Nigeria’s Abogidi signs with NBA G League side Ignite

NBA G League President, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, has announced that Efe Abogidi, an NBA Academy graduate and standout at Washington State, has signed with NBA G League Ignite.

Abogidi said, “NBA Africa offered me a platform to begin my journey, and I am so thankful for the opportunities that NBA Academy and Washington State provided me.

“It is with gratitude and excitement that I join NBA G League Ignite and begin my career as a professional basketball player.”

He joins NBA G League Ignite after playing two seasons at Washington State.

As a sophomore in 2021-22, he appeared in all 37 games (29 starts) and averaged 8.1 points and team highs of 5.8 rebounds and 1.78 blocks in 20.8 minutes.

A Pac-12 All-Defensive Team Honorable Mention selection, the 6-10 Abogidi ranked second in the conference in blocks per game. He also tied for the team lead with three double-doubles, including a career-high 21 points and 14 rebounds against Washington on Feb. 23.

In 2020-21, Abogidi averaged 8.9 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.33 blocks in 24.4 minutes in 27 games and earned a spot on the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team. He ranked fourth in the Pac-12 in rebounds per game.

Abogidi, a Nigerian, earned a scholarship to attend NBA Academy Africa, an elite basketball training centre in Senegal for the top prospects throughout Africa and the first of its kind on the continent, in January 2017.

In June 2017, Abogidi transitioned to the NBA Global Academy in Canberra, Australia, which serves as the NBA’s hub for top prospects from the league’s academies.

He is the first NBA Academy Africa alumnus to sign with Ignite and the third NBA Academy graduate overall, following India’s Princepal Singh (NBA Academy India; NBA Global Academy) and Australia’s Dyson Daniels (NBA Global Academy).