Майкл Оловоканди: Путь нигерийского баскетболиста к NBA

Nigerian basketball player (born 1975)

Michael Olowokandi (born 3 April 1975) is a Nigerian former professional basketball player. Born in Lagos, Nigeria, and raised in London, he played collegiately for the Pacific Tigers in Stockton, California. Nicknamed "The Kandi Man," Olowokandi was selected as the first overall pick of the 1998 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Clippers. He played professionally until 2007, when he was forced to retire due to severe hernia and knee injuries.

Olowokandi was born in Lagos, Nigeria, as the oldest of five children. His father, Ezekiel, was a Nigerian diplomat. When Olowokandi was aged 3, his family moved to London where he was raised. Olowokandi has Nigerian citizenship and did not hold a British passport as of 2004. Olowokandi attended the Newlands Manor School in Seaford, East Sussex, where he set British age group records in long jump and triple jump and also played center midfield in football. Olowokandi had a height of at age 16, growing six inches in two years. He first touched a basketball at the age of 17, and began playing basketball when he was 18. Olowokandi then entered Brunel University as a mechanical engineering major, where he was an athlete in track and field, cricket, and rugby union. He had a tryout with the Thames Valley Tigers of the Budweiser Basketball League but did not receive a contract.

On 3 April 1995, on Olowokandi's 20th birthday, he opened the Peterson's Guide to American Colleges and Universities to a random page and landed on the University of the Pacific (UOP). Olowokandi called the UOP basketball office in hopes that he would be accepted to play basketball for the Pacific Tigers. UOP assistant coach Tony Marcopulos answered the phone call and was stunned when informed of Olowokandi's height of He graduated from Pacific with a degree in Economics and had his No. 55 jersey retired by the university in 1998.

Olowokandi was considered to be a top two pick in the 1998 NBA draft due to his wingspan and "unlimited upside". Olowokandi was drafted with the first overall pick by the Los Angeles Clippers. Later in the lottery future Hall of Famers Paul Pierce and Dirk Nowitzki were selected, as well as future All Stars Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison. The Clippers had initially planned to draft eventual second pick Mike Bibby but Elgin Baylor cited Olowokandi's work habits and off season improvements as the swaying factors. In 3 regular season Italian League games played with Bologna, he averaged 4.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 0.3 assists in 17.3 minutes per game. He also played for 3 games in the FIBA EuroLeague, where he averaged 10.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 0.3 assists in 21.3 minutes per game. Bologna granted Olowokandi an early release to sign with the Clippers as he did not have a considerable impact and was poorly conditioned. Olowokandi claimed that he felt misused by the team and did not have his offensive abilities utilised. Olowokandi underwent surgery on his left knee on 11 May 1999, in what would be the first of multiple knee surgeries. Olowokandi received additional playing time after center Elton Brand was sidelined by a bruised left hip, and Olowokandi became "the Clippers’ go to guy". He averaged 17 points a game and 11 rebounds during the last 20 games of the season and was considered one of the biggest free agents in the 2002–03 free agency class. On 5 April 2002, Olowokandi was fined $50,000 by the Clippers for "behavior detrimental to the team" after he criticized teammates for a loss against the Utah Jazz. Olowokandi was coveted by the San Antonio Spurs to replace the retiring David Robinson. He was also a top choice for the Denver Nuggets, with Kiki VanDeWeghe of the Denver Nuggets considering Olowokandi to be a "legitimate center." However, Olowokandi resigned with the Clippers to their qualifying offer on 24 September 2002, following weeks of uncertainty in contract negotiations. Olowokandi injured his left knee during his extensive training during the offseason and missed most of the preseason. The team's apprehension in offering him a longterm contract extension caused conflict between the Clippers and Olowokandi, who by December 2002 had decided he would not again resign with the team. He also considered himself as having a limited role in coach Alvin Gentry's offense despite having a breakthrough season that saw improvements in his aggressiveness and consistency. Olowokandi was ultimately ruled out for the rest of the season by the Clippers in April. Olowokandi averaged 9.9 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in his 323 games played with the Clippers over five seasons. Abdul Jabbar, who became an assistant coach for the Clippers during Olowokandi's tenure, considered Olowokandi "talented but uncoachable" and cited his lack of willingness to accept criticism in practice as being detrimental to his career.

Due to financial issues with the L. A. Clippers, Olowokandi signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves on a three year, $16.2 million contract. Olowokandi had been considered the fourth most valuable free agent that offseason but received little interest from NBA teams and accepted the only solid deal he was offered. Olowokandi was enticed by Timberwolves general manager and former player Kevin McHale, who trained one on one together before the season started. On 26 November 2004, Olowokandi was suspended by the Timberwolves for two games after he was arrested for refusing to leave an Indianapolis night club. On 16 January 2005, Olowokandi was suspended by the NBA for four games for a fight with Nenê of the Denver Nuggets during a game the previous night.

On January 26, 2006, Olowokandi, Dwayne Jones, and Wally Szczerbiak were traded by the Timberwolves to the Boston Celtics, alongside a future first round draft pick, for Justin Reed, Mark Blount, Ricky Davis, Marcus Banks and two future second round draft picks. In 500 regular season NBA games (399 games started), Olowokandi averaged 8.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.39 blocked shots per game. In 15 playoff games (2 starts), he averaged 2.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, and .7 blocks per game. Olowokandi is often considered to be a draft bust, failing to live up to the potential offered by his frame and athleticism.

In 2001, Olowokandi and his Clippers teammates participated in the BasketBowl Challenge at Keystone Lanes in Norwalk, California, to raise funds for the Los Angeles Clippers Foundation and Children's Hospital Los Angeles. During Thanksgiving of 2006, Olowokandi volunteered his time at the Boston Children's Hospital and served meals for over 200 homeless people at the Pine Street Inn in Boston. He has also donated to various charities and hospitals, including over $100,000 to the Children's Hospital Los Angeles for a new incubator for premature newborn infants. Many of Olowokandi's charitable projects were undisclosed and done privately without his teams' affiliations.