Gani Oladimeji Lawal Jr. (born November 7, 1988) is a Nigerian-American 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 for Trotamundos in the Venezuelan SuperLiga. 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

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

High school career

During his time at

Norcross High School Norcross High School is a public high school in Norcross, Georgia, United States, part of the Gwinnett County School System, and serving the cities of Norcross and Peachtree Corners. The school's mascot is the Blue Devil. The school is also t ...

, Lawal was named to the

McDonald's All-American Team The McDonald's All-American Game is the all-star basketball game played each year for American and Canadian boys' and girls' high school basketball graduates. Consisting of the top players, each team plays a single exhibition game after the concl ...

, following his senior season, and was Mr. Basketball 2007 in Georgia.Profile
at RamblinWreck.com. Considered a four-star recruit by

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 ...

, Lawal was listed as the No. 7 power forward and the No. 29 player in the nation in 2007.

College career

As a freshman in 2007–08, Lawal scored 10 points on 5-of-6 shots, with four rebounds at

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 ...

, snapping a streak of six games in single digits. He also had a game-high nine rebounds in a 77–64 win over

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

on January 6, 2008. As a sophomore in 2008–09, Lawal scored a career-best 34 points in an 85–83 Georgia Tech loss to Penn State, on December 3, 2008. He had a career-high 16 rebounds in a 63–58 win over Tennessee State, on December 30, 2008. He bested that mark by one rebound, when he pulled down 17 in a 70–56 home loss to

, on January 14, 2009. After originally entering the NBA draft following his sophomore year, Lawal pulled out of the draft on June 14, 2009, to return to Georgia Tech for his junior year. As a junior, Lawal led the team in field-goal percentage and blocked shots.Gani Lawal Profile
at scout.com.

College statistics

, - , align="left" , 2007–08 , align="left" ,

, 32 , , 25 , , 17.3 , , .570 , , .000 , , .495 , , 3.5 , , .3 , , .4 , , 1.0 , , 7.2 , - , align="left" , 2008–09 , align="left" , Georgia Tech , 31 , , 30 , , 29.6 , , .556 , , .000 , , .559 , , 9.5 , , .6 , , 1.0 , , 1.5 , , 15.1 , - , align="left" , 2009–10 , align="left" , Georgia Tech , 36 , , 36 , , 25.8 , , .529 , , .000 , , .572 , , 8.5 , , .4 , , .4 , , 1.4 , , 13.1 , - , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 99 , , 91 , , 24.2 , , .548 , , .000 , , .549 , , 7.2 , , .5 , , .6 , , 1.3 , , 11.8

Professional career

Lawal was drafted by the Phoenix Suns with the 46th overall pick in the

2010 NBA draft The 2010 NBA draft was held on June 24, 2010, at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The draft, which started at 7:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (2300 UTC), was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National ...

. On August 1, 2010, he signed a three-year deal with the Suns. On November 16, 2010, he was assigned to the

Iowa Energy 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 th ...

of the NBA Development League. He was recalled by the Suns on December 19 and made his NBA debut on December 31, recording one foul in two minutes of action against the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

. His season was later ended on January 6 after he suffered a torn ACL. During the 2011 NBA lockout, Lawal played for Zastal Zielona Góra of the

Polish Basketball League Polska Liga Koszykówki (PLK) (English: Polish Basketball League) is a professional men's club basketball league in Poland. It constitutes the first and highest-tier level of the Polish league pyramid. The winning team of the final round are crow ...

. After the lockout ended, he returned to the United States. However, he was waived by the Phoenix on December 9, 2011, and three days later, signed 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 ...

. He was waived by the Spurs on December 22 prior to the start of the regular season. On December 27, 2011, Lawal signed with the

Xinjiang Flying Tigers The Xinjiang Guanghui Flying Tigers () is a professional basketball team based in Ürümqi, Xinjiang, China. The team play its home games at the Hongshan Arena, which has a capacity for 3,800 spectators. The club joined the Chinese Basketball ...

to replace the outgoing Kenyon Martin. He appeared in 17 games for Xinjiang before being released by the club prior to the start of the 2012 CBA Playoffs. He subsequently returned to Zastal, but lasted just three games. In April 2012, he signed with the French League club Chorale Roanne for the rest of the season. In August 2012, Lawal joined the Italian League team Virtus Roma. In July 2013, he has a short stint with Chinese NBL club Guangzhou Liu Sui. On August 9, 2013, Lawal signed a one-year deal with the Latvian League team VEF Rīga. However, it was reported that he chose not to travel with the team for a Euroleague qualification match on October 1, 2013. The team's coach also said that he was disappointed with Lawal's attitude. Two days later, he parted ways with VEF Rīga before appearing in a game for them. On October 5, 2013, Lawal signed with the Philadelphia 76ers. However, he was later waived by the 76ers on October 27 after appearing in six preseason games. On November 5, 2013, he signed with the Italian team Emporio Armani Milano for the rest of the 2013–14 season. In August 2014, Lawal signed with

Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish sports club located in the city of Trabzon. Formed in 1967 through a merger of several local clubs, the men's football team has won seven Süper Lig championships. Trabzonspor also have a women's football team, ...

of the

Turkish Basketball League Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and ...

. On January 31, 2015, he left Trabzonspor and signed with the Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos. On May 11, 2015, he parted ways with Panathinaikos. On July 14, 2015, Lawal signed a one-year deal with Emporio Armani Milan, returning to the club for a second stint. On November 27, he parted ways with Milano after appearing in three league games and five Euroleague games. On December 1, he was acquired by the

Delaware 87ers Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

of the NBA Development League. On December 12, he had a season-best game with 10 points and 10 rebounds in a loss to the

Westchester Knicks The Westchester Knicks are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in White Plains, New York, and are affiliated with the New York Knicks. The Knicks typically play their home games at Westchester County Center in Whit ...

. On December 30, he was traded to the

in exchange for a 2016 second-round pick. On January 2, 2016, he made his debut with Westchester in a 106–97 win over Delaware, recording nine points, five rebounds, two steals and one block in 21 minutes. On February 23, he was traded again, this time to the

Reno Bighorns Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

along with a 2016 fourth-round pick, in exchange for the returning player rights to Ra'shad James and a 2016 sixth-round pick. Three days later, he made his debut for Reno in a 121–115 loss to the

Santa Cruz Warriors The Santa Cruz Warriors are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Santa Cruz, California, and are affiliated with the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors play their home games at Kaiser Permanente Arena. Prior t ...

, recording 11 points and 12 rebounds in 14 minutes. On April 15, 2016, Lawal signed with UAE basketball club Al-Ahli Dubai. On July 6, 2016, Lawal signed with Italian club

Pallacanestro Cantù Pallacanestro Cantù, known for sponsorship reasons as Acqua S.Bernardo Cantù, is an Italian professional basketball club that is based in Cantù, Lombardy. On the European-wide club competition scene, Cantù is second to Real Madrid – again ...

for the 2016–17 season. On November 29, 2016, he parted ways with Cantù after appearing in nine games. The next day, he signed with

Dinamo Sassari Polisportiva Dinamo, commonly known as Dinamo Sassari and currently known as Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari for sponsorship reasons, is an Italian professional basketball club that is based in Sassari, Sardinia. They are the current European Cu ...

for the rest of the season. On July 26, 2017, Lawal signed a one-year deal with Karesi Spor of the

Turkish Basketball First League The Turkish Basketball First League, also called TBL, is the second-tier level league of professional club basketball in Turkey. The league was previously known as Turkish Basketball Second League (TB2L). Format and promotion and relegation The ...

. On January 13, 2018, he moved to Petrochimi Bandar Imam 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 ...

. In May 2019, Lawal signed with the Meralco Bolts of the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...

as their import for the 2019 PBA Commissioner's Cup. On July 8, 2020, he has signed with

Ironi Ramat Gan Maccabi Ironi Ramat Gan ( he, מכבי עירוני רמת גן, formerly Ironi Ramat Gan) is a male basketball club based in Ramat Gan in central Israel. The team plays in Liga Leumit, the second division in Israeli basketball. It plays at the Sha ...

of the

Liga Artzit Liga Artzit ( he, ליגה ארצית, lit. ''Country League'') is the defunct third division of Israeli Football League, beneath its highest division Premier League and the second division Liga Leumit. Before being cancelled in 2009, it was run b ...

. After playing in one preseason game, Lawal parted ways with the team on September 24. On December 6, 2020, he has signed with Al Rayyan Sports Club of the

Qatari Basketball League The Qatari Basketball League () is the top-tier men's basketball league operating in Qatar. The winning team obtains the participation right to the FIBA Asia Champions Cup. The first official season took place in 1981/82. There is a second divis ...

. On February 21, 2021, Lawal signed with Champagne Châlons-Reims in the Pro A. On June 16, 2022, he has signed with Trotamundos in the Venezuelan SuperLiga.

National team career

Lawal has been a member of the senior men's Nigerian national basketball team, playing for the team at the 2013 FIBA Africa Championship.

The Basketball Tournament (TBT)

In the summer of 2017, Lawal competed 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 ...

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

for the number one seeded FCM Untouchables. Competing for the $2 million grand prize, Lawal averaged 6.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 62% from the field. The Untouchables advanced to the Super 16 Round where they were defeated 85-71 by Team FOE, a

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

based team coached by NBA forwards Markieff and Marcus Morris. Lawal finished the game with 7 points and 7 rebounds in 15 minutes.

Personal life

Lawal is the son of American Michelle, and Nigerian Gani Sr. He has two sisters, Khalilah, and Chasitie, and one brother, Khalil and is Married to Takessa Ann Lawal.

References

External links