Efe Abogidi has become the first Nigerian to have grown through the NBA system to sign with NBA G League Ignite.
President Shareef Abdur-Rahim of NBA G League announced the signing of Abodigi as 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) at the weekend.
“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,” Abogidi said. “It is with gratitude and excitement that I join NBA G League Ignite and begin my career as a professional basketball player.”
Abogidi joined NBA G League Ignite after playing two seasons at Washington State. He earned a scholarship to attend NBA Academy Africa, an elite basketball training centre in Senegal for the top prospects from throughout Africa and the first of its kind on the continent, in January 2017.
In June 2017, he transitioned to the NBA Global Academy in Canberra, Australia, which serves as the NBA’s hub for top prospects from the league’s academies.
NBA G League Ignite is a first-of-its-kind team dedicated to developing top young prospects in preparation for the NBA Draft and is based in Walnut Creek, California, United States.