Ndudi Hamani Ebi (born 18 June 1984) is an English-born Nigerian[1] former professional basketball player who most notably played for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA) between 2003 and 2005.

Ndudi Ebi
Personal information
Born (1984-06-18) 18 June 1984 (age 40)
London, England
NationalityNigerian
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight240 lb (109 kg)
Career information
High schoolWestbury Christian School
(Houston, Texas)
NBA draft2003: 1st round, 26th overall pick
Selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves
Playing career2003–2019
PositionForward
Career history
20032005Minnesota Timberwolves
2005–2006Fort Worth Flyers
2007–2008Bnei HaSharon
2008–2009Carife Ferrara
2009–2010Basket Rimini Crabs
2010–2011Andrea Costa Imola
2011Limoges CSP
2011Ningxia Hanas
2011–2012Anibal Zahle
2012Jiangsu Monkey King
2012Sidigas Avellino
2013Vaqueros de Bayamón
2013Bnei Herzliya
2014Virtus Bologna
2014Zamalek
2015Virtus Roma
2015–2016PMS Torino
2016Manama
2016–2017Byblos Club
2017Shahrdari Tabriz
2017Al-Ahli
2017–2018Boulazac Basket Dordogne
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference

He initially committed to the University of Arizona, before making himself eligible for the NBA draft. Ebi was selected out of Westbury Christian School by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round (26th pick overall) of the 2003 NBA draft. In 2007-08 he was the top rebounder in the Israel Basketball Premier League.

Ebi was raised in Nigeria before moving to Houston, Texas, as a teenager to attend high school. He holds both British and Nigerian citizenship.

Professional career

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Ebi was the first first-round pick in three years for the Wolves; the team had forfeited five first-round picks after the team owner illegally made a deal with forward Joe Smith (the penalty was later reduced to three picks). After Ebi appeared in 19 games over the course of two seasons, Minnesota attempted to get an exception from the NBA so they could send him to the NBA Development League. Ebi was technically ineligible as the 2005–06 NBA season was his third year, and the D-League only accepted players who had been in the NBA for less than two years. Minnesota wanted to guide Ebi in, and they tacitly argued that Ebi was hardly a two-year veteran in the figurative sense, given his limited playing time. The league rejected Minnesota's request regarding Ebi, and to make room for Ronald Dupree, Minnesota released Ebi on 31 October 2005.[citation needed]

That two seasons with the Timberwolves ended up being Ebi's only playing time in the NBA, as his final game was on 20 April 2005, in a 95–73 win over the San Antonio Spurs. In his final game, Ebi recorded 18 points and 8 rebounds.[citation needed]

Ebi signed a free agent contract over the summer of 2006 with the Dallas Mavericks. After playing five pre-season games, averaging 5.2 points per game (ppg), Ebi was waived by the Mavericks on 26 October 2006.[citation needed]

On 30 September 2007, he signed with Israeli club Bnei HaSharon for one season.[2] In 2007-08 he was the top rebounder in the Israel Basketball Premier League.[citation needed]

On 3 August 2008, he signed with Italian club Carife Ferrara, newly promoted to Serie A.[3] He later played for the Basket Rimini Crabs in Italy and averaged 15.3 points per game, 13.6 rebounds per game, and 3.2 steals per game.[4] In March 2011, he signed with Limoges CSP. In summer 2011, he signed with Anibal Zahle in Lebanon and thus joined the Division 1 of the Lebanese Basketball League. In 2012, he signed with Sidigas Avellino of Italy.[5] He signed with the Vaqueros de Bayamón in 2013. On 4 February 2014, he signed with Virtus Bologna of Italy.[6]

On 15 January 2015, after playing for Egyptian team Zamalek, Ebi returned to Italy after signing with Virtus Roma.[7]

On 28 July 2015, Ebi signed with Auxilium CUS Torino.[8]

On 7 April 2017, Ebi signed with Shahrdari Tabriz of the Iranian Basketball Super League.[9]

On 15 December 2017, Ebi signed with French club Boulazac Basket Dordogne.[10]

NBA statistics

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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

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2003–04 Minnesota 17 0 1.9 .429 .250 0.2 0.2 0.0 0.2 0.8
2004–05 Minnesota 2 0 27.0 .524 .000 .556 8.0 0.5 0.5 0.5 13.5
Career 19 0 4.5 .486 .000 .462 1.0 0.2 0.1 0.3 2.1

References

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  1. ^ Player Profile, Basket Club Ferrara
  2. ^ "Israeli Basketball, News, Teams, Scores, Stats, Standings, Awards - eurobasket". Eurobasket LLC. Archived from the original on 2 November 2007.
  3. ^ "MSN Notizie | News Italia e notizie mondo, ultima ora e attualità". www.msn.com.
  4. ^ "Ebi Ndudi Basketball Player Profile, High School, News, Career, Awards - eurobasket". Eurobasket LLC.
  5. ^ "Italian Basketball, News, Teams, Scores, Stats, Standings, Awards - eurobasket". Eurobasket LLC.
  6. ^ Virtus Bologna announced Ndudi Ebi
  7. ^ "Virtus Roma announces Ndudi Ebi".
  8. ^ "Ndudi Ebi officially signs with Torino". Sportando. 28 July 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  9. ^ "Ndudi Ebi signs with Tabriz in Iran".
  10. ^ "UN NOUVEAU JOUEUR !". 15 December 2017.
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