# Earvin N'Gapeth

Earvin Ngapeth (born 12 February 1991) is a French professional volleyball player, member of the France national volleyball team and Turkish club Fenerbahçe, 2015 European Champion, gold medallist of the World League (2015 and 2017), French Champion (2010), Italian Champion (2016), and Olympic Champion (2020 and 2024).

## Personal life

His Cameroonian-born father, Éric, is a former volleyball player who represented France in the 1980s. His father named him after Earvin "Magic" Johnson. Growing up, he played youth football alongside current Paris Saint-Germain defender Layvin Kurzawa when the pair lived in Fréjus.
N'Gapeth is a model and brand ambassador for Adidas.

### Legal issues

In December 2014, N'Gapeth was sentenced to three months suspended imprisonment by the Criminal Court of Montpellier for a fight in a nightclub in the city a few months earlier. In July 2015, he was arrested and heard in an open hearing by the police following the assault of a TGV train ticket inspector in the Paris-Montparnasse train station. In December 2019, he was arrested in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, accused of sexual harassment for slapping a woman's behind without her permission.

## Career
### Club

In season 2008–09, N'Gapeth debuted into professional volleyball, hired by Tours VB, where he stayed for three seasons and winner Pro A League. In season 2011–12, he was hired in the Italian team of Cuneo Piemonte in Series A1 League, where he remained for two seasons. With the team, he reached the final of the CEV Europe League. N'gapeth in the next year moved to Kuzbass Kemerovo, a club playing in Super League; however, during the season he abandoned the team and returned to Italy, wearing the shirt of Modena in the Serie A1. With Modena, he won the 2014-15 Italian Cup and the 2015-16 Italian Championship, Italian Cup, and Italian Supercup. In the season 2015-16 he won his second Italian Supercup. After four years in Modena, N'Gapeth joined Zenit Kazan with a two-year contract.

### National team

On 7 October 2010 N'Gapeth was expelled from the national team on disciplinary grounds during the World Championship held in Italy. He came back to the national team at the European Championship 2011. In 2014, he played at the World Championship 2014 held in Poland. France lost the match for the bronze medal with Germany and took 4th place. He was one of the key players in the 2015 World League championship campaign. On October 18, 2015, the French national team, including N'Gapeth, won the title of the European Champion 2015 (3–0 with Slovenia in the finale). In 2017, he was selected as the Most Valuable Player of the FIVB World League and was a gold medalist with France.

## Sporting achievements
### Clubs

* CEV Champions League
** 2012/2013 – with Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo
** 2018/2019 – with Zenit Kazan
** 2020/2021 – with Zenit Kazan
* CEV Cup
** 2022–23 – with Valsa Group Modena
* Asian Club Championship
** 2022 Iran – with Paykan Tehran VC
** 2024 Iran – with Jakarta Presisi
* FIVB Club World Championship
** Betim 2019 – with Zenit Kazan
* National championships
** 2008/2009 French Cup, with Tours VB
** 2009/2010 French Championship, with Tours VB
** 2009/2010 French Cup, with Tours VB
** 2010/2011 French Cup, with Tours VB
** 2011/2012 Italian Championship, with Modena Volley
** 2011/2012 Italian SuperCup, with Modena Volley
** 2014/2015 Italian Championship, with Parmareggio Modena
** 2014/2015 Italian Cup, with Parmareggio Modena
** 2015/2016 Italian Championship, with DHL Modena
** 2015/2016 Italian Cup, with DHL Modena
** 2015/2016 Italian SuperCup, with DHL Modena
** 2016/2017 Italian SuperCup, with DHL Modena
** 2017/2018 Italian Championship, with DHL Modena
** 2018/2019 Russian Super League, with Zenit Kazan
** 2018/2019 Russian Cup, with Zenit Kazan
** 2018/2019 Russian SuperCup, with Zenit Kazan
** 2019/2020 Russian Super League, with Zenit Kazan
** 2019/2020 Russian Cup, with Zenit Kazan
** 2020/2021 Russian SuperCup, with Zenit Kazan
** 2021/2022 Iranian Super League, with Paykan Tehran
** 2023/2024 Turkish Volleyball League, with Halkbank
** 2023/2024 Turkish Cup, with Halkbank
** 2023/2024 Turkish Super Cup, with Halkbank
** 2023/2024 Indonesian Proliga, with Jakarta Bhayangkara Presisi

### National team

* 2020 Olympic Games
* 2024 Olympic Games
* 2015 Volleyball World League
* 2016 Volleyball World League
* 2017 Volleyball World League
* 2018 Volleyball Nations League
* 2021 Volleyball Nations League
* 2022 Volleyball Nations League
* 2024 Volleyball Nations League
* 2015 European Championship

### Youth national team

* 2007 CEV U19 European Championship
* 2008 CEV U20 European Championship
* 2009 CEV U19 European Championship

### Individual awards

* 2008: CEV U20 European Championship – Most valuable player
* 2009: CEV U19 European Championship – Best server
* 2009: CEV U19 European Championship – Most valuable player
* 2011: French Championship – Most Valuable Player Archived 2020-05-24 at the Wayback Machine
* 2011: French Championship – Best Receiver Archived 2020-05-24 at the Wayback Machine
* 2015: Italian Cup – Most valuable player
* 2015: FIVB World League – Best outside spiker
* 2015: FIVB World League – Most valuable player
* 2015: CEV European Championship – Best outside spiker
* 2016: Italian Championship – Best Player
* 2016: European Confederation Gala – Most spectacular player
* 2017: FIVB World League – Best outside spiker
* 2017: FIVB World League – Most valuable player
* 2021: Olympic Games Tokyo – Most valuable player and Best outside spiker
* 2022: Asian Club Championship – Best outside spiker
* 2022: FIVB Nations League – Most valuable player and Best outside spiker
* 2024: Olympic Games Paris – Most valuable player and Best outside spiker