Ndudi Hamani Ebi (born 18 June 1984) is an English-born Nigerian former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player who most notably played for the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

(NBA) between 2003 and 2005. He initially committed to the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

, before making himself eligible for the NBA Draft. Ebi was selected out of

Westbury Christian School Westbury Christian School is a private, co-educational, K3 through 12th grade Christian school located in Houston, Texas, United States. Westbury Christian School is open to students of all faiths, nationalities, and ethnic origins. History Pla ...

by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round (26th pick overall) of the

2003 NBA draft The 2003 NBA draft was held on June 26, 2003, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The NBA announced that 41 college and high school players and a record 31 international players had filed as early-entry candidates ...

. In 2007-08 he was the top rebounder in the Israel Basketball Premier League. Ebi was raised in Nigeria before moving to Houston, Texas, as a teenager to attend high school. He holds both British and Nigerian citizenship.

Professional career

Ebi was the first first-round pick in three years for the Wolves; the team had forfeited five first-round picks after the team owner illegally made a deal with forward Joe Smith (the penalty was later reduced to three picks). After Ebi appeared in 19 games over the course of two seasons, Minnesota attempted to get an exception from the NBA so they could send him to the NBA Development League. Ebi was technically ineligible as the

2005–06 NBA season The 2005–06 NBA season was the 60th season of the National Basketball Association. The Miami Heat defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals, four games to two to win their first NBA championship. Notable occurrences * A new league dres ...

was his third year, and the D-League only accepted players who had been in the NBA for less than two years. Minnesota wanted to guide Ebi in, and they tacitly argued that Ebi was hardly a two-year veteran in the figurative sense, given his limited playing time. The league rejected Minnesota's request regarding Ebi, and to make room for Ronald Dupree, Minnesota released Ebi on 31 October 2005. That two seasons with the Timberwolves ended up being Ebi's only playing time in the NBA, as his final game was on April 20th, 2005 in a 95 - 73 win over 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 Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

. In his final game, Ebi recorded 18 points and 8 rebounds. Ebi signed a free agent contract over the summer of 2006 with the Dallas Mavericks. After playing five pre-season games, averaging 5.2 points per game (ppg), Ebi was waived by the Mavericks on 26 October 2006. On 30 September 2007, he signed with Israeli club

Bnei HaSharon Bnei Herzliya Basket (, lit. ''Sons of Herzliya''), is a professional basketball club that is based in Herzliya, in the Sharon district in Israel. The club plays in the Israeli Basketball Premier League, the top division of Israeli basketball. I ...

for one season. In 2007-08 he was the top rebounder in the Israel Basketball Premier League. On 3 August 2008, he signed with Italian club Carife Ferrara, newly promoted to

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...

. He later played for the Basket Rimini Crabs in Italy and averaged 15.3 points per game, 13.6 rebounds per game, and 3.2 steals per game. In March 2011, he signed with

Limoges CSP Limoges Cercle Saint-Pierre, commonly referred to as Limoges CSP or CSP, is a French professional basketball club based in the city of Limoges. History The club was founded in 1929, but its peak was during the 1980s and 1990s, when they became t ...

. In summer 2011, he signed with Anibal Zahle in Lebanon and thus joined the Division 1 of the

Lebanese Basketball League The Lebanese Basketball League is the top-tier professional men's basketball league in Lebanon. It is organized annually as a national championship with playoffs and a national cup by the Lebanese Basketball Federation (FLB). Currently, the leagu ...

. In 2012, he signed with Sidigas Avellino of Italy. He signed with the

Vaqueros de Bayamón The Vaqueros de Bayamón are a Puerto Rican basketball team of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional based in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. The Vaqueros play their home games at Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez, Rubén Rodríguez Coliseum, a venue shared with the L ...

in 2013. On 4 February 2014, he signed with

Virtus Bologna Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, known for sponsorship reasons as Virtus Segafredo Bologna, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. The club was founded in 1929, which makes it the oldest club in Italy and one ...

of Italy. On 15 January 2015, after playing for Egyptian team

Zamalek Zamalek ( ar, الزمالك , ''al zamalek'') is an affluent district of western Cairo encompassing the northern portion of Gezira Island in the Nile River. The island is connected with the river banks through three bridges each on the east ...

, Ebi returned to Italy after signing with Virtus Roma. On 28 July 2015, Ebi signed with Auxilium CUS Torino. On 7 April 2017, Ebi signed with Shahrdari Tabriz of the

Iranian Basketball Super League The Iranian Basketball Super League (IBSL) is a professional men's basketball league in Iran. It was founded in 1998. The current champions is Shahrdari Gorgan. The league follows the promotion and relegation system in which the worst two tea ...

. On December 15, 2017, Ebi signed with French club Boulazac Basket Dordogne.

NBA statistics

Regular season

References

External links

Basketball-Reference.com: Ndudi EbiLNB Pro A ProfileSafsal.co.il Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ebi, Ndudi 1984 births Living people Auxilium Pallacanestro Torino players Basketball players from Greater London Basketball players from Houston Basket Rimini Crabs players Black British sportspeople Bnei HaSharon players English men's basketball players English expatriate sportspeople in Israel English expatriate sportspeople in Italy English people of Nigerian descent Israeli Basketball Premier League players Jiangsu Dragons players McDonald's High School All-Americans Minnesota Timberwolves draft picks Minnesota Timberwolves players National Basketball Association high school draftees Nigerian expatriate basketball people in Italy Nigerian expatriate basketball people in the United States Nigerian expatriates in Israel Nigerian men's basketball players Pallacanestro Virtus Roma players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Power forwards (basketball) S.S. Felice Scandone players Virtus Bologna players Zamalek SC basketball players