.609–.48511.2.8.32.922.2
Career 77–15.7.592–.4667.5.5.22.113.5

References
  1. https://boston.cbslocal.com/2013/06/25/top-5-biggest-nba-draft-busts-of-all-time/
  2. Sheridan, Chris (24 June 1998). "Olowokandi has good shot at No. 1". Kitsap Sun. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  3. "Breakout Center Fell Into UOP's Lap - All 7-1 of Him / Coaching, diligence molded Olowokandi into a force". SFgate. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  4. "Michael Olowokandi bio". NBA. Archived from the original on 1 July 2010. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  5. "U. of Pacific center Michael Olowokandi of Nigeria tops NBA draft". Jet. FindArticles.com. 13 July 1998. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  6. Taylor, Jeff (5 January 1999). "Bologna cash in on NBA lock-out". Independent. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  7. Retired Numbers Archived 29 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Pacifictigers.cstv.com. Retrieved on 2 January 2012.
  8. Anderson, Jason (24 June 2008). "Former center Olowokandi hasn't maintained ties with university". Recordnet. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  9. Schmidt, Matt (27 June 2012). "The Worst No. 1 NBA Draft Picks Ever". ThePostGame. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  10. Fendrich, Howard (5 January 1999). "Top NBA Pick To Play in Italy". Associated Press. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  11. Taylor, Phil (8 February 1999). "If Kandi Isn't Dandy, The Club Will Continue to Be the League's Longest-Running Comedy Routine". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  12. Michael Olowokandi MEDIE STAGIONE (in Italian).
  13. OLUSEGUN MICHAEL OLOWOKANDI VIRTUS BUCKLER BOLOGNA VIRTUS BUCKLER BOLOGNA.
  14. "Olowokandi Signs With Clippers". CBS News. 29 January 1999. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  15. https://www.nba.com/timberwolves/features/olowokandi_031202.html
  16. Helin, Kurt (26 July 2011). "Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is not in the Olowokandi fan club". NBC Sports. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  17. Celtics@Timberwolves recap Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Sports.yahoo.com (30 January 2006). Retrieved on 2 January 2012.
  18. CNNSI.com – SI Online – Marty Burns – Inside the NBA – Marty Burns: Free agents may be disappointed – Tuesday 2 July 2002 10:58 am Archived 12 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Quicktime.cnnsi.com (2 July 2002). Retrieved on 2 January 2012.
  20. "Kandi Man vows to be free agency's sweetest deal". ESPN. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  21. "Inside The NBA". www.si.com. 2 April 2001. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  22. "Kandi Man vows to be free agency's sweetest deal". ESPN. 13 July 2003. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  23. "Skimming the cream of '03 free agent crop". ESPN. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  24. "West Goes With a Grizzled Veteran". The Los Angeles Times. 17 November 2002. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  25. "Clippers Looking at Nuggets". The Los Angeles Times. 10 July 2003. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  26. "Hornets Haven't Created Much Buzz". The Los Angeles Times. 3 November 2002. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  27. "Clippers Must Open Coffers". The Los Angeles Times. 17 April 2002. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  28. "Kandi Man vows to be free agency's sweetest deal". ESPN. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  29. "LA Clippers Schedule 2002-03". ESPN. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  30. WHITE, LONNIE (24 March 2001). "Olowokandi Shaves Off Some of Those Silly Fouls". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  31. "Boston Celtics Center Michael Olowokandi Spreads Holiday Cheer". NBA. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  32. "Children's Hospital Los Angeles (November 2009)". lachildrenshospital.net. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
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