Tanguy Alban Harrys Ngombo, often incorrectly written as Targuy Ngombo (born July 18, 1984

disputed Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opposite d ...

]), is a Congolese–Qatari professional basketball player who plays for Al Rayyan Basketball Team, Al Rayyan of the Qatari Basketball League. He has represented the Qatari national team in international competition. He was drafted by the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

with the 57th pick 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 ...

. His draft rights were subsequently traded to the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

and then to 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 ...

. He is the first Qatari national basketball player to be selected in the NBA draft.

Career

Ngombo has played in Qatar since 2006 after playing for the Inter Club Brazzaville in his home nation of the Congo. In 2011, he helped

Al Rayyan Al Rayyan (; also spelled as ''Ar Rayyan'') is the third-largest municipality in the state of Qatar. Its primary settlement is the city of the same name, which occupies the entire eastern section and largely surrounds Metropolitan Doha and funct ...

win the Qatar Basketball League. He led his team in scoring and rebounds, averaging 20.7 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. He then helped Al-Rayyan finish third in the

FIBA Asia Champions Cup The FIBA Asia Champions Cup, previously known as the Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) Champions Cup until 2002, is the Asian club championship for professional basketball. It is organised by FIBA Asia, and takes place once a year (since 199 ...

while averaging 16.3 points per game. Ngombo has represented the Qatari national team since 2010. He played in the

2010 FIBA Asia Stanković Cup 2010 FIBA Asia Stanković Cup was the 3rd FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup. The basketball tournament of FIBA Asia was held in Beirut, Lebanon from 7 August to 15 August 2010, in Ghazir Club Court involving 10 national teams from Asia. The 3rd FIBA Asia ...

, helping Qatar win the bronze medal. He played in all 7 games and led the team in scoring in every game with an average of 30.0 points per game. He then played for Qatar in the

2010 Asian Games The 2010 Asian Games (), officially known as the XVI Asian Games () and also known as Guangzhou 2010 (), was a regional multi-sport event celebrated from November 12 to November 27, 2010 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, although several events ...

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

, China. He played in all 8 games, averaging 19.6 points per game as Qatar finished in 5th place. On June 23, 2011, he was drafted by the

with the 57th pick in the second round of the

. His draft rights were immediately traded to the

as part of a three-team trade with 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 ...

. The Blazers then traded his rights to the

in exchange for a future second-round pick. His rights were ultimately removed by Minnesota a month after general manager David Kahn was fired and replaced by

Flip Saunders Philip Daniel "Flip" Saunders (February 23, 1955 – October 25, 2015) was an American basketball player and coach. During his career, he coached the La Crosse Catbirds, Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons, and Washington Wizards. High schoo ...

Age discrepancy

In 2005, Ngombo, who was still playing with Congolese team Inter Club Brazzaville, was listed as being born on July 18, 1984, in the

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

FIBA Africa Clubs Champions Cup The FIBA Africa Basketball League (formerly named the FIBA Africa Clubs Champions Cup) was the highest caliber men's professional basketball competition for clubs until 2020, organized by the FIBA Africa and played by the champions of the league ...

. A few years later, he was listed as being born in 1989 by

FIBA Asia FIBA Asia is a zone within the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) which contains all 44 Asian FIBA federations. Member associations Tournaments Organized by FIBA Asia National teams * FIBA Asia Cup – since 2017, also include ...

in the

2010 FIBA Asia Champions Cup The FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2010 was the 21st staging of the FIBA Asia Champions Cup, the basketball club tournament of FIBA Asia. The tournament was held in Doha, Qatar in the hall of Al-Rayyan Sports Club Gharafa between May 22, 2010 and May 30 ...

, the

and the

. However, in 2011, FIBA published a piece of contradictory information by listing 1984 as Ngombo's birth year on the

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

roster for the

2011 FIBA Asia Championship The 2011 FIBA Asia Championship for Men is the intercontinental championship for basketball organized by FIBA Asia that doubles as a qualifying tournament for the Basketball at the Summer Olympics, men's basketball tournament of the 2012 Summer Oly ...

. At the

, he was selected as Targuy Ngombo, who was a soon-to-be 22 year old player born in 1989. After the draft, reports surfaced claiming that Ngombo lied about his name and his birth date and that he was actually born in 1984, which would have made him ineligible for the draft. The NBA rules state that an international player who is over the age of 22 is not eligible for the draft and must be signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. Additionally, the use of the name Targuy was a misspelling; he was often listed under that name in several FIBA competitions. His trade to the Timberwolves, which was first reported on the night of the draft, was reportedly being held up for several days because of the age discrepancy.

References

External links

Tanguy Ngombo
at NBA.com
Targuy Ngombo Draft 2011 Prospects
at NBA.com
When the Timberwolves Passed on Isaiah Thomas to Draft a Mystery Man from Qatar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ngombo, Tanguy 1980s births Age controversies Living people Basketball players at the 2010 Asian Games Dallas Mavericks draft picks Naturalised citizens of Qatar Qatari men's basketball players Republic of the Congo men's basketball players Small forwards Sportspeople from Brazzaville Basketball players at the 2018 Asian Games Asian Games competitors for Qatar Republic of the Congo expatriate basketball people in the United States Republic of the Congo expatriate basketball people in Qatar Naturalised basketball players