Matthew Tyler Costello (born August 5, 1993) is an American-born naturalized Ivorian 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 Baskonia of the Spanish

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, wi ...

and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

High school career

Costello was a highly touted recruit coming out of Bay City Western High School. * 2012 Hal Schram Mr. Basketball Award winner * 2012 Gatorade Michigan High School Player of the Year * 2012 Parade Magazine All-American * 2x

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...

and The

Detroit News ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the ''Detroit Tribune'' on Februar ...

Dream Team * 2011

Gatorade Gatorade is an American brand of sports-themed beverage and food products, built around its signature line of sports drinks. Gatorade is currently manufactured by PepsiCo and is distributed in over 80 countries. The beverage was first develop ...

Michigan High School Player of the Year Costello averaged 25.1 points, 19.1 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 4.0 blocks per game at Bay City Western for Coach Chris Watz. Costello led the Warriors to the Class 4A regional semifinals, an 18–6 record, and a second-straight district championship. He finished his career as the school's all-time leader in points (1,518), rebounds (1,069) and blocked shots (280). He was one of the best recruits in the country. He ranked among the top-100 players in the nation by the following: *

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

(#83)(#21 power forward) * ESPNU100 (#87) (#17 power forward) *

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(#95) (#23 center) As a junior, he averaged 19.8 points, 13.0 rebounds and 3.8 blocks as a junior, shooting 53.4 percent from the field and 72 percent from the foul line. Costello posted a school-record 19 double-doubles. He helped his team improve from 10–11 in 2010 to 24–3 in 2011, leading Bay City Western to Class A state semifinals for the first time in school history. His stats earned him MVP of Saginaw Valley Association. Costello averaged 16.7 points 11.8 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3 assists as a sophomore and set a school record with 14 blocks in a single game. In 2010

Bay City Times ''The Bay City Times'' is a newspaper published in Bay City, Michigan, United States, published Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays, with a Tuesday edition jointly published with ''The Saginaw News''. The paper is published by Booth Newspapers, owned ...

named him to the Dream Team and first-team All-

Saginaw Valley League The Saginaw Valley High School Association (commonly referred to as the Saginaw Valley League) is a high school sports league formed in 1904 within the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA), located in the Bay, Genesee, Isabella, Lap ...

selection. He was a

National Honor Society The National Honor Society (NHS) is a nationwide organization for high school students in the United States and outlying territories, which consists of many chapters in high schools. Selection is based on four criteria: scholarship (academic achi ...

member.

College career

Freshman year

As a freshman, Costello appeared in 30 games, averaging 6.1 minutes,1.5 points and 1.3 rebounds, shooting .469 from the field. His .824 free-throw percentage (14–17) was tops on the team. He ranked fourth on the team with 13 blocks, averaging a block every 14.2 minutes. Playing time increased when he averaged 8.0 minutes in the last 13 games after playing more than eight minutes just once in the first 23 games. Costello turned in one of his best games in a 75–52 win over No. 4

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

(2/12), scoring a season-high eight points and grabbing a Big Ten season-high six rebounds, hitting all three field goal attempts and both free throw attempts. He scored six points and grabbed a season-high seven rebounds against Tuskegee (12/15), blocked a season-high three shots against No. 1

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

(2/19), and blocked two shots each against

Texas Southern Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a public historically black university in Houston, Texas. The university is one of the largest and most comprehensive historically black college or universities in the USA with nearly 10,000 ...

(11/18),

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

(2/16) and Valparaiso (3/21) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Costello missed the first two games of the season and both exhibition games with a bruised back.

Sophomore year

Costello appeared in 34 games, starting 20, averaging 4.0 points and 3.3 rebounds in 14.7 minutes per contest, He led the team with 43 blocks, ranking 10th in the Big Ten (1.3 bpg). His 43 blocks were the seventh-best single-season total in school history, and the most ever by a Spartan sophomore. He blocked 24 shots in Big Ten contests (1.3 bpg), ranking eighth in the conference. Costello ranked second on the team in field-goal percentage (.598) In December he missed 4 games due to

mononucleosis Infectious mononucleosis (IM, mono), also known as glandular fever, is an infection usually caused by the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV). Most people are infected by the virus as children, when the disease produces few or no symptoms. In young adult ...

. He posted his first career double-double in an overtime win at

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

(1/28), scoring a season-high 11 points and grabbing a career-high 12 rebounds; nine of his 11 points came in the last five minutes of regulation and overtime. Costello scored 10 points against Penn State (2/6), adding six rebounds and a season-high tying three assists as well as dishing out three assists against Columbia (11/15) Costello scored six or more points in 10 contests and grabbed five or more rebounds in eight games • Tallied nine points and eight rebounds against Michigan (1/25) • Also scored nine points against Northwestern (2/13) • Tallied seven points and eight rebounds against

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

(1/11) He made improvements on playing time and started 13 of 18 Big Ten contests, averaging 4.9 points and 3.6 rebounds in conference games Costello made history when he blocked a career-best six shots at Illinois (1/18), tying the second-best single-game effort in MSU history. He blocked two or more shots in 10 contests. At the end of the year, he received Academic All-Big Ten honors.

Junior year

Costello appeared in 39 games, starting six, averaging 7.0 points and 5.0 rebounds in 20.4 minutes. He shot .579 from the floor, ranking second among teammates with more than 100 field-goal attempts. Costello ranked 13th in the Big Ten in blocked shots overall (1.2 bpg) and seventh in Big Ten games (1.5 bpg). His 48 blocks rank as the seventh-best single-season total in MSU history. Costello managed to score in double figures in 11 games and grabbed double-figure rebounds in two contests. He posted two double-doubles vs. Loyola (11/21; 13 points, 11 rebounds) and Texas Southern (12/20; 17 pts., 10 reb.). Costello was a team leader in many categories and led MSU in scoring in two games and in rebounding in eight contests. He scored a career-best 17 points against Texas Southern (12/20) and scored 15 points against Arkansas-Pine Bluff (12/6). His season-high of 11 rebounds came against Loyola (11/21). He blocked two or more shots in 13 games, including a season-high four against Michigan (2/1) and

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

(3/4). Costello grabbed seven or more rebounds in 14 contests, including five games with nine or more boards. He started the first six games of the season, then came off the bench for the final 33 contests. At the end of the year, he received Academic All-Big Ten honors. With Costello commanding the post, the Spartans were able to reach the 2015 Final Four.

Senior year

During Costello's senior year, he made many improvements to his game. Because of this, he received many end of the year awards. He currently has the third-most blocks all-time in

basketball history. Costello was honored with a selection to the Reese's College All-Star game in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. *

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

-BigTen 2nd Team * BigTen 2nd Team Media * BigTen 3rd Team Coaches *

Bleacher Report Bleacher Report (often abbreviated as B/R) is a website that focuses on sport and sports culture. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and London. Bleacher Report was acquired by Turner Broadcasting System in Aug ...

Team of the Week; Week 11 *

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 circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

- All Glue Team (Captain) * Reese's College All Star Game *

Portsmouth Invitational Tournament The Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, (PIT), is the oldest amateur basketball tournament in the United States and the only postseason camp restricted to college basketball seniors. The Portsmouth Invitational is the first of two NBA pre-Draft ( ...

* PIT All-Tournament Team

Professional career

Iowa Energy (2016–2017)

After going undrafted in the 2016 NBA draft, Costello joined the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...

for the

2016 NBA Summer League The 2016 NBA Summer League consisted of three pro basketball leagues organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA): the Orlando Pro Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas Summer League. Ten teams participated in the week ...

. On July 26, 2016, he signed with the Hawks, but was later waived on October 17 after appearing in two preseason games. He signed with the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

on October 20, but was waived again on October 24. Five days later, he was acquired by the

Iowa Energy Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

as an affiliate player of the Grizzlies.

San Antonio Spurs (2017–2018)

On July 24, 2017, Costello signed a

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...

with the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

. Under a two-way contract, he divided time between the Spurs and San Antonio's G-League affiliate, the

Austin Spurs The Austin Spurs are an American basketball team in the NBA G League based in Cedar Park, Texas, and are affiliated with the San Antonio Spurs. The team plays their home games at H-E-B Center at Cedar Park. The team has made the postseason in ...

. He made his NBA debut on November 12 during a blowout 133–94 win over the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...

Scandone Avellino (2018–2019)

On August 2, 2018, Costello signed a deal with the Italian club Sidigas Avellino of the LBA.

Gran Canaria (2019–2021)

Costello averaged 11.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game for Gran Canaria during the 2019–20 season. He inked a two-year contract extension on June 25, 2020. During the 2020–21 season, Costello averaged 12.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists in the

, as well as 10.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists in the EuroCup.

Baskonia (2021–present)

On July 5, 2021, Costello officially signed a three-year contract with fellow

club Baskonia, marking his EuroLeague debut.

National team career

Costello was granted the Ivorian citizenship and played with the Ivory Coast national basketball team during

AfroBasket 2021 FIBA AfroBasket 2021 was the 30th edition of the FIBA AfroBasket, a men's basketball continental championship of Africa. The tournament was hosted by Rwanda for the first time. It was originally scheduled to take place between 17 and 29 August 2 ...

Personal life

Costello is the son of Mike and Jen Costello. He majored in interdisciplinary studies in social science with a concentration in human capital and society.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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References

External links

Michigan State bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Costello, Matt 1993 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players Austin Spurs players Basketball players from Michigan CB Gran Canaria players Centers (basketball) Iowa Energy players Ivorian expatriate basketball people in Spain Ivorian men's basketball players Lega Basket Serie A players Liga ACB players Michigan State Spartans men's basketball players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) People from Bay County, Michigan Power forwards (basketball) San Antonio Spurs players Saski Baskonia players S.S. Felice Scandone players Undrafted National Basketball Association players