Charles A. Bassey (born October 28, 2000) is a Nigerian

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

(NBA). He played

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for the

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers are the athletic teams that represent Western Kentucky University (WKU), located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division I ranks, competing in the Co ...

. He was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in the

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Early life

Bassey was born in

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...

, Nigeria, where he played soccer until age 12, standing at the time. At that age, he was discovered by a youth

coach while Bassey was selling fried chicken on the side of a road and wearing

flip-flops Flip-flops are a type of light sandal, typically worn as a form of casual footwear. They consist of a flat sole held loosely on the foot by a Y-shaped strap known as a toe thong that passes between the first and second toes and around both side ...

that were too small for him. He stopped playing soccer soon after, instead focusing on developing his basketball skills. At age 14, Bassey was named most valuable player (MVP) of basketball camp Giants of Africa, a program established by

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

executive

Masai Ujiri Masai Ujiri (born 7 July 1970) is a British-born, Nigerian-Canadian professional basketball executive and former player and is the president of basketball operations of the Toronto Raptors in the National Basketball Association (NBA). After a m ...

High school career

At age 14, Bassey stood and moved to the United States to continue his basketball career at St. Anthony Catholic High School, a

private school Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

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. By then, recruiting analysts considered him one of the best prospects in his class. As a freshman, Bassey averaged 20.2 points, 17.1 rebounds and 5.9 blocks per game, leading his team to the

Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools The Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools, or TAPPS, is an organization headquartered in the Lone Star Tower at Texas Motor Speedway Fort Worth, Texas. It was formerly headquartered at the Salado Civic Center in Salado, Texas. Foun ...

(TAPPS) title game. Bassey competed in the

Jordan Brand Classic The Jordan Brand Classic is a high school All-Star basketball game played annually in April. The game's rosters feature the best and most highly recruited high school boys in the senior class including alumns like Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Bl ...

International Game, where he was named MVP. Before his sophomore season, Bassey was ruled ineligible by the TAPPS, with St. Anthony filing an appeal. He still made his season debut, and head coach Jeff Merritt was fired for playing an ineligible player. St. Anthony withdrew from the TAPPS and joined the Texas Christian Athletic League, allowing Bassey to become eligible again. For his junior season, Bassey transferred to DeSales High School in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

and began playing basketball for Aspire Basketball Academy in Louisville. He made the decision after Hennssy Auriantal, his legal guardian and an assistant coach at St. Anthony, was dismissed from the program. As a junior, he averaged 19.4 points and 12.8 rebounds per game.

Recruiting

Bassey was a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top centers in the 2018 class. On June 13, 2018, he

reclassified ''Reclassified'' is the reissue of Australians, Australian rapper Iggy Azalea's debut studio album, ''The New Classic'' (2014). It was released internationally on 21 November 2014 by Virgin EMI Records, and in the United States on 24 November ...

to the 2018 class and committed to playing

for

Western Kentucky Western Kentucky is the western portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It generally includes part or all of several more widely recognized regions of the state. ;Always included * The Jackson Purchase, the state's westernmost generally recogniz ...

College career

On November 18, 2018, Bassey recorded a freshman season-high 25 points and 10 rebounds in a 78–62 loss to UCF. On January 31, 2019, he posted 22 points and 18 rebounds, the most rebounds by a Western Kentucky freshman since 1972. As a freshman, Bassey averaged 14.6 points, 10 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game, earning First Team All- Conference USA, Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year honors. He recorded the most rebounds, blocks and

double-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

s by a freshman in program history. Bassey's sophomore season was cut short by a

tibial plateau fracture A tibial plateau fracture is a break of the upper part of the tibia (shinbone) that involves the knee joint. Symptoms include pain, swelling, and a decreased ability to move the knee. People are generally unable to walk. Complication may include ...

he suffered against

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

that required surgery. Through 10 games, he was averaging 15.3 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. On November 26, 2020, Bassey recorded 21 points, 14 rebounds and a career-high seven blocks in a 75–69 win over

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

. On December 10, he had a career-high 29 points and 14 rebounds in an 86–84 victory against Gardner–Webb. At the close of the 2020–21 regular season, he was named the Conference USA Player of the Year, while repeating as the league's Defensive Player of the Year. He averaged 17.6 points per game, 11.6 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game. Following the season, he declared for the

, forgoing his remaining college eligibility.

Professional career

Philadelphia 76ers (2021–2022)

Bassey was selected in the second round of the

with the 53rd pick by the Philadelphia 76ers, subsequently joining them for the

2021 NBA Summer League The 2021 NBA Summer League was an off-season competition held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) at the Thomas and Mack Center and Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada on the campus of University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The summer league cons ...

. On September 24, 2021, he signed with the 76ers. On October 13, 2022, Bassey was waived by the 76ers.

San Antonio Spurs (2022–present)

On October 24, 2022, the

announced that they had signed Bassey to a

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...

, splitting time with the Spurs'

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA De ...

affiliate, the

Austin Spurs The Austin Spurs are an American basketball team in the NBA G League based in Cedar Park, Texas, and are affiliated with the San Antonio Spurs. The team plays their home games at H-E-B Center at Cedar Park. The team has made the postseason in 8 ...

. He was named to the G League's inaugural Next Up Game for the 2022–23 season. On February 14, 2023, the Spurs converted Bassey's deal to a four-year, $10.2 million standard contract. On March 14, 2023, during a 132–114 win over the Orlando Magic, he suffered a left knee injury. The next day, the Spurs announced that Bassey was diagnosed with a fracture of his left

patellar tendon The patellar tendon is the distal portion of the common tendon of the quadriceps femoris, which is continued from the patella to the tibial tuberosity. It is also sometimes called the patellar ligament as it forms a bone to bone connection when ...

, ending his season.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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, 23 , , 0 , , 7.3 , , .638 , , .000 , , .750 , , 2.7 , , .3 , , .2 , , .7 , , 3.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

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, 35 , , 2 , , 14.5 , , .644 , , .375 , , .595 , , 5.5 , , 1.4 , , .5 , , .9 , , 5.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 58 , , 2 , , 11.7 , , .643 , , .250 , , .633 , , 4.4 , , .9 , , .4 , , .9 , , 4.6

Playoffs

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, 3 , , 0 , , 4.0 , , .500 , , — , , .000 , , 1.7 , , .3 , , .0 , , .3 , , .7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 3 , , 0 , , 4.0 , , .500 , , — , , .000 , , 1.7 , , .3 , , .0 , , .3 , , .7

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

, 34 , , 34 , , 31.4 , , .627 , , .450 , , .769 , , 10.0 , , .7 , , .8 , , 2.4 , , 14.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;",

, 10 , , 10 , , 28.1 , , .533 , , .167 , , .787 , , 9.2 , , 1.3 , , .8 , , 1.6 , , 15.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2020–21 , style="text-align:left;",

, 28 , , 28 , , 30.4 , , .590 , , .305 , , .759 , , 11.6 , , .7 , , .4 , , 3.1 , , 17.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 72 , , 72 , , 30.5 , , .596 , , .319 , , .768 , , 10.5 , , .8 , , .6 , , 2.6 , , 15.9

Personal life

Shortly after arriving in the United States at age 14, Bassey's mother died. At the time, Bassey considered moving back to

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, but his father Akpan Ebong Bassey encouraged him to stay for financial reasons. Canadian-born basketball coach, Hennssy Auriantal, who runs the Yes II Success organization that brings international players to American

s, helped bring Bassey to the United States. On March 31, 2017, Auriantal and his wife were granted

conservatorship Under U.S. law, conservatorship is the appointment of a guardian or a protector by a judge to manage the financial affairs and/or daily life of another person due to old age or physical or mental limitations. A person under conservatorship is a ...

over Bassey. Bassey's father later filed a petition to reopen the case and give Nigerian basketball tournament organizer John Faniran custody over his son, but the petition was dropped due to lack of verification.

References

External links

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bassey, Charles 2000 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players Austin Spurs players Centers (basketball) Delaware Blue Coats players Nigerian expatriate basketball people in the United States Nigerian men's basketball players Philadelphia 76ers draft picks Philadelphia 76ers players Power forwards (basketball) San Antonio Spurs players Sportspeople from Lagos Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball players