Wenyen Gabriel

Last updated

Wenyen Gabriel
Wenyen Gabriel (March 21, 2022) (cropped).jpg
Gabriel with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2022
No. 32Maccabi Tel Aviv
Position Center / Power forward
League Israeli Basketball Premiere League
Personal information
Born (1997-03-26) March 26, 1997 (age 27)
Khartoum, Sudan
NationalitySouth Sudanese / American
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school
College Kentucky (2016–2018)
NBA draft 2018: undrafted
Playing career2018–present
Career history
20182020 Sacramento Kings
20182019 Stockton Kings
2020 Portland Trail Blazers
2020–2021 New Orleans Pelicans
2021–2022 Wisconsin Herd
2021 Brooklyn Nets
2021–2022 Los Angeles Clippers
20222023 Los Angeles Lakers
2023–2024 Wisconsin Herd
2024 Memphis Grizzlies
2024 Vaqueros de Bayamón
2024–present Maccabi Tel Aviv
Career highlights and awards
Stats   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg at NBA.com
Stats   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg at Basketball-Reference.com

Wenyen Gabriel (born March 26, 1997) is a South Sudanese-American professional basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats, after being a 5-star prospect in 2016, ranked as high as #14 on ESPN's Top 100. Gabriel has also played in the NBA for the Sacramento Kings, Portland Trail Blazers, New Orleans Pelicans, Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Clippers and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Contents

High school career

Gabriel (32) at the 2016 Jordan Brand Classic 2016 Jordan Brand Classic (26255716570).jpg
Gabriel (32) at the 2016 Jordan Brand Classic

Gabriel attended Wilbraham & Monson Academy in Wilbraham, Massachusetts beginning in 2014. [1] Prior to that, he played at Trinity High School in Manchester, New Hampshire for three years. [2] As a senior in 2015-16, he averaged 22.0 points per game, 14.0 rebounds per game, 7.0 blocks per game and 6.3 assists per game. In October 2015, he announced his decision to enroll at the University of Kentucky. Maryland, Duke, UConn and Providence were other schools on his shortlist. [3] He played 19:17 minutes in the 2016 Nike Hoop Summit, scoring two points, grabbing four rebounds and dishing out two assists. [4] He also played in the 2016 Jordan Brand Classic. Gabriel was rated as a five-star recruit and ranked #14 in the Class of 2016 by ESPN.

College career

He made his debut for the Kentucky Wildcats in an exhibition game on October 31, 2016 against Clarion University, tallying nine points, two rebounds and one assist in 17 minutes coming off the bench. [5] As a freshman, he played in 38 games, including 23 starts, averaging 4.6 points and 4.8 rebounds in 17.8 minutes. [6] During his sophomore year, Gabriel became more of a key figure for Kentucky's success that season, tallying 6.8 points and 5.4 rebounds in 37 games. He led Kentucky with 40 blocked shots. [7]

Professional career

Sacramento Kings (2018–2020)

Gabriel declared for the 2018 NBA draft, [8] but went undrafted. [9] He joined the Sacramento Kings for the 2018 NBA Summer League. [10] On July 31, 2018, he signed a two-way contract with the Kings. [11] However, he did not appear in a game during that season.

Just prior to the start of the 2019–20 season, the Kings converted Gabriel’s contract to a standard deal. [12] He had a double-double of 16 points and 16 rebounds for the Stockton Kings on December 20, 2019, in a win over the Delaware Blue Coats. [13] On January 11, 2020, Gabriel had 37 points, 11 rebounds and three assists for Stockton in its 163–143 win over the Iowa Wolves. [14]

Portland Trail Blazers (2020)

On January 20, 2020, Gabriel was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers along with Trevor Ariza and Caleb Swanigan in exchange for Kent Bazemore, Anthony Tolliver and two future second round picks. [15] He made his debut for the Trail Blazers on January 31, going 0-for-3 from the field with one rebound, one assist and a block in 13 minutes as the Blazers defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 127–119. [16]

New Orleans Pelicans (2020–2021)

On November 30, 2020, Gabriel signed with the New Orleans Pelicans. [17] In 21 games with the team he averaged 11.5 minutes, 3.5 points, 2.69 rebounds, and 0.4 blocks per game. He was waived just prior to the start of the 2021–22 season. [18]

Wisconsin Herd (2021)

In October 2021, Gabriel joined the Wisconsin Herd as an affiliate player. [19] In 12 games he averaged 13.8 points on 47.5 percent shooting from the field and 38.7 percent shooting from 3-point range, 8.6 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.1 steals and 2.0 blocks in 25.8 minutes per contest. [20]

Brooklyn Nets (2021)

On December 21, 2021, Gabriel signed a 10-day contract with the Brooklyn Nets. [20] He played one game for the team.

Los Angeles Clippers (2021–2022)

On December 31, 2021, Gabriel signed a 10-day contract with the Los Angeles Clippers. [21] He signed a third 10-day contract with the Clippers on January 11, 2022. [22]

Return to Wisconsin (2022)

Following the expiration of his second 10-day contract, Gabriel was re-acquired by the Wisconsin Herd on January 21. [23]

On January 29, 2022, Gabriel signed a 10-day contract with the New Orleans Pelicans. [24] He did not play in a game for the Pelicans before his deal expired. On February 8, he was reacquired by the Herd. [25]

Los Angeles Lakers (2022–2023)

On March 1, 2022, Gabriel signed a two-way contract with the Los Angeles Lakers. [26] On April 8, 2022, the Los Angeles Lakers converted Gabriel's two-way contract into a two-year standard contract. [27] With the Lakers, in 68 games in which he played 15.1 minutes per game, he averaged 5.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 0.5 blocks per game, with a .596 field goal percentage.

On October 3, 2023, Gabriel signed with the Boston Celtics, [28] but was waived on October 20. [29]

Third stint with Wisconsin / Memphis Grizzlies (2023–2024)

On October 30, 2023, Gabriel joined the Wisconsin Herd [30] and on March 8, 2024, he signed a 10-day contract with the Memphis Grizzlies. [31] With Memphis, in five games he averaged 16.2 minutes, 3.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 0.4 blocks per game. On March 18, he returned to Wisconsin. [32]

Vaqueros de Bayamón (2024)

On March 11, 2024, Gabriel signed with Vaqueros de Bayamón. [33] In 23 games he averaged 13.0 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks (7th in the league) per game, with a .576 field goal percentage. [34]

Maccabi Tel Aviv (2024–present)

On July 10, 2024, Gabriel signed a two-year deal with Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League and the Euroleague.

National team career

Gabriel joined the South Sudan national team in August 2023, as he was selected in the roster for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, where South Sudan made their international debut. [35] Gabriel and the South Sudanese team made history for the nation by placing first out of all African nations at the tournament. The team was granted automatic qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympics men’s basketball tournament, [36] a first for the team and Gabriel.

Career statistics

Legend
  GPGames played  GS Games started MPG Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage 3P%  3-point field goal percentage FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game APG  Assists per game SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game PPG Points per game Bold Career high

NBA

Regular season

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
2019–20 Sacramento 1105.6.353.125.600.9.3.3.21.7
Portland 1919.1.484.417.7502.2.3.4.32.7
2020–21 New Orleans 21011.5.400.406.6472.6.5.4.43.4
2021–22 Brooklyn 101.31.0.0.0.0.0
L.A. Clippers 607.7.385.400.5002.3.3.2.32.3
L.A. Lakers 19516.4.505.261.6054.3.6.2.56.7
2022–23 L.A. Lakers 68215.1.596.278.6194.2.5.4.55.5
2023–24 Memphis 5016.2.364.167.0005.0.6.4.43.4
Career150812.9.524.311.6063.4.5.4.44.4

Play-in

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
2020 Portland 109.1.3331.0001.01.0.0.03.0
2023 L.A. Lakers 101.8.0.0.0.0.0
Career205.5.3331.000.5.5.0.01.5

Playoffs

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
2020 Portland 4213.3.600.400.5002.51.0.5.55.3
2023 L.A. Lakers 1003.7.400.667.9.0.2.31.0
Career1426.5.520.400.6001.4.3.3.42.2

Personal life

Gabriel was born in Khartoum, Sudan, on March 26, 1997. [37] Because his sister born a year earlier had died in infancy, Gabriel was given the name "Wenyen", which means "wipe your tears" in his native Dinka language. [37] Two weeks after he was born, Gabriel's mother, Rebecca Gak, moved with him and his three siblings to Cairo, Egypt to escape the violence of the Second Sudanese Civil War. [37] While Gabriel's mother worked to earn enough money to move his father, Makuac, to Cairo, his seven-year-old brother, Komot, became Gabriel's primary care giver. [37] [38] Two years after moving to Egypt, the United Nations granted an appeal to move the refugee family to Manchester, New Hampshire, an American city with a large South Sudanese population. [37]

Gabriel became a US citizen in 2017 when his parents became citizens. [39] He received his paperwork and passport in 2015, [39] [40] and represented the USA Basketball Junior National Select Team at the 2016 Nike Hoop Summit. In 2016, he said he still considers South Sudan his home. [39]

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References

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