Mfiondu Kabengele

Mfiondu Tshimanga Kabengele (born August 14, 1997) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Florida State Seminoles. He was drafted 27th overall in the 2019 NBA draft by the Brooklyn Nets and immediately traded to the Clippers.

Mfiondu Kabengele
Kabengele with Florida State in 2018
No. 25 – Los Angeles Clippers
PositionPower forward / Center
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1997-08-14) August 14, 1997
Burlington, Ontario
NationalityCanadian
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
High school
CollegeFlorida State (2017–2019)
NBA draft2019 / Round: 1 / Pick: 27th overall
Selected by the Brooklyn Nets
Playing career2019–present
Career history
2019–presentLos Angeles Clippers
2019–2020→Agua Caliente Clippers
Career highlights and awards
  • ACC Sixth Man of The Year (2019)
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

College career

Kabengele came to Florida State as an unheralded recruit and redshirted his freshman season. As a redshirt freshman, he played an important role on a team that reached the Elite Eight, averaging 7.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. In his sophomore year, Kabengele led the team in scoring with 13.2 points per game along with 5.9 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game despite not starting a single contest.[1] He was named ACC Sixth Man of the Year. During the NCAA Tournament, Kabengele averaged 17.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game.[2] On April 9, 2019, he declared for the NBA draft, thus forgoing his remaining two years of collegiate eligibility.[1]

Professional career

Los Angeles Clippers (2019–present)

On June 20, 2019, Kabengele was selected by the Brooklyn Nets with the 27th pick of the 2019 NBA draft, and his draft right was later traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for a future first-round pick in the 2020 NBA draft and the draft rights to the 56th pick of the 2019 NBA draft, Jaylen Hands.[3] On July 9, 2019, the Clippers announced that they had signed Kabengele.[4] On October 24, 2019, Kabengele made his debut in NBA, coming off the bench in a 141–122 win over the Golden State Warriors with three points, a rebound and a block.[5] On November 16, 2019, Kabengele got himself 10 points and two rebounds in a 150–101 blowout win against the Atlanta Hawks.[6] Kabengele posted 25 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals on assignment for the G League's Agua Caliente Clippers in a 112-102 loss to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers on January 14, 2020.[7] He recorded 38 points, 12 rebounds, and a block on January 19 in a G League win over the Stockton Kings.[8] He worked to establish a three-point shot from the professional distance, in the G League.[2]

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
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2019–20 L.A. Clippers 1205.3.438.4501.000.9.2.2.23.5
Career 1205.3.438.4501.000.9.2.2.23.5

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2017–18 Florida State 34014.8.491.385.6574.6.3.4.97.2
2018–19 Florida State 37021.6.502.369.7615.9.3.61.513.2
Career 71018.3.498.374.7245.3.3.51.210.3

Personal life

Kabengele's parents Tshilongo and Tshimanga Kabengele are originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo but moved to Canada for educational reasons.[9] His maternal uncle is Dikembe Mutombo, a Basketball Hall of Fame inductee who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 18 years.[9][10] Kabengele was an international affairs major at Florida State University.

References
  1. Weiler, Curt (April 9, 2019). "Florida State's Mfiondu Kabengele declares for NBA Draft, will sign with agent". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
  2. Chorpenning, Garrett (March 4, 2020). "Mfiondu Kabengele wants to be the next great G League success story". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  3. "L.A. Clippers Acquire Draft Rights to Mfiondu Kabengele". NBA.com. June 20, 2019. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
  4. "L.A. Clippers Sign Kabengele and Mann". NBA.com. July 9, 2019. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  5. "Now with Clippers, Kawhi Leonard spoils Warriors fun again". ESPN.com. October 24, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  6. "Mfiondu Kabengele scored 10 points in eight minutes". FantasyPros.com. November 17, 2020. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  7. "Clippers' Mfiondu Kabengele: Double-double for G League club". CBS Sports. January 15, 2020. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  8. "Clippers' Mfiondu Kabengele: Massive effort powers G League win". CBS Sports. January 20, 2020. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  9. Wright, Katherine (January 3, 2019). "FSU center Mfiondu Kabengele brings passion to court, sense of purpose off it". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  10. Radley, Scott (April 10, 2019). "Mfiondu Kabengele uses March Madness as a launching pad to the NBA". InsideHalton.com. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
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