Nana Papa Yaw "Pops" Mensah-Bonsu (born 7 September 1983) is a British basketball executive and former player. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress, GWU is the largest Higher educat ...

and professionally for five NBA teams as well as clubs in Spain, France, Turkey, Russia, Italy, Israel, and Greece. On an international level, he represented

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

and was a member of

Team GB Team GB is the brand name used since 1999 by the British Olympic Association (BOA) for their Great Britain at the Olympics, British Olympic team. The brand was developed after Great Britain at the 1996 Summer Olympics, the nation's poor perfor ...

at the

London 2012 Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. He also served as general manager of the

Capital City Go-Go The Capital City Go-Go is an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Washington, D.C., and are affiliated with the Washington Wizards. The Go-Go play their home games at the St. Elizabeths East Entertainment and Sports ...

of the

NBA G 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 ...

from 2018 to 2020.

Early life

Born and raised in London, Mensah-Bonsu, whose parents are from

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

, attended St. Thomas More Roman Catholic School. As a teenager, he represented the

London Borough of Haringey The London Borough of Haringey (pronounced , same as Harringay) is a London borough in North London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner London, and by others as part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 by the amalgamation o ...

at the

London Youth Games The London Youth Games is an annual multi-sport event held in London, England. The London Youth Games offer competitive opportunities for young people aged 7 to 18 (who live or go to school in London) across approximately 30 sports every year. T ...

, appearing in four of Great Britain's five games. After playing junior basketball for the

Hackney White Heat Hackney White Heat was an English basketball team from the district of Hackney in London. The club were members of the top tier of the former National Basketball League before the competition was reformatted into the current English Basketbal ...

of the

English Basketball League The National Basketball League, or NBL for short, is a league competition representing semi-professional and amateur basketball clubs from England and Wales. It forms levels 2 to 4 on the British basketball pyramid, in line with the Scottish ...

, Mensah-Bonsu moved to the United States where he spent his sophomore year of high school playing at the

Hun School of Princeton The Hun School of Princeton is a private, coeducational, secondary boarding school located in Princeton in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. The school serves students from sixth through twelfth grades. Currently, the head of school ...

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...

. He then transferred to St. Augustine Preparatory School in Richland, New Jersey where as a senior in 2001–02, he averaged 15 points, 12 rebounds, and four blocks per game.

College career

Mensah-Bonsu majored in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...

, where he played

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...

and

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

for the Colonials men's basketball team. In his four-year career, he played 112 games (71 starts) while averaging 11.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks in 23.8 minutes per game. As a sophomore in 2003–04, he was named the Atlantic 10 Most Improved Player of the Year; as a junior in 2004–05, he was named to the All-Atlantic 10 second team; and as a senior in 2005–06, he was named to the All-Atlantic 10 first team and Atlantic 10 All-Defensive team. In the 2004–05 season, Mensah-Bonsu helped lead the Colonials to the 2005 NCAA Tournament, where they lost in the first round. The next season was more successful, with the team ending the regular season 26–1 and being ranked in the national top 10 for the first time in 50 years. However, he suffered a knee injury near the end of the regular season and he did not return until the 2006 NCAA Tournament, where the injury lessened his production. After defeating UNC Wilmington in the first round, George Washington went on to lose to

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

in the second round.

College statistics

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2002–03 , style="text-align:left;", George Washington , 29 , , 26 , , 24.7 , , .585 , , .000 , , .667 , , 5.7 , , .4 , , 1.0 , , .9 , , 10.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2003–04 , style="text-align:left;", George Washington , 30 , , 1 , , 21.2 , , .616 , , .000 , , .685 , , 5.4 , , .4 , , .8 , , 1.0 , , 11.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2004–05 , style="text-align:left;", George Washington , 30 , , 24 , , 24.3 , , .571 , , .000 , , .571 , , 6.6 , , .8 , , .9 , , 1.5 , , 12.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2005–06 , style="text-align:left;", George Washington , 23 , , 20 , , 25.3 , , .564 , , .000 , , .534 , , 6.7 , , .8 , , .4 , , 1.7 , , 12.6 , -

Professional career

Dallas Mavericks (2006–2007)

After going undrafted in the 2006 NBA draft, he joined the Dallas Mavericks for the 2006 NBA Summer League. On 3 August 2006, he signed with the Mavericks. During his rookie season, he had multiple assignments with the Fort Worth Flyers of the NBA Development League. In the 2006–07 season, he managed just 12 games for the Mavericks, averaging 2.4 points and 1.8 rebounds in 5.9 minutes per game. In July 2007, Mensah-Bonsu re-joined the Mavericks for the 2007 NBA Summer League, but was later waived by the team on 31 August 2007.

2007–2008

In September 2007, Mensah-Bonsu signed a one-year deal with Benetton Treviso of the

Lega Basket Serie A The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club basketball league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP). It is the highest-tier ...

. In May 2008, Mensah-Bonsu signed with

CB Granada Club Baloncesto Granada, S.A.D. was a professional basketball team based in Granada, Andalusia. The team was founded in 1994 and has had notable players during its history, including Curtis Borchardt, Darvin Ham, Giorgos Sigalas, Scott Padgett, P ...

of Spain for the team's final game of the season. In July 2008, Mensah-Bonsu initially joined the Dallas Mavericks for the 2008 NBA Summer League, but later joined 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 ...

where he played four games and averaged 14.3 points per game. On 15 August 2008, he signed a one-year deal with

Joventut Badalona Club Joventut Badalona, S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional basketball club based in Badalona, Catalonia, Spain, playing in the Liga ACB and the EuroCup. Known to their fans as ''La Penya'' (in English, ''The Club''), it is one of only two teams ...

. On 3 November 2008, he returned to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

after injuring his shoulder playing for Joventut. A month later, he parted ways with Joventut to focus on recovery.

2009 – Austin Toros, Toronto Raptors and Houston Rockets

On 28 January 2009, Mensah-Bonsu was acquired by the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League. On 25 February 2009, he signed a 10-day contract 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 Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

. However, on 4 March 2009, he was released by the Spurs after appearing in just three games. Two days later, he signed with the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

for the rest of the 2008–09 season. On 29 June 2009, the Raptors extended a qualifying offer to Mensah-Bonsu in order to make him a restricted free agent. However, the Raptors later withdrew their qualifying offer on 7 July 2009. In August 2009, Mensah-Bonsu signed with the Houston Rockets. On 13 November 2009, he was waived by the Rockets after managing just four games. Four days later, he was claimed off waivers by the Toronto Raptors. On 5 January 2010, he was waived by the Raptors.

2010–2011

On 12 January 2010, Mensah-Bonsu signed with

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow (russian: ЦСКА Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet era, it was a central piece of the big So ...

of Russia for the rest of the 2009–10 season. On 9 August 2010, Mensah-Bonsu signed a one-year deal (with the option of a second) with

Caja Laboral Caja Laboral Popular Cooperativa de Crédito or Caja Laboral (Workers' Credit Union) was a Spanish credit union established in 1959 as part of the Mondragon Corporation and headquartered in Mondragón, in the Basque Country of Spain. The major ...

of the Liga ACB. He later left during pre-season due to medical reasons. On 24 September 2010, he signed with the

New Orleans Hornets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

. On 4 January 2011, he was waived by the Hornets. On 17 February 2011, Mensah-Bonsu signed with ASVEL Basket of France for the rest of the 2010–11 season.

Beşiktaş (2011–12)

On 5 December 2011, Mensah-Bonsu signed with Beşiktaş of Turkey for the 2011–12 season. He went on to win the Turkish League championship, Turkish Cup, and the EuroChallenge. He was named the TBL Player of the Year.

2012–2013

On 2 August 2012, Mensah-Bonsu signed a two-year deal with

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...

of the Israeli Basketball Premier League. However, he was later waived by Maccabi on 19 September 2012 before appearing in a game for them after physicals showed he had not recovered from injuries picked up during the London Olympics. On 4 March 2013, Mensah-Bonsu signed with Cajasol Sevilla of Spain for the rest of the 2012–13 season. On 16 April 2013, he parted ways with Sevilla after managing just six games. Two days later, he signed with

Emporio Armani Milano Pallacanestro Olimpia Milano, commonly known as Olimpia Milano or as EA7 Emporio Armani Milan after its title sponsor, is an LBA Italian professional basketball team, based in Milan, Italy. Its colors are white and red, and the team is sometimes ...

of Italy for the rest of the season.

Galatasaray (2013–2014)

On 27 September 2013, Mensah-Bonsu signed with the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

. However, he was later waived by the Wizards on 24 October 2013 after appearing in four preseason games. Four days later, he signed with

Galatasaray Liv Hospital Galatasaray S.K., is a professional basketball team based in the city of Istanbul in Turkey. It is a part of the Galatasaray Sports Club. The team competes in the Turkish Basketball Super League and Basketball Champions League. The team has won 16 ...

of Turkey for the 2013–14 season. On 31 October, he made his debut in a Euroleague game against

Unicaja Málaga Unicaja is a Spanish savings bank based in Málaga and chartered as a caja de ahorros providing retail banking services. The banks full name is ''Monte de Piedad y Caja de Ahorros de Ronda, Cádiz, Almería, Málaga y Antequera'' after th ...

, in which he recorded 10 points and 11 rebounds. His time with the team was marred by an in-game fight with

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

centre Mirza Begić on 28 November 2013. He was banned for three games and ordered fined €10,001.

AEK Athens (2014–15)

On 30 September 2014, Mensah-Bonsu joined with the Denver Nuggets training camp. However, the next day, he left the Nuggets due to personal reasons. On 20 November 2014, Mensah-Bonsu signed with

Hapoel Jerusalem Hapoel Jerusalem is a sport organization in Jerusalem as a local branch of the Hapoel movement. The branch was established in the 1920s and represents the city in more sports than any other sport organization in Jerusalem. Today, the club's leadi ...

of Israel for the 2014–15 season. On 23 December 2014, he parted ways with Hapoel after appearing in two league games and four Eurocup games. On 27 December 2014, he signed with

AEK Athens A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadel ...

for the rest of the

2014–15 Greek Basket League The 2014–15 Greek Basket League was the 75th season of the Greek Basket League, the highest tier professional basketball league in Greece. The season started on October 12, 2014 and ended June 14, 2015. Olympiacos won the title, after they bea ...

season.

The Basketball Tournament

Mensah-Bonsu competed for Team City of Gods in

The Basketball Tournament The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is an open-application, single-elimination tournament played each summer in the United States. The 2022 edition features 64 teams with a $1 million winner-take-all prize, broadcast by ESPN. TBT was founded in 20 ...

. He was a forward on the 2015 team that made it to the semifinals, losing to Overseas Elite 84–71.

National team career

Mensah-Bonsu earned 40 international caps for the Great Britain men's national team between 2008 and 2012. He averaged 15.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game during his international career. He recorded 14 double-doubles including a career best 32 points and 21 rebounds against

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

on 26 August 2010. Mensah-Bonsu was part of the GB team that qualified for the 2009 EuroBasket. During qualification, he averaged 12.2 points, 10 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game. He went on to join the British squad for their first appearance in the EuroBasket Tournament. The team lost all three of their first-round games but were competitive throughout including a very close game with world champions Spain. Mensah-Bonsu was again part of the British team in 2010 as they qualified for

FIBA EuroBasket 2011 EuroBasket 2011 was the 37th men's European Basketball Championship, held by FIBA Europe. The competition was hosted by Lithuania. This was the second time EuroBasket had been held in Lithuania, the country having also hosted the 1939 ...

with a 6–2 record. During qualification, he led all Division A players with 13.5 rebounds per game, and also finished sixth in points (19.3) and blocks (1.3). Mensah-Bonsu was selected for the final 12-man Great Britain roster for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. He played in four games, recording 46 points and 29 rebounds. He missed Great Britain's final group game – a 90–58 win over China – due to injury. Great Britain finished with a 1–4 record, failing to qualify for the knockout stage.

Managerial career

On 14 October 2015, after receiving a two-year ban for doping, Pops announced retirement from professional basketball. He then began working as an Advanced Pro Scout for the

. On 7 August 2018, the

, the new

affiliate of the

, announced that Mensah-Bonsu had been made the team's first general manager. He left the team in 2020.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, 12 , , 0 , , 5.9 , , .647 , , .000 , , .389 , , 1.8 , , .0 , , .1 , , .0 , , 2.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

, 3 , , 0 , , 6.7 , , .714 , , .000 , , .714 , , 3.3 , , .0 , , .3 , , .3 , , 5.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, 19 , , 0 , , 13.8 , , .354 , , .000 , , .683 , , 5.4 , , .3 , , .4 , , .2 , , 5.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

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 i ...

, 4 , , 0 , , 3.3 , , .250 , , .000 , , .500 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , .3 , , .3 , , 1.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 16 , , 0 , , 6.7 , , .414 , , .000 , , .556 , , 1.9 , , .1 , , .2 , , .5 , , 2.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, 7 , , 0 , , 5.0 , , .333 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.6 , , .3 , , .0 , , .0 , , .3 , - class="sortbottom" , colspan=2 style="text-align:center;", Career , 61 , , 0 , , 8.3 , , .410 , , .000 , , .589 , , 3.0 , , .2 , , .2 , , .2 , , 3.0

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2008–09 , style="text-align:left;",

, 2 , , 1 , , 27.6 , , .379 , , .000 , , .938 , , 11.5 , , 2.0 , , 2.0 , , 2.5 , , 10.3 , , 26.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2009–10 , style="text-align:left;",

, 9 , , 0 , , 8.0 , , .500 , , .000 , , .500 , , 1.3 , , .1 , , .7 , , .7 , , 4.1 , , 4.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , style="text-align:left;",

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club'') is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul in Turkey. Most notable for its association football department, the club also consists of various other de ...

, 18 , , 8 , , 21.4 , , .571 , , .000 , , .585 , , 6.5 , , .5 , , .4 , , .4 , , 8.4 , , 11.5 , - class="sortbottom" , colspan=2 style="text-align:center;", Career , 29 , , 9 , , 17.6 , , .521 , , .000 , , .631 , , 5.2 , , .5 , , .6 , , .6 , , 7.8 , , 10.3

Personal life

In the

Twi Twi () is a dialect of the Akan language spoken in southern and central Ghana by several million people, mainly of the Akan people, the largest of the seventeen major ethnic groups in Ghana. Twi has about 17-18 million speakers in total, includ ...

language, Mensah-Bonsu's name means King (Nana) Father (Papa) Thursday-Born (Yaw) Third Son (Mensah) Whale (Bonsu). In several interviews, Mensah-Bonsu has suggested that his family earned its surname when an ancestor slew a

whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and ...

. Mensah-Bonsu is the son of Henry and Agnes Mensah-Bonsu, and has four siblings: Audrey, Kojo, Wiafe and Benson. He is a supporter of

Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

Doping case

On 26 June 2015, Mensah-Bonsu was suspended for two years of any sports activity involvement after testing positive for amphetamines, which he claimed was from an approved, prescribed medicine.