Golden State Warriors
Which team did Festus Ezeli play for between Nov 2013 and Jun 2016?
Festus Ezeli Ifeanyi Festus Ezeli-Ndulue ( born October 21 , 1989 ) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player for Rivers Hoopers of the Nigerian Premier League ( NPL ) and the Basketball Africa League ( BAL ) . He had previously played five seasons in the National Basketball Association ( NBA ) . He played college basketball for Vanderbilt before being selected with the 30th overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft by the Golden State Warriors . Ezeli won an NBA Championship with the Warriors in 2015 . He last appeared in the 2016 NBA Finals , and did not play basketball since his knee surgery in the 2017 season until coming back in 2021 . Early life . Life in Nigeria . One of five children , Ezeli remembered in a 2011 interview with Andy Katz of ESPN.com , My parents told me I was an unusual child . My first name is Ifeanyi , and that means nothing is impossible with God . That sets the tone for my journey while Im alive . He concentrated on academics , graduating from high school while still age 14 , and aspiring to become a physician . To further his career goals , his parents sent him to live with his uncle , a pediatrician , in Yuba City , California in 2004 . Life in America . Shortly after Ezeli arrived in Yuba City , his uncle encouraged him to take up what seemed to be the most appropriate sport for a 68 ( 2.03 m ) teenager—basketball . This proved much more difficult for him than academics ; although he had played soccer as a child , he had never played any organized sports . He took a year of classes at Jesuit High School in Sacramento , but did not play basketball ; different sources report that he was either ineligible to play because he had graduated from high school in Nigeria or cut during tryouts . The start of his organized basketball career , with a low-level AAU team , was especially inauspicious ; his first points were scored in his own teams basket . Recalling that incident , he said , Everybody was running up the court , and I was just running with them . Its kind of surreal . Sometimes I think about it now and Im like , Damn . How did I get here ? Also in the Katz interview , Ezeli remarked on his struggles to learn the game:I didnt know what I was doing . Imagine someone who is 14 or 15 years old , and youre teaching them as if theyre a 6-year-old . It was tough . Everyone was getting frustrated with me . I was getting frustrated with it . I tried playing in 2005 . I stopped . I tried again in 2006 . And when I had my first dunk in a summer league game in Las Vegas in 2006 , thats when I was so excited . It was so exhilarating that I started to like it . At age 16 , Ezeli joined a second AAU team and also enrolled part-time at Yuba Community College . By not attending full-time , he retained a full four years of college eligibility and was still able to practice with the team ; he also served as the teams videographer . Although still learning the most basic of basketball skills , he made his high-level competitive debut on the AAU circuit in the summer of 2007 . By then , he had reached 611 ( 2.11 m ) , and averaged 10 points , 11 rebounds , and 3 blocks per game , earning an invitation to the Reebok All-American Camp in July 2007 . Recruitment . Ezelis appearance at the camp marked a major turning point in his life . According to Sports Illustrated writer Pablo S . Torre,Recruiters . . .awaited his arrival as if he were Bigfoot . They left with their heads spinning at Ezelis size and raw potential , even if it was clear that he lacked confidence . Offers from 27 Division I schools he knew almost nothing about rolled in . With the help of his AAU coaches , Ezeli narrowed his list to Boston College , Connecticut , Harvard and Vanderbilt . The Vanderbilt coaching staff sold him on the school , citing its academic reputation and the programs recent experience with international players . Head coach Kevin Stallings added that Ezeli would be able to redshirt his first year at the school to allow him more time to develop , since the program had a highly touted Australian prospect , A . J . Ogilvy , arriving at the same time and playing Ezelis position . College career . Ezeli arrived in Nashville in 2007 as a biology major and among the rawest of basketball prospects . During his first two years in the program , while still learning many of the basics of the sport , he was frequently dominated in practice by Ogilvy . However , as early as midway through his redshirt freshman season , the Commodores staff noticed that Ogilvy was beginning to have difficulty scoring against Ezeli in practice . While obsessively studying the game and working on his basic skills , he spent his first two seasons of eligibility primarily as a backup to Ogilvy , occasionally starting , until Ogilvy declared for the NBA draft after the 2009–10 season . With Ogilvy gone , Ezeli had a breakout season in 2010–11 , averaging 13 points and 6.3 rebounds while being named a second-team All-SEC ( Southeastern Conference ) performer . He also broke Will Perdues Vanderbilt single-season record for blocked shots . Ezelis improvement was noted by many in the basketball world ; then-Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl told the Chattanooga Times Free Press , I dont think they miss [ Ogilvy ] at all . Ezeli has improved so much that he gives them the best of both worlds [ offense and defense ] . Before the 2011–12 season , Ezeli was also named by Basketball Prospectus in its preseason outlook as one of the top 20 players in mens college basketball , along with teammates John Jenkins and Jeffery Taylor . As the Commodores were preparing for Ezelis final season at Vanderbilt , Stallings said about him,He now has a feel for the game . He has made himself an effective player . I think its very rare . All of us are looking for more finished products . But we all understood if the payday came , if it really came , if he understood the game , if he was experienced , then it was going to give him a chance to be different than other guys . He didnt learn the game in elementary school like I did . He was trying to learn the game while competing effectively in the SEC . That makes it even more amazing . Professional career . Golden State Warriors ( 2012–2016 ) . Ezeli was selected by the Golden State Warriors with the 30th overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft . On July 6 , he signed his rookie scale contract with the Warriors . As a rookie in 2012–13 , Ezeli started many games for the Warriors in place of injured center Andrew Bogut . On January 19 , 2013 , Ezeli had a season-best game with 13 points and 8 rebounds in 116–112 win over the New Orleans Hornets . In June 2013 , Ezeli was ruled out for six to nine months after undergoing surgery on his right knee . He subsequently missed the entire 2013–14 season , returning to action for the Warriors in the teams 2014–15 season opener . On December 22 , 2014 , he scored a then-career-high 15 points in a 128–108 win over the Sacramento Kings . The following day , he sprained his left ankle in a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers and was confined to a moon boot . The injury kept him out all of January , when on January 28 , he was assigned to the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA Development League for rehabilitation . On February 2 , he was recalled by Golden State after successfully competing in two D-League games . The following day , he made his return for Golden State , playing eight minutes of action in a win over the Sacramento Kings . In the 2015 NBA playoffs , Ezeli logged key minutes as the first big man off Golden States bench , often filling in for the foul-prone Andrew Bogut . The Warriors , with the help of Ezeli , advanced deep into the postseason to win the Western Conference Finals against James Harden and the Houston Rockets in a 4–1 series . Ezeli won his first NBA championship after the Warriors defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2015 NBA Finals in six games . On August 1 , 2015 , Ezeli played for Team Africa at the 2015 NBA Africa exhibition game . On November 6 , 2015 , Ezeli scored a career-high 16 points as a starter in a 119–104 win over the Denver Nuggets . The Warriors NBA-record start ended after 24 wins when they lost to the Milwaukee Bucks 108–95 on December 12 . On February 8 , 2016 , he underwent successful arthroscopic surgery to clean out debris from his left knee and was subsequently ruled out for six weeks . He returned to action on April 3 against the Portland Trail Blazers after missing 31 games . Ezeli helped the Warriors win an NBA record 73 games to eclipse the 72 wins set by the 1995–96 Chicago Bulls . The Warriors made it to the 2016 NBA Finals after overcoming a 3–1 deficit against the Oklahoma City Thunder , winning the Western Conference Finals in seven games . However , Golden State eventually lost in seven games to the Cavs . Portland Trail Blazers ( 2016–2017 ) . On July 7 , 2016 , Ezeli signed with the Portland Trail Blazers . On August 23 , 2016 , he was ruled out for six weeks after undergoing a left knee injection . Two months later , he suffered a minor setback in his comeback from the procedure , with swelling in his left knee . In mid-December , it became apparent to the Trail Blazers that conservative treatment of Ezelis aching left knee wasnt working , and that season-ending surgery was imminent . On March 8 , 2017 , he underwent surgery on his left knee and was ruled out for the entire 2016–17 season . On June 30 , 2017 , he was waived by the Trail Blazers before appearing in a game for them . Westchester Knicks ( 2021 ) . On March 2 , 2021 , Ezeli signed a contract with the Westchester Knicks of the NBA G League , returning to professional basketball after a 5-years hiatus dealing with multiple injuries and difficult recoveries . He was immediately assigned the number 20 jersey . He appeared in two games . Rivers Hoopers ( 2021–present ) . On April 17 , 2021 , Ezeli signed with Rivers Hoopers of the Nigerian Premier League and the BAL . Personal life . Ezeli has a half-sister named Marie Nkechi Ndulue . Although Ezeli began his Vanderbilt studies as a biology major , he changed his major to economics because of the time demands of basketball . Vanderbilt chancellor Nicholas Zeppos said of Ezeli : You can imagine what its like to hear his perspective on world trade , globalization and the economics of American sports . Ezelis parents live in Sacramento . External links . - Vanderbilt Commodores bio