Chu (born Chukwudiebere) Maduabum (born March 19, 1991), sometimes credited as "Chuk", "Chuck", or "Chu Chu", is a Nigerian 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 (appr ...

player for the Tryhoop Okayama of the

B.League The B.League is a professional men's basketball league that began in Japan in September 2016. The league is operated by the Japan Professional Basketball League and was formed as a result of a merger between the National Basketball League that w ...

. He was drafted 56th overall by 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 league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

in the

2011 NBA draft The 2011 NBA draft was held on June 23, 2011, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The draft started at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (23:00 UTC), and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. Kia Motors was the presenting sponsor ...

before his rights were traded to the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

. Maduabum, a 6'9"

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers. When on Of ...

, was the third player drafted straight from the

D-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 ...

, following fellow second round picks Mike Taylor and

Latavious Williams Latavious Williams (born March 29, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for Kazma in Kuwait. After graduating from high school, he played with the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League before being drafted by the Miami Heat w ...

. He played for two teams while he was in Nigeria before going to the D-League: the Dodan Warriors and the Kano Pillars. He also played in the FIBA Africa Club Championship.

Professional career

NBA and NBA D-League

On March 18, 2011, Maduabum was acquired by the

Bakersfield Jam Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...

of the

NBA D-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 Dev ...

. He went on to average 0.7 points and 1.0 blocks in three games during 2010–11. On June 23, 2011, Maduabum was selected with the 56th overall pick in the

by the

. His rights were later traded to the

on draft night. On January 24, 2012, Maduabum was reacquired by the Bakersfield Jam. However, he was later waived on February 1, 2012 after just one game due to injury. In July 2012, Maduabum joined the Nuggets for the 2012

NBA Summer League The NBA Summer League, also known as the Las Vegas Summer League, is an off-season competition organized by the National Basketball Association. NBA teams come together to try out different summer rosters instead of their regular season line-ups ...

where he averaged 2.3 points and 2.7 rebounds in three games. On February 19, 2015, the Nuggets traded to draft rights to Maduabum, along with JaVale McGee and a future first round pick via 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 league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...

, to the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

. On February 18, 2016, the 76ers traded the draft rights to Maduabum to 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 team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

as part of a three team trade with the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...

. However, his rights would return to the 76ers four days later, as the Pistons rescinded their trade, following a failed physical by

Donatas Motiejūnas Donatas Motiejūnas (; born September 20, 1990) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for AS Monaco Basket of LNB Pro A and the EuroLeague. He was drafted 20th overall in the 2011 NBA draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves before going on ...

. On July 15, 2016, the 76ers traded the draft rights to Maduabum to 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 league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

, in exchange for

Sasha Kaun Sacha, Sasha, Sascha, or ''variant'' may refer to: People * Sasha (name), includes list of people with the name and the variants Sascha or Sacha Musicians * Sasha (DJ) (born 1969), born Alexander Coe * Sasha (German singer) (born 1972), born Sas ...

and cash considerations.

Qatar

In January 2013, Maduabum signed with Al-Shamal of Qatar's D1 league where he averaged 9.4 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.6 blocks and 1.0 assists in eight games.

Estonia

In November 2013, Maduabum signed with Tallinna Kalev of Estonia for the 2013–14 season. In December 2013, he left Tallinna after three Estonian League games and two Baltic League games.

Mongolia

In January 2014, Maduabum signed with Khasiin Khuleguud of Mongolia for the rest of the 2013–14 season. He went on earn league All-Star honors and helped them win the 2014 championship.

Return to D-League

On November 2, 2014, Maduabum was acquired by the

Fort Wayne Mad Ants The Fort Wayne Mad Ants are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and are affiliated with the Indiana Pacers. The team plays their home games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. The M ...

. On December 2, 2014, he was waived by the Mad Ants after appearing in four games.

Return to Estonia

On January 9, 2015, Maduabum re-signed with Tallinna Kalev. He later left Tallinna Kalev.

Short terms in Iceland & Finland

On August 7, 2015, Maduabum signed with

Keflavík Keflavík (pronounced , meaning ''Driftwood Bay'') is a town in the Reykjanes region in southwest Iceland. It is included in the municipality of Reykjanesbær whose population as of 2016 is 15,129. In 1995, Keflavik merged with nearby Njarðv ...

of the Icelandic

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

after averaging 7.6 points and 5.1 rebounds per game with Tallinna Kalev. In September, Maduabum signed with Finnish

Korisliiga The Korisliiga is the top-tier professional basketball league in Finland, comprising the top 12 teams of the country. In its current format, each team plays all other teams two times in the regular season, once at home and once away, for a total o ...

team

Tampereen Pyrintö Tampereen Pyrintö ry is a Finnish multi-sport club from Tampere. Pyrintö representatives have achieved several Olympic medals and other success. In the year 2017, Pyrintö has sport sections in cross-country skiing, basketball, ski jumping, w ...

where he played in eight matches averaging 2.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 0.9 blocks per game before exiting the team at the beginning of November. He also played one game with Pyrintö II in First Division A.

Return to Mongolia

For the rest of the 2015-16 season, Maduabum would play with the Gegeen Khangai Leader in Mongolia. He'd later be named an All-Star for the second season in a row in Mongolia.

Japan

On September 21, 2016, Maduabum signed with

Kagoshima Rebnise Kagoshima Rebnise is a Japanese professional basketball team located in Kagoshima, Kagoshima. The team currently competes in the B.League. Some players were not paid in 2016-17. Roster Notable players *Yoshihiko Amano *Christia ...

of the Japanese Second Division. In July 2017, he moved to

Cyberdyne Ibaraki Robots The is a professional basketball team that competes in the Eastern Conference of the First Division of the Japanese B.League. Roster Notable players * Toarlyn Fitzpatrick *Chukwudiebere Maduabum * Yusuke Okada * Juan Pattillo ...

. In August, 2018 he came terms with

Passlab Yamagata Wyverns The Passlab Yamagata Wyverns is a professional basketball team that competes in the second division of the Japanese B.League. TGI D-Rise served as a development team of the Link Tochigi Brex. TGI stands for Tochigi, Gunma and Ibaraki, three n ...

References

External links

NBA D-League profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maduabum, Chukwudiebere 1991 births Living people Bakersfield Jam players BC Tallinn Kalev players Cyberdyne Ibaraki Robots players Fort Wayne Mad Ants players Kagoshima Rebnise players Keflavík men's basketball players Los Angeles Lakers draft picks Nigerian men's basketball players Nigerian expatriate basketball people in the United States Passlab Yamagata Wyverns players Players drafted from the NBA Development League Tampereen Pyrintö players Centers (basketball) Power forwards (basketball) Expatriate basketball people in Estonia Nigerian expatriate basketball people in Japan Nigerian expatriates in Estonia