Ifeanyi Festus Ezeli-Ndulue (born October 21, 1989) is a Nigerian-American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player who played five seasons in the

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

(NBA). He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the Vanderbilt Commodores before being selected with the 30th overall pick in the

2012 NBA draft The 2012 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2012, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The draft started at 7:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (2300 UTC), and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National Basketball A ...

by the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

, where he won an

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in 2015. Ezeli last appeared in the

2016 NBA Finals The 2016 NBA Finals was the NBA Finals, championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2015–16 NBA season, 2015–16 season and conclusion of the 2016 NBA playoffs, season's playoffs. In this best-of-seven series, and a rema ...

and did not play basketball due to knee surgery in the 2017 season, then coming back in 2021.

Early life

Life in Nigeria

One of five children, Ezeli remembered in a 2011 interview with Andy Katz of

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, "My parents told me I was an unusual child. My first name is Ifeanyi, and that means 'nothing is impossible with God'. That sets the tone for my journey while I'm alive." Ezeli concentrated on academics, graduating from high school when he was only 14, and aspiring to become a physician. To further his career goals, Ezeli's parents sent him to live with his uncle, a

pediatrician Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many of their youth ...

, in

Yuba City, California Yuba City ( Maidu: ''Yubu'') is a city in Northern California and the county seat of Sutter County, California Sutter County is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, ...

in 2004.

Life in America

Shortly after Ezeli arrived in Yuba City, his uncle encouraged him to take up what seemed to be the most appropriate sport for a teenager—basketball. This proved much more difficult for Ezeli than academics because he had never played any organized sports despite the fact that Ezeli played soccer as a child. He took a year of classes at Jesuit High School in

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

but did not play basketball; different sources report that Ezeli was either ineligible to play because he had graduated from high school in Nigeria or cut during tryouts. The start of Ezeli's organized basketball career, with a low-level AAU team, was especially inauspicious since his first points were scored in his own team's basket. Recalling that incident, Ezeli said, "Everybody was running up the court, and I was just running with them. It's kind of surreal. Sometimes I think about it now and I'm like, Damn. How did I get here?" Also in the Katz interview, Ezeli remarked on his struggles to learn the game:

"I didn't know what I was doing. Imagine someone who is 14 or 15 years old, and you're teaching them as if they're a 6-year-old. It was tough. Everyone was getting frustrated with me. I was getting frustrated with it. I tried playing in 2005. I stopped. I tried again in 2006. And when I had my first dunk in a summer league game in Las Vegas in 2006, that's when I was so excited. It was so exhilarating that I started to like it."

At age 16, Ezeli joined a second AAU team and also enrolled part-time at Yuba Community College. By not attending full-time, he retained a full four years of college eligibility and was still able to practice with the team; Ezeli also served as the team's

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. Although still learning the most basic of basketball skills, Ezeli made his high-level competitive debut on the AAU circuit in the summer of 2007. By then, Ezeli had reached , and averaged 10 points, 11 rebounds, and three blocks per game, earning an invitation to the Reebok All-American Camp in July 2007.

Recruitment

Ezeli's appearance at the camp marked a major turning point in his life. According to ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'' writer Pablo S. Torre,

"Recruiters...awaited his arrival as if he were
Bigfoot Bigfoot (), also commonly referred to as Sasquatch (), is a large, hairy Mythic humanoids, mythical creature said to inhabit forests in North America, particularly in the Pacific Northwest.Example definitions include: *"A large, hairy, manlike ...
. They left with their heads spinning at Ezeli's size and raw potential, even if it was clear that he lacked confidence. Offers from 27 Division I schools he knew almost nothing about rolled in."

With the help of his AAU coaches, Ezeli narrowed his list to

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

, and Vanderbilt. The Vanderbilt coaching staff sold Ezeli on the school, citing its academic reputation and the program's recent experience with international players. Head coach Kevin Stallings added that Ezeli would be able to

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

his first year at the school to allow him more time to develop, since the program had a highly touted Australian prospect, A.J. Ogilvy, arriving at the same time and playing Ezeli's position.

College career

Ezeli arrived in

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

in 2007 as a

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major and among the rawest of basketball prospects. During his first two years in the program, while still learning many of the basics of the sport, Ezeli was frequently dominated in practice by Ogilvy. However, as early as midway through his redshirt freshman season, the Commodores staff noticed that Ogilvy was beginning to have difficulty scoring against Ezeli in practice. While obsessively studying the game and working on his basic skills, Ezeli spent his first two seasons of eligibility primarily as a backup to Ogilvy, occasionally starting, until Ogilvy declared for the

NBA draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...

after the 2009–10 season. Festus Ezeli Vanderbilt Free Throw

With Ogilvy gone, Ezeli had a breakout season in 2010–11, averaging 13.0 points and 6.3 rebounds while being named a second-team All-SEC (

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

) performer. He also broke

Will Perdue William Edward Perdue III (born August 29, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a member of four NBA championship teams, three with the Chicago Bulls (1991–1993) and ...

's Vanderbilt single-season record for blocked shots. Ezeli's improvement was noted by many in the basketball world; then-

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

coach

Bruce Pearl Bruce Alan Pearl (born March 18, 1960) is an American college basketball coach who is currently the head coach of the Auburn Tigers men's basketball team, where he is the school's all time leader in wins. He previously served in the same position ...

told the ''Chattanooga Times Free Press'', "I don't think they miss gilvyat all. Ezeli has improved so much that he gives them the best of both worlds ffense and defense" Before the 2011–12 season, Ezeli was also named by ''Basketball Prospectus'' in its preseason outlook as one of the top 20 players in men's college basketball, along with teammates John Jenkins and Jeffery Taylor. As the Commodores were preparing for Ezeli's final season at Vanderbilt, Stallings said about him,

"He now has a feel for the game. He has made himself an effective player. I think it's very rare. All of us are looking for more finished products. But we all understood if the payday came, if it really came, if he understood the game, if he was experienced, then it was going to give him a chance to be different than other guys. He didn't learn the game in elementary school like I did. He was trying to learn the game while competing effectively in the SEC. That makes it even more amazing."

Professional career

Golden State Warriors (2012–2016)

Ezeli was selected by the

with the 30th overall pick in the

. On July 6, 2012, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Warriors. As a rookie in 2012–13, Ezeli started many games for the Warriors in place of injured center

Andrew Bogut Andrew Michael Bogut (born 28 November 1984) is an Australian professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach with the Sydney Kings of the National Basketball League (NBL). Bogut spent the majority of his career in t ...

. On January 19, 2013, Ezeli had a season-best game with 13 points and eight rebounds in 116–112 victory over the

New Orleans Hornets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

. In June 2013, Ezeli was ruled out for six to nine months after undergoing surgery on his right knee. Ezeli subsequently missed the entire 2013–14 season. Ezeli returned to action for the Warriors in the team's 2014–15 season opener. On December 22, 2014, he scored a then-career-high 15 points in a 128–108 victory over 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 Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

. The following day, Ezeli sprained his left ankle in a loss to the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

and was confined to a moon boot. The injury kept him out all of January, when on January 28, 2015, Ezeli was assigned to the

Santa Cruz Warriors The Santa Cruz Warriors are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Santa Cruz, California, and are affiliated with the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors play their home games at Kaiser Permanente Arena. Prior to ...

of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

for rehabilitation. On February 2, he was recalled by Golden State after successfully competing in two D-League games. The following day, Ezeli made his return for Golden State, playing eight minutes of action in a 121–96 victory over the Kings. In the 2015 NBA playoffs, Ezeli logged key minutes as the first big man off the bench, often filling in for the foul-prone Andrew Bogut. The Warriors, with the help of Ezeli, advanced deep into the postseason to win the Western Conference Finals against

James Harden James Edward Harden Jr. (born August 26, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is regarded by some as one of the greatest shooting guards in NBA hist ...

and the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

in five games. Ezeli won his first NBA championship after the Warriors defeated the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

in the

2015 NBA Finals The 2015 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2014–15 season and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. In this best-of-seven series, the Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors ...

in six games. On August 1, 2015, Ezeli played for Team Africa at the 2015 NBA Africa exhibition game. On November 6, he scored a career-high 16 points as a starter in a 119–104 victory over the Denver Nuggets. The Warriors' NBA-record start ended after 24 wins when they lost to the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

108–95 on December 12. On February 8, 2016, Ezeli underwent successful arthroscopic surgery to clean out debris from his left knee and was subsequently ruled out for six weeks. Ezeli returned to action on April 3 against the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

after missing 31 games. Ezeli helped the Warriors win an NBA record 73 games to eclipse the 72 wins set by the 1995–96 Chicago Bulls. The Warriors made it to the

after overcoming a 3–1 deficit against the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Confer ...

, winning the Western Conference Finals in seven games. However, the Warriors lost to the Cavaliers in seven games despite a 3–1 lead.

Portland Trail Blazers (2016–17)

On July 7, 2016, Ezeli signed with the

. On August 23, he was ruled out for six weeks after undergoing a left knee injection. Two months later, Ezeli suffered a minor setback in his comeback from the procedure, with swelling in his knee. In mid-December, it became apparent to the Trail Blazers that conservative treatment of Ezeli's aching left knee was not working, and that season-ending surgery was imminent. On March 8, 2017, Ezeli underwent knee surgery and was ruled out for the rest of the 2016–17 season. On June 30, 2017, Ezeli was waived by the Trail Blazers without having played a game for them.

Westchester Knicks (2021)

On March 2, 2021, Ezeli signed a contract with the

Westchester Knicks The Westchester Knicks are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in White Plains, New York, and are affiliated with the New York Knicks. The Knicks play their home games at Westchester County Center in White Plains, N ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

, returning to

professional basketball In professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, participants receive payment for their performance. Professionalism in sport has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larger a ...

after a four-year hiatus dealing with multiple injuries and difficult recoveries. He was immediately assigned the number 20 jersey. Ezeli appeared in two games. On April 17, 2021, Ezeli signed with

Rivers Hoopers Rivers Hoopers is a Nigerian professional basketball team based in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The team plays in the Nigerian Premier League (NPL) and currently in the Basketball Africa League (BAL). Established in 2005 as Royal Hoopers, the ...

to play in the inaugural season of the

Basketball Africa League The Basketball Africa League (BAL) is the premier men's basketball league in Africa. Founded in 2019, the league was established and is co-organized by NBA Africa and the FIBA, International Basketball Federation (FIBA). Each season typically r ...

(BAL). However, he did not play a game for the Hoopers before getting injured and being replaced by Robinson Opong.

Career statistics

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2007–08 , style="text-align:left;", Vanderbilt , style="text-align:center;" colspan="11",

Redshirt , - , style="text-align:left;", 2008–09 , style="text-align:left;", Vanderbilt , 29 , , 6 , , 12.4 , , .547 , , – , , .509 , , 2.6 , , .0 , , .1 , , .8 , , 3.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2009–10 , style="text-align:left;", Vanderbilt , 32 , , 5 , , 12.7 , , .544 , , – , , .373 , , 3.2 , , .1 , , .2 , , 1.3 , , 3.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2010–11 , style="text-align:left;", Vanderbilt , 34 , , 34 , , 23.5 , , .588 , , – , , .648 , , 6.3 , , .2 , , .6 , , 2.6 , , 13.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2011–12 , style="text-align:left;", Vanderbilt , 26 , , 22 , , 23.2 , , .539 , , – , , .604 , , 5.9 , , .3 , , .4 , , 2.0 , , 10.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 121 , , 67 , , 17.9 , , .562 , , – , , .584 , , 4.5 , , .1 , , .3 , , 1.7 , , 7.7

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 78 , , 41 , , 14.4 , , .438 , , .000 , , .531 , , 4.0 , , .3 , , .3 , , .9 , , 2.4 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", † , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 46 , , 7 , , 11.0 , , .547 , , .000 , , .628 , , 3.4 , , .2 , , .2 , , .9 , , 4.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 46 , , 13 , , 16.7 , , .548 , , .000 , , .530 , , 5.6 , , .7 , , .4 , , 1.1 , , 7.0 , - class="sortbottom" , align="center" colspan=2, Career , 170 , , 61 , , 14.1 , , .513 , , .000 , , .557 , , 4.3 , , .4 , , .3 , , 1.0 , , 4.2

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 12 , , 3 , , 11.2 , , .462 , , .000 , , .571 , , 2.5 , , .2 , , .3 , , .6 , , 2.0 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

† , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 20 , , 0 , , 9.2 , , .540 , , .000 , , .552 , , 3.1 , , .3 , , .1 , , .5 , , 3.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 23 , , 1 , , 8.8 , , .536 , , .000 , , .432 , , 2.7 , , .3 , , .1 , , .3 , , 4.0 , - , - class="sortbottom" , align="center" colspan=2, Career , 55 , , 4 , , 9.5 , , .530 , , .000 , , .500 , , 2.8 , , .3 , , .1 , , .4 , , 3.4

NBA D/G League

Source

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;", Santa Cruz , 2 , , 0 , , 21.0 , , .474 , , – , , 1.000 , , 5.0 , , .0 , , 1.0 , , 3.0 , , 10.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2020–21 , style="text-align:left;", Westchester , 2 , , 0 , , 4.5 , , .000 , , – , , – , , 2.5 , , .0 , , .0 , , .5 , , .0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 4 , , 0 , , 12.8 , , .450 , , – , , 1.000 , , 3.8 , , .0 , , .5 , , 1.8 , , 5.0

Personal life

Ezeli has a half-sister, Marie Nkechi Ndulue. Although Ezeli began his Vanderbilt studies as a biology major, he changed his major to economics because of the time demands of basketball. Vanderbilt chancellor Nicholas Zeppos said of Ezeli: "You can imagine what it's like to hear his perspective on world trade, globalization and the economics of American sports." Ezeli's parents live in

. Ezeli became an American citizen in September 2019.

References

External links

Vanderbilt Commodores bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ezeli, Festus 1989 births Living people American men's basketball players Centers (basketball) Golden State Warriors draft picks Golden State Warriors players Jesuit High School (Carmichael) alumni NBA players from Nigeria Nigerian expatriate basketball people in the United States Nigerian men's basketball players Sportspeople from Yuba City, California Santa Cruz Warriors players Sportspeople from Benin City Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball players Yuba College alumni

Early life

Life in Nigeria

Life in America

Recruitment

College career

Professional career

Golden State Warriors (2012–2016)

Portland Trail Blazers (2016–17)

Westchester Knicks (2021)

Career statistics

College

NBA

Regular season

Playoffs

NBA D/G League

Regular season

Personal life

See also

References

External links