Yannick Nzosa

Yannick Manzila Nzosa (born 15 November 2003) is a Congolese basketball player for Unicaja Andalucía of the Liga EBA. A 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) center, he is considered one of the best international prospects of his age.[1]

Yannick Nzosa
No. 3 – Unicaja Andalucía
PositionCenter
LeagueLiga EBA
Personal information
Born (2003-11-15) 15 November 2003
Kinshasa, DR Congo
NationalityCongolese
Listed height2.08 m (6 ft 10 in)
Listed weight88 kg (194 lb)
Career information
Playing career2020–present
Career history
2020–presentUnicaja Andalucía

Career

Nzosa was born and brought up in the suburbs of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 2017, he left his family, which included four sisters and one brother, to play basketball for Stella Azzurra Roma in Italy.[2] Joe Lolonga, a family friend and director of the Democratic Republic of Congo Basketball Federation, helped Nzosa join the club.[3] Nzosa could not speak Italian at first and his French-speaking teammates Paul Eboua and Jordan Bayehe helped him adjust.[4]

In February 2019, Nzosa was named to the all-tournament team at Adidas Next Generation Tournament (ANGT) Kaunas after averaging 13.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 2.3 steals per game for U18 Stellazzurra Rome and leading the event in two-point field goal percentage (67.7%).[5] Before the 2019–20 season, Nzosa left Stella Azzurra in hopes of continuing his career with Unicaja Málaga in Spain.[2][6] For much of the season, Nzosa trained with Unicaja Andalucía, the reserve team of Unicaja, but was barred from official matches due to a dispute with his former club over rights to him.[7][8] He represented U18 Unicaja Málaga in December 2019 at ANGT Valencia, where he earned all-tournament team honors after averaging 15 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.8 blocks and 1.8 steals per game.[9][10] On 31 March 2020, FIBA Europe ruled in favor of Unicaja regarding Nzosa's transfer and he was officially incorporated into the club.[11]

References
  1. Fernández, Emilio (22 March 2020). "El júnior cajista Yannick Nzosa se coloca número 1 en las webs especializadas en el draft de la NBA". La Opinión de Málaga (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  2. Nigro, Giuseppe (9 September 2019). ""Yannick è stato rapito". La fuga a Malaga (col mentore) del talento Nzosa". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  3. Solé, Gerard (8 September 2019). "Nuevas informaciones de la situación de Nzosa, el joven talento que ha dejado Stella Azzurra" (in Spanish). Gigantes del Basket. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  4. Maggitti, Luca (8 September 2019). "Il ratto di Yannick Nzosa" (in Italian). Roseto.com. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  5. "Kriisa named MVP of ANGT Kaunas". ANGT. 10 February 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  6. Maggi, Alessandro (10 September 2019). "Il «caso» Yannick Nzosa, il prospetto scippato alla Stella Azzurra Roma" (in Italian). Sportando. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  7. Olías, José Manuel (8 September 2018). "El Unicaja echa las redes sobre Yannick Nzosa". Málaga Hoy (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  8. Fernández, Emilio (31 March 2020). "FIBA Europa resuelve a favor del Unicaja el caso de Yannick Nzosa". La Opinión de Málaga (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  9. "MVP Montero heads ANGT Valencia all-tourney team". ANGT. 29 December 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  10. "Nzosa, elegido en el quinteto ideal del Adidas Next Generation". Málaga Hoy (in Spanish). 29 December 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  11. "Malaga to officially incorporate youngster Yannick Nzosa". EuroHoops. 31 March 2020. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
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