| Los Angeles Lakers – No. 28 | |
| Center | |
| Born | December 30, 1980 Zaire |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Belgian-Congolese |
| Listed height | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) |
| Listed weight | 255 lb (116 kg) |
| League | NBA |
| Salary | $959,111 |
| Draft | Undrafted |
| Pro career | 2001–present |
| Former teams | Dallas Mavericks (2004–2007) Golden State Warriors (2007–2008) |
| Awards | 1-time NBA Champion (2009) |
| Profile | Info Page |
Didier Ilunga-Mbenga commonly referred to as D.J. Mbenga (pronounced: Benga), (born December 30, 1980) is a Belgian professional basketball player who's currently playing for the Los Angeles Lakers. He also plays for the Belgium national basketball team.[1]
Contents |
Early life
Mbenga was born in and raised in Zaire, now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where his father was a government employee.[2] When a new regime took over power, it sought everyone who worked for the previous leader.[2] As unrest in the country escalated, Mbenga's father was imprisoned.[2] Although he was eventually unable to save himself, he did manage to negotiate on behalf of his sons, who were also imprisoned and waiting to be executed. Mbenga fled the country on a plane to Belgium, where he received asylum.[2] While living in a refugee center, he was discovered by Belgian basketball legend Willy Steveniers, who eventually served as Mbenga's personal basketball mentor.[3]
NBA career
Mbenga was signed by the Dallas Mavericks during the 2004–05 season. He continued through the 2005–06 season with the Mavericks but when the season ended, Mbenga became an unrestricted free agent. Mbenga extended his contract with the Dallas Mavericks for three seasons for an approximated US$2 million a year.[4] Mbenga was then waived by the Mavericks in order for them to sign Juwan Howard. On November 17, 2007, Mbenga was signed to play with the Golden State Warriors under the direction of his old coach in Dallas, Don Nelson. On January 6, 2008 he was waived by Golden State.[5] Later that month, on January 21, 2008 he was signed to a 10-day contract by the Los Angeles Lakers.[6] On February 11, 2008 the Lakers signed Mbenga for the rest of the 2007–08 season.[7]
On the night of March 6, 2009 playing against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Mbenga scored a career high 10 points with an efficient 4-5 shooting, grabbed 4 rebounds and blocked 5 shots in just 17 minutes of playing time. For the several games prior to the engagement, he has started to become a crowd favorite and he started getting known as Congo Cash . On the evening of June 14, 2009 D.J. won his first NBA Title with the Los Angeles Lakers[8]
With starting forward Pau Gasol and center Andrew Bynum injured, Mbenga made his first start for the Los Angeles Lakers on November 6th, 2009 against the Memphis Grizzlies [9]
Player profile
In the 2006 playoffs he was suspended 6 games without pay for entering the stands. He saw coach Avery Johnson's wife being disturbed by some fans, and reportedly went into the stands with owner Mark Cuban to help usher Mrs. Johnson to the locker room. Regardless of his intentions, the NBA's Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Stu Jackson maintained a hard line against players entering the stands (a direct result of the infamous Pacers–Pistons brawl of 2004), suspending him for six games without pay.[10] When asked about watching the Finals from home, Mbenga remarked, "Sometimes, I can't watch. When I start watching, especially when Diop or Erick have foul trouble, I get mad. I might shoot the TV."[11]
On February 7, 2007 against Memphis, Mbenga hurt his knee late in the fourth quarter and limped off the court. It was originally thought that he had only strained his knee and would be back after a week or so, however, later scans found Mbenga had torn an anterior cruciate ligament, which required surgical reconstruction. As a result of the injury, Mbenga missed the rest of the season.[12]
Mbenga speaks five languages: French, Portuguese, English, Lingala and Tshiluba. [13]
Playing career
| Season | Club | Country | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | Antwerp Diamond Giants | Belgium | National Junior Youth League |
| 2000–01 | Antwerp Diamond Giants | Belgium | National Junior Youth League |
| 2001–02 | Spirou Gilly | Belgium | Second Division |
| 2002–03 | Basket Groot Leuven | Belgium | First Division |
| 2003–04 | Spirou Charleroi | Belgium | First Division |
| 2004–05 | Dallas Mavericks | USA | NBA |
| 2005–06 | Dallas Mavericks | USA | NBA |
| 2006–07 | Dallas Mavericks | USA | NBA |
| 2007–08 | Golden State Warriors | USA | NBA |
| 2007–08 | Los Angeles Lakers | USA | NBA |
| 2008–09 | Los Angeles Lakers | USA | NBA |
NBA career statistics
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games 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 |
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004–05 | Dallas | 15 | 1 | 3.9 | .429 | .000 | .750 | .5 | .0 | .0 | .3 | 1.0 |
| 2005–06 | Dallas | 43 | 1 | 5.5 | .533 | .000 | .500 | 1.3 | .0 | .1 | .6 | 1.7 |
| 2006–07 | Dallas | 21 | 0 | 3.8 | .313 | .000 | .875 | .5 | .3 | .1 | .2 | .8 |
| 2007–08 | Golden State | 16 | 0 | 8.1 | .391 | .000 | .500 | 1.9 | .3 | .2 | .6 | 1.2 |
| 2007–08 | LA Lakers | 26 | 0 | 7.5 | .492 | .000 | .400 | 1.6 | .2 | .2 | .6 | 2.5 |
| 2008–09 | LA Lakers | 23 | 0 | 7.9 | .474 | .000 | .875 | 1.3 | .4 | .4 | 1.0 | 2.7 |
| Career | 144 | 2 | 6.1 | .472 | .000 | .615 | 1.2 | .2 | .2 | .5 | 1.7 |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005–06 | Dallas | 7 | 0 | 3.6 | .333 | .000 | 1.000 | 1.1 | .0 | .0 | .1 | .6 |
| 2007–08 | LA Lakers | 7 | 0 | 4.3 | .625 | .000 | .000 | 1.3 | .0 | .3 | .1 | 1.4 |
| 2008–09 | LA Lakers | 7 | 0 | 2.3 | .167 | .000 | .000 | .4 | .0 | .0 | .3 | .3 |
| Career | 21 | 0 | 3.4 | .412 | .000 | 1.000 | 1.0 | .0 | .1 | .2 | .8 |
References
- ^ "Belgian Lions eindigen in mineur" (in Dutch). Sportwereld.be. 2006-09-17. http://www.sportwereld.be/Article/Detail.aspx?ArticleID=GR511Q7JJ.
- ^ a b c d NBA Access: Lakers-Jazz. NBA Access with Ahmad Rashad. May 2008. http://broadband.nba.com/cc/playa.php?content=video&url=http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/nbaaccess/nac_339_b_block.asx.
- ^ "Poulain van Willy Steveniers tekent contract bij Dallas Mavericks" (in Dutch). Sportwereld.be. 2004. http://www.sportwereld.be/Nieuws/Detail.aspx?ArticleID=G9P783SK.
- ^ Mavericks Contracts and future salary commitments Archived from the original on 2007-08-13
- ^ Lepper, Geoff (2008-01-07). "Warriors waive backup center Mbenga". Vallejo Times-Herald (MediaNews Group). http://www.timesheraldonline.com/ci_7902746. Retrieved 2008-01-08.
- ^ LAKERS SIGN DJ MBENGA, January 21, 2008
- ^ After two 10-day contracts, He was a beast so the Lakers sign Mbenga for rest of year, February 11, 2008
- ^ http://lakersblog.latimes.com/lakersblog/2009/03/lakers-110-minn.html Los Angeles Times. 2009. Retrieved on 2009-3-7
- ^ [1]
- ^ Dallas’ D.J. Mbenga Suspended Six Games, June 1, 2006
- ^ Dallas Morning News Page 5C June 16, 2006
- ^ "Knee injury to sideline Mavs' Mbenga for season". ESPN. 2007. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2758873. Retrieved 2007-11-17.
- ^ "Didier Ilunga-Mbenga Bio Page". NBA.com. http://www.nba.com/playerfile/dj_mbenga/bio.html.
External links
- D.J. Mbenga Statistics at Basketball-Reference.com
- D. J. Mbenga at ESPN.com
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