Isaac Evolue Etue Bofenda Bonga (born November 8, 1999) is a German basketball player for the Frankfurt Skyliners of the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL).[1] Standing 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m), he is listed as a point guard.[2] Born in Neuwied, Bonga represents Germany in international competition, with experience on the under-16 and under-19 teams. He was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers (2nd round, 39th overall) in the 2018 NBA draft.
No. 17 – Los Angeles Lakers | |
---|---|
Position | Shooting guard / Small forward |
League | Basketball Bundesliga |
Personal information | |
Born | Neuwied, Germany | November 8, 1999
Nationality | German |
Listed height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) |
Listed weight | 179 lb (81 kg) |
Career information | |
NBA draft | 2018: 2nd round, 39th overall pick |
Selected by the Philadelphia 76ers | |
Playing career | 2016–present |
Career history | |
2016–present | Skyliners Frankfurt |
2016–present | →Skyliners Juniors |
Stats at NBA.com | |
Stats at Basketball Reference |
Early life
Bonga was born in Neuwied, Germany to parents originally from the Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.[3][4] His father emigrated to Germany in the early 1990s with plans to move to Canada, but he instead stayed in the country and began living in Frankfurt and then Koblenz.[5][3] Bonga's older brother Tarsis plays soccer for the reserve team of Fortuna Düsseldorf, while his younger brother plays basketball at the youth levels in Koblenz.[6] At age seven, Bonga began playing streetball in Neuwied, and two years later, he joined the local club.[4]
Professional career
Bonga is a product of Post SV Koblenz and logged his first minutes in senior basketball during the 2014-15 season, when competing in Germany’s fifth-tier 2. Regionalliga with SG Lützel-Post Koblenz. After winning the championship with the team and earning promotion to the fourth division (Regionalliga), he saw action in 24 games during the 2015-16 Regionalliga season, averaging 5.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2 assists per contest. He also represented the under 19-squad of Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany’s top-junior division NBBL.[7]
In June 2016, Bonga signed a four-year deal with the Frankfurt Skyliners of the German top-flight Basketball Bundesliga.[8] He was invited to the NBA Top 100 camp in Charlottesville, Virginia, the same month.[9] Bonga was one of the top-European prospects to be picked to attend the 2016 Basketball without Borders Camp Europe in Helsinki in September 2016.[10]
Bonga made his Bundesliga debut for Frankfurt at age 16 on September 23, 2016 in a 84–55 loss against Brose Bamberg, as he played 28 seconds.[11] On May 1, 2017, Bonga signed with agents Jason Ranne and Thad Foucher to enter the 2018 NBA draft.[12] Bonga would later enter the 2018 NBA Draft, being one of only 11 truly international players to enter the draft that year early. He was picked by the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round (39th overall).[13] Before the draft, the Lakers had acquired the 39th pick from the Philadelphia 76ers for a 2019 second round pick and cash.[14]
International career
Bonga played the 2014 and 2015 under-16 European Championships with the German national team.[15] In 2017, he participated in the FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup, averaging 6.6 points in seven contests[16] en route to a fifth-place finish.
In November 2017, he was named to the German Men’s National Team roster for the first time in his career to take part in the qualifiers for the 2019 FIBA World Cup.[17] Aged 18 and three months, he made his Germany senior team debut on February 23, 2018, in a World Cup qualifier against Serbia, becoming the youngest German player to do so in 40 years.[18]
References
- ^ Timur Tinç, Von (August 7, 2017). "Basketball statt Schule". Frankfurter Rundschau (in German). Retrieved April 10, 2018.
- ^ "Isaac Bonga". Basketball Bundesliga. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
- ^ a b Givony, Jonathan (September 12, 2016). "NBA Basketball Without Borders Europe Camp Top Prospects". DraftExpress. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
- ^ a b Hein, David (January 13, 2017). "Leadership, taking responsibility atop Bonga's development list". Adidas Next Generation Tournament. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
- ^ Hein, David (January 13, 2017). ""If people think I'm good or not, I'm not interested in that" – German talent Bonga". HeinNews. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
- ^ "Isaac Bonga". Eurospects. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
- ^ "NBBL / JBBL - Spieler-Statistik - - Eintracht Frankfurt / FRAPORT SKYLINERS". statistik.basketball-bundesliga.de. Retrieved 2016-06-18.
- ^ "FRAPORT SKYLINERS verpflichten Nachwuchs-Nationalspieler Isaac Bonga | FRAPORT SKYLINERS". www.fraport-skyliners.de. Retrieved 2016-06-18.
- ^ "2016 NBA Top 100 camp player roster | HoopSeen". www.hoopseen.com. Retrieved 2016-06-18.
- ^ "Bonga und Herkenhoff bei Basketball without Borders « Deutscher Basketball Bund". www.basketball-bund.de. Retrieved 2016-07-29.
- ^ "easyCredit - 2016-09-23 BAM-FRA". www.easycredit-bbl.de. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
- ^ Jonathan Givony [@DraftExpress] (1 May 2017). "Jason Ranne and Thad Foucher of @Wasserman have signed elite 1999 German prospect Isaac Bonga for the 2018 NBA draft, the agency announces" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Hansford, Corey (2018-06-21). "2018 NBA Draft: Lakers Select Isaac Bonga With No. 39 Pick Acquired From 76ers". Lakers Nation. Retrieved 2018-06-22.
- ^ "2018 NBA Draft: Lakers acquire 39th pick from Sixers". Lakers Outsiders. 2018-06-21. Retrieved 2018-06-22.
- ^ "Isaac Evolue Etue B. Bonga profile, U16 European Championship Men 2015 | FIBA.COM". FIBA.COM. Retrieved 2016-06-18.
- ^ "Allemagne at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2017 - FIBA.basketball". FIBA.basketball (in French). Retrieved 2017-07-09.
- ^ "DBB-Herren: Rödl nominiert Kader « Deutscher Basketball Bund". www.basketball-bund.de. Retrieved 2017-11-04.
- ^ Germany, kicker online, Nürnberg,. "Quali-Überraschung: Deutschland schlägt Serbien". kicker online (in German). Retrieved 2018-02-23.
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