Mfiondu Kabengele
Kabengele in 2023
No. 21 – Reyer Venezia
PositionCenter / Power forward
LeagueLBA
Eurocup
Personal information
Born (1997-08-14) August 14, 1997
Burlington, Ontario, Canada
Listed height6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
High school
CollegeFlorida State (2017–2019)
NBA draft2019: 1st round, 27th overall pick
Selected by the Brooklyn Nets
Playing career2019–present
Career history
2019–2021Los Angeles Clippers
2019–2020→ Agua Caliente Clippers
2021Cleveland Cavaliers
2021–2022Rio Grande Valley Vipers
2022–2023Boston Celtics
2022–2023→ Maine Celtics
2023AEK Athens
2023–presentVenezia
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com

Mfiondu Tshimanga Kabengele (born August 14, 1997) is a Congolese-Canadian professional basketball player for Venezia of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and the EuroCup. He played college basketball for the Florida State Seminoles.

College career

Kabengele with Florida State

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 (2019–2021)

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]

On March 22, 2021, Kabengele, along with a 2022 second-round pick belonging to the Atlanta Hawks, was traded to the Sacramento Kings for the Kings' 2022 second-round pick.[9] Three days later, he was waived.[10]

Cleveland Cavaliers (2021)

On April 10, 2021, Kabengele signed a 10-day contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers.[11] On April 21, he signed a second 10-day contract.[12] On May 1, he signed a multi-year contract.[13][14] On May 9, Kabengele logged a career-high 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and 1-of-2 from three, along with four rebounds and one assist across a career-high 23 minutes of play in a 124–97 loss to the Dallas Mavericks.[15][16] On October 12, 2021, the Cleveland Cavaliers waived Kabengele.[17]

Rio Grande Valley Vipers (2021–2022)

On October 17, 2021, Kabengele signed with the Houston Rockets, but was waived shortly thereafter.[18] He subsequently joined the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA G League.[19]

Boston Celtics (2022–2023)

On July 16, 2022, Kabengele signed a two-way contract with the Boston Celtics after an impressive showing during Summer League Play.[20] On March 27, 2023, he was named the G League Player of the Week after averaging 27 points, 16.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists.[21] On April 13, Kabengele was named to the All-NBA G League Second Team and the NBA G League All-Defensive Team.[22]

AEK Athens (2023)

On August 13, 2023, Kabengele signed with AEK Athens of the Greek Basket League, his first European club.[23] On November 25, 2023, Kabengele recorded a monstrous statsheet of 30 points, 16 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks in a 90-70 blowout win over rivals PAOK. On December 26, 2023, his contract with AEK was terminated.[24] He averaged 14 points, 8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game in domestic competition, as well as 10.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in the BCL.

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
2020–21 L.A. Clippers 2304.1.281.222.833.6.2.1.11.2
Cleveland 16011.6.421.281.7862.9.8.4.64.3
2022–23 Boston 409.0.286.0001.0002.5.0.5.01.5
Career 5506.9.383.301.8521.5.3.2.32.6

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.[25] His maternal uncle is Dikembe Mutombo, a Basketball Hall of Fame inductee who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 18 years.[25][26] Kabengele was an international affairs major at Florida State University, and is fluent in French.

References

  1. 1 2 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. 1 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. ↑ "LA Clippers Send Kabengele To Sacramento". NBA.com. March 22, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Kings Acquire Terence Davis". NBA.com. March 25, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Cavaliers Sign Mfiondu Kabengele to 10-Day Contract". NBA.com. April 10, 2021. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  12. ↑ "Cavaliers Sign Mfiondu Kabengele to Second Ten-Day Contract". NBA.com. April 21, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Cavaliers Sign Mfiondu Kabengele to Multi-Year Contract". NBA.com. May 1, 2021. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  14. ↑ Adrian Wojnarowski [@wojespn] (April 30, 2021). "Cleveland Cavaliers F/C Mfiondu Kabengele is signing a deal for the rest of the season and non-guarantees on 2021-2022 and 2022-2023, sources tell ESPN" (Tweet). Retrieved October 12, 2021 – via Twitter.
  15. ↑ "Cavaliers' Mfiondu Kabengele: Sets career highs in loss". CBSSports.com. May 9, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
  16. ↑ "NBA 'Noles: Career-high for Kabengele on Sunday evening". 247sports.com. May 10, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Cavaliers Waive Two Players". NBA.com. October 12, 2021. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  18. ↑ Adams, Luke (October 18, 2021). "Rockets Claim Garrison Mathews, Waive Anthony Lamb". HoopsRumors.com. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  19. ↑ Merk, Carson (November 23, 2021). "Mfiondu Kabengele welcomes knowledge and evolution as a modern-day big man". NBA.com. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  20. ↑ "Celtics Sign Kabengele". NBA.com. July 16, 2022. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  21. ↑ "Mfiondu Kabengele Named G League Player Of The Week". basketball.realgm.com. March 27, 2023.
  22. ↑ "Kabengele, Samanic Rack Up League Awards". Maine Celtics. April 13, 2023.
  23. ↑ "Ο Καμπενγκέλε στη «Βασίλισσα»". AEKBC.gr (in Greek). August 13, 2023. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  24. ↑ "Τέλος ο Καμπενγκέλε από την ΑΕΚ!". sport-fm.gr (in Greek). Online. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  25. 1 2 Wright, Katherine (January 3, 2019). "FSU center Mfiondu Kabengele brings passion to court, sense of purpose off it". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  26. ↑ 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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