Efe Abogidi

Efe Abogidi competed in track and field and basketball while growing up in Ughelli -- a town in Delta State, Nigeria. He attended camps to hone his skills, eventually moving to Senegal in 2016 to attend NBA Academy Africa during its inaugural year. After suffering a severe knee injury -- a torn ACL, MCL and meniscus -- he attended the NBA Global Academy in Canberra. He moved to the United States ahead of the 2020-21 season to play college basketball at Washington State. Abogidi was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team. As a sophomore, he averaged 8.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 20.8 minutes. After his sophomore campaign, he left college to play for the G League Ignite. During the 2022-23 season, he appeared in 22 games (six starts) and averaged 8.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.0 blocks in 18.6 minutes. Abogidi is an athletic big man with great lob-catching ability, rim protection talent and will run the floor in transition. He's also mobile enough to potentially switch onto wings defensively. He has a high motor, always fighting for rebounds and making hustle plays. There is upside for him as a floor spacer. Abogidi went 20-for-26 (76.9%) from the free-throw line in the G League, though he's only 27-of-107 (25.2%) from three across his one G League and two collegiate seasons. Abogidi may have to fight for a roster spot early in his career, but his development as a three-point shooter could fast-track an NBA role. Either way, he has a relatively high floor as an athletic big. In terms of NBA comparisons, he shows similarities to Chris Boucher, Marquese Chriss and Anthony Randolph.