Yannick Nzosa Manzila (born 15 November 2003) is a Congolese 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
Real Betis
Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () or just Betis, is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1907, it plays in La Liga. It holds home games at the Estadio Benito Vill ...
of the
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 ...
on loan from
Unicaja
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 the n ...
.
Early life and youth career
Nzosa was born and raised in the suburbs of
Kinshasa
Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one o ...
, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
He grew up playing
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
as a
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
. At age 12, Nzosa was discovered by a friend of a coach of local club
New Generation
"New Generation" is the third and final single from the album ''Dog Man Star'' by English rock band Suede, released on 30 January 1995 through Nude Records. It is the first single to feature music by new guitarist Richard Oakes. Though the tit ...
, with whom he started his basketball career. One year later, he tried to enroll at
Canterbury Academy in
Las Palmas
Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spain, Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, on the Atlantic Ocean.
It is the capital (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife), the most populous city in th ...
, Spain, with the help of former player
Anicet Lavodrama
Anicet-Richard Lavodrama y Ondoma (born 4 July 1963 in Bangui) is a retired professional basketball player from the Central African Republic.
Professional career
Lavodrama played for the Houston Baptist Huskies from 1981 until 1985, and he was s ...
, but was denied a
visa
Visa most commonly refers to:
*Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company
** Visa Debit card issued by the above company
** Visa Electron, a debit card
** Visa Plus, an interbank network
*Travel visa, a document that allows ...
.
In 2017, Nzosa began playing for Italian club
Stella Azzurra Roma
Associazione Sportiva Stella Azzura ( en, Blue Star) is an Italian amateur basketball club based in Rome. It plays in the third division Serie B as of the 2015–16 season. The club is mainly known for its excellent youth teams, which participate ...
.
[ Teammates Paul Eboua and Jordan Bayehe helped him learn to speak Italian.] In February 2019, Nzosa played for Stella Azzurra's under-18 team at the Kaunas Tournament, a qualifier for the Adidas Next Generation Tournament (ANGT), and was named to the all-tournament team.
For the 2019–20 season, Nzosa was loaned to Stella Azzurra's affiliated team, Roseto Sharks
Roseto Sharks is an Italian 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 #Sh ...
of the Serie A2 Basket
Serie A2, known for sponsorship reasons as Serie A2 Old Wild West, is a men's basketball league in Italy. It constitutes the second-tier of the Italian league pyramid, below the first division LBA and above the third division Serie B, with pro ...
. On 6 September 2019, he was picked up from his hotel by his mentor, Joe Lolonga, prior to a preseason training session, without the consent of his club to travel to Málaga
Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...
and join Spanish club 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 the n ...
.[ Stella Azzurra filed a police report against Lolonga, who had been unhappy with the club's training of Nzosa, for ]kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person against their will, often including transportation/asportation. The asportation and abduction element is typically but not necessarily conducted by means of force or fear: the p ...
. Nzosa announced on social media that he was moving to Unicaja and denied reports that he had been kidnapped. He trained with Unicaja Andalucía, the reserve team
In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...
of Unicaja competing in the Liga EBA
Liga Española de Baloncesto Aficionado (EBA), commonly known as Liga EBA, is a Spanish basketball championship that is the fourth tier level in the Spanish basketball league system, after the Liga ACB, LEB Oro, and LEB Plata. It is administered ...
, but was not allowed to play in professional matches due to a dispute between Unicaja and Stella Azzurra over his rights. In December 2019, he represented the club's under-18 team at the ANGT Valencia Tournament, earning all-tournament team honors.
Professional career
On 31 March 2020, Nzosa signed a five-year contract with Unicaja of the 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 ...
after FIBA Europe
FIBA Europe is the administrative body for basketball in Europe, within the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), which includes all 50 national European basketball federations. In reaction to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, FIBA Euro ...
ruled in favor of the club in its dispute with Stella Azzurra. The deal included a clause of about €1 million to allow him to leave for 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 S ...
and the EuroLeague.[ Stella Azzurra received €25,000 in compensation for his transfer.
In the 2020–21 season, Nzosa joined Unicaja's senior team and immediately became a key player. On 27 September, at 16 years and 10 months of age, he made his Liga ACB debut. In 18 minutes, he recorded 10 points, shooting 5-of-5 from the field, three rebounds and two blocks in an 81–78 win over ]Andorra
, image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg
, symbol_type = Coat of arms
, national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...
. He joined Ricky Rubio
Ricard Rubio Vives (born 21 October 1990) is a Spanish professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Rubio became the youngest player ever to play in the Spanish ACB League on 15 October ...
and Luka Dončić
Luka Dončić ( ; ; born February 28, 1999) is a Slovenian professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also represents the Slovenian national team.
Born in Ljubljana, Dončić shone ...
as the only 16 year olds in league history to score at least 10 points in a game, while becoming the second-youngest debutant in team history behind Pablo Sánchez. Two days later, Nzosa made his EuroCup debut, going scoreless in nine minutes in a 96–88 win over Metropolitans 92
Metropolitans 92 is a French professional basketball club that is based in Levallois-Perret, in the Paris metropolitan area. The club currently plays in the LNB Pro A, the highest-tier level in French basketball.
The club was established in 200 ...
. On 3 October, he scored 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting in a 90–86 loss to Manresa
Manresa () is the capital of the Comarca of Bages, located in the geographical centre of Catalonia, Spain, and crossed by the river Cardener. It is an industrial area with textile, metallurgical, and glass industries. The houses of Manresa are ...
, becoming the first under-18 player to score 10 or more points in their first two ACB games. On 11 October, Nzosa recorded four rebounds, four blocks, three assists, three steals and two points in a 71–66 victory over Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
. He surpassed Kristaps Porziņģis
Kristaps Porziņģis (; born 2 August 1995) is a Latvian professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is one of the tallest active players in the NBA, standing at tall, and plays bo ...
as the youngest player in league history with least four blocks in a game. On 9 March 2021, Nzosa posted a season-high 16 points and four blocks in a 98–89 loss to AS Monaco
Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club SA, commonly referred to as AS Monaco () or Monaco, is a professional football club based in Monaco that is member of French Football Federation (FFF) and competes in Ligue 1, the top tier of Fre ...
. He was named to the ACB All-Young Players Team.
From April 2021, Nzosa was sidelined for five months with athletic pubalgia
Athletic pubalgia, also called sports hernia,
core injury, hockey hernia, hockey groin, Gilmore's groin, or groin disruption is a medical condition of the pubic joint affecting athletes.
It is a syndrome characterized by chronic groin pain in a ...
and was cleared to play by September. His play declined in the 2021–22 season, and he fell from a potential top-five pick to a late second-round selection in the 2022 NBA draft
The 2022 NBA draft (branded as the 2022 NBA Draft presented by State Farm for sponsorship reasons), the 76th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual draft, was held on June 23, 2022, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The ...
, according to draft projections. He was selected with the 54th overall pick by 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 (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast D ...
, while remaining under contract with Unicaja. For the 2022–23 season, Nzosa was loaned to Real Betis Baloncesto
Real Betis Baloncesto S.A.D., simply known as Real Betis, is a professional basketball team based in Seville, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB. It plays its home games at San Pablo.
History
Club Deportivo de Baloncesto Sevilla was fou ...
.
Personal life
Nzosa's father works in China, while his mother lives in a village in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[ His parents are ]divorce
Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...
d. He has four sisters and one brother.[ Nzosa's ]legal guardian
A legal guardian is a person who has been appointed by a court or otherwise has the legal authority (and the corresponding duty) to make decisions relevant to the personal and property interests of another person who is deemed incompetent, call ...
is Joe Lolonga, a family friend and technical director of the Democratic Republic of Congo Basketball Federation The Democratic Republic of the Congo Basketball Federation ''(Febaco)'' is the governing body for men's and women's basketball in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Febaco is an affiliate of FIBA Africa and its offices are located in Kinshasa. ...
. Lolonga facilitated his move to Stella Azzurra in 2017 and has acted as his mentor and manager.
Nzosa speaks French, Lingala
Lingala (Ngala) (Lingala: ''Lingála'') is a Bantu language spoken in the northwest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the northern half of the Republic of the Congo, in their capitals, Kinshasa and Brazzaville, and to a lesser degree in ...
, Portuguese, Italian and Spanish, and is learning to speak English. He is in the process of becoming a naturalized
Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...
Spanish citizen and eligible to play for the national team
A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport.
The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exam ...
. He idolizes NBA player Giannis Antetokounmpo
Giannis Sina Ugo Antetokounmpo (born Adetokunbo; December 6, 1994) is a Greek-Nigerian professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Antetokounmpo's country of origin, in addition to his s ...
.
References
External links
Liga ACB profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nzosa, Yannick
2003 births
Living people
Baloncesto Málaga players
Centers (basketball)
Democratic Republic of the Congo expatriate basketball people in Italy
Democratic Republic of the Congo expatriate basketball people in Spain
Democratic Republic of the Congo men's basketball players
Liga ACB players
Real Betis Baloncesto players
Basketball players from Kinshasa
Washington Wizards draft picks