Christopher Ike Anigbogu (born October 17, 1998) is an 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 who last played for the

Birmingham Squadron The Birmingham Squadron are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Birmingham, Alabama, and are affiliated with the New Orleans Pelicans. The team plays their home games at Legacy Arena. The team began play in 201 ...

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 ...

. 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 one season with the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) ...

. As a freshman, he was a key reserve for a Bruins squad that advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament. After the season, Anigbogu was selected by the Indiana Pacers in the second round of the

2017 NBA draft The 2017 NBA draft was held on June 22, 2017, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. ...

with the 47th overall pick. He played two seasons for the Pacers.

Early life

Anigbogu was born in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

, to Nigerian parents Chris and Veronica Anigbogu. He attended Temescal Canyon High in

Lake Elsinore Lake Elsinore is a natural freshwater lake in Riverside County, California, located east of the Santa Ana Mountains and fed by the San Jacinto River. Originally named ''Laguna Grande'' by Spanish explorers, it was renamed for the town of Elsino ...

as a freshman and played on their

junior varsity team Junior varsity (often called "JV") players are the members of a team who are not the main players in a competition (such as any football, basketball, or baseball game), usually at the high school level–– and formerly at the collegiate level� ...

. The following year, he transferred to Centennial High in

Corona Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to: * Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star * Corona (beer), a Mexican beer * Corona, informal term for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes the COVID-19 di ...

, where he was also enrolled in the

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB D ...

program. A skinny, sophomore, he averaged two points and 2.5

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

per game as the Huskies advanced to the state finals. As a junior in 2015, Anigbogu led the team to the state regional finals, where the Huskies lost to Chino Hills, who were led by

Lonzo Ball Lonzo Anderson Ball (born October 27, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A point guard, he played college basketball for one season with the UCLA Bruins, earn ...

. In his senior year, he was limited by injuries and a family emergency. Anigbogu took three weeks off to attend an uncle's funeral in Nigeria. During the playoffs, he was limited by an injured knee. For the season, the Huskies were 20–5 when Anigbogu played. He finished with averages of 19 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks.

College career

Ranked nationally as a consensus top-50

recruit __NOTOC__ Recruit can refer to: Military * Military recruitment * Recruit training, in the military * '' Rekrut'' (English: Recruit), a military recruit or low rank in German-speaking countries * Seaman recruit Books *''Le Réquisitionnaire'' (E ...

, Anigbogu attended the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...

(UCLA), where he was part of a Bruins freshmen class that included more heralded five-star players like Ball and T. J. Leaf. Anigbogu and Leaf had played on the same

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...

(AAU) team, the Compton Magic, who had also been coached by UCLA assistant

David Grace David Grace (born 1949 in Rugby, Warwickshire, England) is a British racing driver and businessman. He was the CEO at Rockingham Motor Speedway between 2000 and 2002, and oversaw the opening of the track and the return, after many years, of CART ...

. The newcomers were expected to help turn around a program that a year earlier had suffered its fourth losing season in the previous 68 years. Anigbogu missed the first five games of the 2016–17 season when he underwent knee surgery after tearing his right

meniscus Meniscus may refer to: *Meniscus (anatomy), crescent-shaped fibrocartilaginous structure that partly divides a joint cavity *Meniscus (liquid) The meniscus (plural: ''menisci'', from the Greek for "crescent") is the curve in the upper surface ...

in practice. The Bruins' most intimidating player, he returned to provide UCLA a physical presence they lacked. Standing at and , Anigbogu provided highlight-reel dunks and blocks. Despite never starting as a backup to junior

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 ...

Thomas Welsh, he became arguably their top defender. After spraining his left foot during practice, Anigbogu missed UCLA's opener in the NCAA tournament against Kent State, but returned in the second round to score six points and block a shot in just seven minutes in a win over

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. The Bruins finished the season with 31 wins after being eliminated in the Sweet 16. For the year, Anigbogu averaged 4.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks in 13 minutes per game, and made 56 percent of his field goals His 35 blocks ranked third on the team while his minutes played were less than half as many as Welsh (43 blocks) and Leaf (39). Projected to be a late first-round pick, Anigbogu announced after the season that he would declare for the

. Even with his limited playing time and raw offensive skills, he was valued for his athleticism and potential as a standout defender.

Professional career

Indiana Pacers (2017–2019)

Working out for the Indiana Pacers in his fourth pre-draft tryout, Anigbogu twisted his right knee, which precluded him from participating in any further workouts leading up to the draft. His draft stock fell over concerns about his knee, and the Pacers selected him in the second round with the 47th overall pick. He was joined in Indiana by UCLA teammate Leaf, who the Pacers had selected in the first round. Anigbogu had surgery to repair cartilage in his knee and missed the NBA Summer League while rehabbing. He made his NBA debut on October 20, 2017, playing two minutes in a 114–96 loss 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 ...

. At just 19 years old,he was the youngest player in the NBA in 2017–18. In his first season, he played 11 games with the Pacers, and had multiple assignments to their

affiliate, the

Fort Wayne Mad Ants The Fort Wayne Mad Ants are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and are affiliated with the Indiana Pacers. The team plays their home games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. The Mad ...

. During the offseason, Anigbogu missed his second straight summer league after undergoing minor surgery on his knee. He played just three games for the Pacers in 2018–19 before they waived him to complete a deal at the NBA trade deadline on February 7, 2019. He had spent most of his time in the G League and was playing well, averaging 11.1 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in 21 games with Fort Wayne. However, he missed several games due to knee soreness.

Erie BayHawks (2020–2021)

On January 31, 2020, the Erie BayHawks—the G League affiliate of the New Orleans Pelicans—acquired Anigbogu off waivers. He played six games and averaged 9.5 points and 4.8 rebounds. Anigbogu signed with New Orleans in December 2020, but he was waived after the preseason. He rejoined the BayHawks for the 2020–21 G League season, scheduled to be played in a bubble in Orlando, Florida, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. On March 1, he was waived after suffering a season-ending injury.

Birmingham Squadron (2022)

On January 20, 2022, Anigbogu was acquired via returning player rights by the

. However, he was waived on February 28 after suffering a season-ending injury.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

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, 3 , , 0 , , 2.0 , , .000 , , — , , — , , 1.0 , , .3 , , .0 , , .3 , , 0.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 14 , , 0 , , 2.6 , , .333 , , — , , .833 , , .9 , , .1 , , .1 , , .3 , , 0.9

NBA G League

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;", Fort Wayne , 20 , , 20 , , 24.5 , , .525 , , .000 , , .703 , , 6.4 , , 1.1 , , .3 , , 1.7 , , 8.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;", Fort Wayne , 21 , , 21 , , 27.2 , , .468 , , .000 , , .647 , , 9.6 , , .7 , , .4 , , 1.9 , , 11.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;",

Erie Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...

, 6 , , 0 , , 13.7 , , .615 , , .455 , , .500 , , 4.8 , , .5 , , .3 , , .8 , , 9.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 47 , , 41 , , 24.3 , , .504 , , .385 , , .661 , , 7.6 , , .8 , , .4 , , 1.7 , , 9.9

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

, 29 , , 0 , , 13.0 , , .564 , , — , , .535 , , 4.0 , , .2 , , .2 , , 1.2 , , 4.7

References

External links

UCLA Bruins bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anigbogu, Ike 1998 births Living people African-American basketball players American men's basketball players American sportspeople of Nigerian descent Basketball players from San Diego Birmingham Squadron players Centers (basketball) Fort Wayne Mad Ants players Indiana Pacers draft picks Indiana Pacers players Sportspeople from Corona, California UCLA Bruins men's basketball players 21st-century African-American sportspeople