Chris Silva Obame Correia Silva (born September 19, 1996) is a Gabonese professional

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

College Park Skyhawks The College Park Skyhawks are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in College Park, Georgia, and are affiliated with the Atlanta Hawks. The Skyhawks play their home games at Gateway Center Arena at College Park a ...

of the

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 ...

. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

South Carolina Gamecocks The South Carolina Gamecocks represent the University of South Carolina in the NCAA Division I. The University of South Carolina uses "Gamecocks" as its official nickname and mascot. While the men's teams were traditionally known as the Fighti ...

Early life

Silva was born in Gabon. His father, who played for the

Gabon men's national basketball team The Gabon men's national basketball team (French: Équipe nationale de basket-ball du Gabon) representing Gabon in men's international basketball competitions, It is administrated by the Gabon Basketball Federation. At the AfroBasket 2015, G ...

, helped arrange to send Silva to the United States as a teenager to pursue a professional basketball career. In September 2012, when Silva was 15 years old, he arrived in the United States for the first time to enroll at

Roselle Catholic High School Roselle may refer to: * Roselle (plant), a species of hibiscus (''Hibiscus sabdariffa'') **A drink made from that plant, also called " Hibiscus tea" Roselle is the/a name of: ; People * Mike Roselle - American environmental activist and author ...

in New Jersey. Though he knew no English and had no experience playing organized basketball, he told assistant basketball coach Tommy Sacks, "Coach, I go NBA." Sacks later commented, "His ceiling is so high, one of the highest I've ever seen, because all he wants to do is get better. He wants to live in the weight room. He wants to run on his own. He wants to work out. He wants to get shots up."

High school career

Initially, with the Roselle Catholic basketball team, Silva was not aware of the rules of the game. In his senior season, his team won the state championship. Silva drew interest from

programs such as Seton Hall and

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but i ...

, and eventually signed with the

. Silva said, "That's a great school, great coaches. I like everything about it, the education, the support they give to players after their career—everything."

College career

In 2017 Silva started all 37 games on the Gamecocks team that reached the Final Four. In 2018 Silva won SEC Co-Defensive player of the year, was First-team All-SEC and was named to the All-Defensive team. He averaged 14.3 points and 8 rebounds per game as a junior and shot 46.7 percent from the floor. Following the season he declared for the NBA draft but did not hire an agent. Silva was not invited to the NBA combine and decided to return to South Carolina.

Professional career

Miami Heat (2019–2021)

Silva was signed by the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...

on July 11, 2019. On October 19, the Heat converted his deal 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 ...

with their

affiliate, the

Sioux Falls Skyforce The Sioux Falls Skyforce are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and are affiliated with the Miami Heat. The team plays their home games in the Sanford Pentagon, a place they have cal ...

. On October 23, Silva made his NBA debut, coming off the bench in a 120–101 win over the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

. He finished with eight points, six rebounds, and three blocks. On January 15, 2020, Silva signed a standard NBA contract with the Heat. On January 23, Silva was assigned to the Sioux Falls Skyforce. On January 26, Silva was brought back up to the Miami Heat. The Heat reached the

2020 NBA Finals The 2020 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2019–20 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs. In this best-of-seven playoff series, the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lake ...

, but lost in 6 games to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Sacramento Kings (2021)

On March 25, 2021, Silva and Maurice Harkless were traded to the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

in exchange for

Nemanja Bjelica Nemanja Bjelica ( sr-cyr, Немања Бјелица, ; born 9 May 1988) is a Serbian professional basketball player for Fenerbahçe of the Basketball Super League and EuroLeague. He also represents the senior Serbian national basketball team ...

. On April 28, he was waived by the Kings.

Iowa Wolves (2021)

On September 20, 2021, Silva signed with the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

. However, he was waived prior to the start of the season. On October 26, he signed with the

Iowa Wolves The Iowa Wolves are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Des Moines, Iowa, and are affiliated with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Wolves play their home games at the Wells Fargo Arena (Des Moines, Iowa), Wells Fa ...

. In 12 games, he averaged 15.1 points, 9.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 0.8 blocks, leading the Wolves in rebounds per game and blocks per game.

Minnesota Timberwolves (2021)

On December 21, 2021, Silva signed a 10-day contract with the

Return to Miami (2021–2022)

On December 31, 2021, Silva signed a 10-day contract with the

. On January 10, 2022, he signed a second 10-day contract. Silva signed a third 10-day contract with the Heat on January 21. He signed a fourth 10-day contract with the Heat on January 31.

Return to Iowa (2022)

He returned to the Iowa Wolves on February 9.

College Park Skyhawks (2022–2023)

On November 3, 2022, Silva was named to the opening night roster for the

Dallas Mavericks (2023)

On January 31, 2023, the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Southwest Division. The ...

announced that they had signed Silva to a 10-day contract. He signed a second 10-day contract with the team on February 10, but was waived just four days later, in order for the team to sign Justin Holiday instead.

Return to College Park (2023–present)

On February 14, 2023, Silva was reacquired by the

National team career

On June 11, 2015, Silva was named to the Gabon national basketball team's preliminary squad for the

AfroBasket 2015 AfroBasket 2015 was the 28th edition of the AfroBasket, a men's basketball continental championship of Africa. It also served as the qualifying tournament for FIBA Africa at the 2016 Summer Olympics Basketball Tournament in Brazil. The tournament ...

by head coach Thierry Bouanga. It was considered a possibility that he would debut alongside ex- NBA player Stéphane Lasme. Silva would participate in a three-week training camp in Libreville in July.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at th ...

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Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

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, 9 , , 0 , , 9.8 , , .533 , , — , , .833 , , 3.9 , , .8 , , .0 , , .1 , , 2.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, 1 , , 0 , , 3.0 , , 1.000 , , — , , — , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 2.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 70 , , 0 , , 7.6 , , .609 , , .250 , , .707 , , 2.7 , , .5 , , .1 , , .4 , , 2.8

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = "Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = G ...

, 32 , , 6 , , 13.3 , , .482 , , , , .609 , , 4.5 , , .2 , , .4 , , .9 , , 5.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

, 37 , , 37 , , 20.9 , , .524 , , .000 , , .749 , , 6.1 , , .4 , , .6 , , 1.4 , , 10.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

, 33 , , 33 , , 25.8 , , .467 , , .417 , , .753 , , 8.0 , , 1.2 , , .6 , , 1.4 , , 14.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

, 32 , , 32 , , 26.7 , , .508 , , .500 , , .744 , , 7.6 , , .9 , , .9 , , 1.9 , , 15.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 134 , , 108 , , 21.7 , , .497 , , .475 , , .729 , , 6.5 , , .7 , , .6 , , 1.4 , , 11.3

References

External links

South Carolina Gamecocks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Silva, Chris 1996 births Living people 21st-century Gabonese people Basketball players from New Jersey College Park Skyhawks players Dallas Mavericks players Expatriate basketball people in the United States Gabonese expatriate sportspeople in the United States Gabonese men's basketball players Iowa Wolves players Miami Heat players Minnesota Timberwolves players Power forwards (basketball) Roselle Catholic High School alumni Sacramento Kings players Sioux Falls Skyforce players South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball players Sportspeople from Libreville Undrafted National Basketball Association players