Bismack Biyombo

Bismack Biyombo Sumba (born August 28, 1992) is a Congolese professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

At age 16, he played for Lupopo in the 2008 FIBA Africa Clubs Champions Cup, Africa's premier senior league at the time.

That year he was discovered by coach Mário Palma at a youth tournament in Yemen.

His play impressed Palma and earned him an opportunity to train in Spain.

Biyombo started the 2009–10 season with Fuenlabrada-Getafe in the Spanish fourth-tier Liga EBA before moving to CB Illescas in the Spanish third-tier LEB Plata.

He started the 2010–11 season with CB Illescas before moving to Baloncesto Fuenlabrada of the first-tier Liga ACB in January 2011.

He was selected with the seventh overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft by the Sacramento Kings and subsequently traded to the Charlotte Bobcats (now Hornets).

Biyombo was born in Lubumbashi, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo), to parents François and Françoise Biyombo.

He has three brothers named Billy, Biska and Bikim, and three sisters named Bimeline, Bikelene and Bimela.

Biyombo made his debut at age 18 in the Spanish ACB League with Fuenlabrada against DKV Joventut on January 9, 2011, recording 5 points and 7 rebounds in just over 13 minutes of play.

In Fuenlabrada's narrow defeat to Real Madrid, he recorded 6 points and 3 blocks, one of them against former Spanish League MVP and Spanish national team player, Felipe Reyes.

At the 2011 Nike Hoops Summit, Biyombo participated for the World Select Team (against the USA Select Team), and recorded a triple double, with 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 blocks.

It was the first recorded triple-double in the Summit's history.

Biyombo was drafted seventh overall by the Sacramento Kings in the 2011 NBA draft, but his rights were later traded to the Charlotte Bobcats in a draft night trade.

On December 19, 2011, Biyombo signed a multi-year deal with the Bobcats.

After averaging five points per game over his first two seasons with Charlotte, Biyombo's minutes and subsequent production dropped dramatically in 2013–14 as he fell out of favor with coach Steve Clifford, as he averaged just 2.9 points in 13.9 minutes per game.

While his forte in defense and rebounding did drop in 2013–14, Biyombo began the 2014–15 season in much better form despite missing seven out of the first eight games of the season largely due to the acquisition of Jason Maxiell in the 2014 off-season.

With the late-December injury to center Al Jefferson, Biyombo was placed into the starting line-up.

The Bobcats changed their name to the Hornets ahead of the 2014-15 season.

On June 30, 2015, the Hornets decided not to extend a qualifying offer to Biyombo, making him an unrestricted free agent.

On July 18, 2015, Biyombo signed a two-year, $5.7 million contract with the Toronto Raptors.

On August 1, 2015, he played for Team Africa at the 2015 NBA Africa exhibition game.

He made his debut for the Raptors in the team's season opener against the Indiana Pacers on October 28, recording 7 points and 5 rebounds in a 106–99 win.

Biyombo started in 18 straight games between mid-November and late December while Jonas Valančiūnas was recovering from a fractured hand.

On December 17, he recorded 8 points, a then career-high 18 rebounds, and a career-high tying 7 blocks in a loss to the Charlotte Hornets.

Five days later, he recorded 9 points and a then career-high 20 rebounds in a 103–99 win over the Dallas Mavericks.

Biyombo returned to a bench role on December 30.

He returned to the starting line-up in mid-March with Valančiūnas out injured again.

On March 17, 2016, Biyombo scored a career-high 16 points and set a franchise record with 25 rebounds in guiding the Raptors to a 101–94 overtime win over the Indiana Pacers.

On March 30, he recorded seven points and six rebounds in a 105–97 win over the Atlanta Hawks, helping the Raptors record a 50-win season for the first time in franchise history.

The Raptors finished the regular season as the second seed in the Eastern Conference with a 56–26 record.

In the first round of the playoffs, the Raptors faced the seventh-seeded Indiana Pacers, and in a Game 5 win on April 26, Biyombo recorded 10 points and 16 rebounds off the bench to help the Raptors take a 3–2 series lead.

The Raptors went on to win the series 4–3, moving on to the second round where they faced the Miami Heat.

In Game 7 of the Raptors' series with the Heat, Biyombo recorded 17 points and 16 rebounds as a starter in a 116–89 win, helping the Raptors advance to the conference finals for the first time in franchise history.

In Game 3 of the conference finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Biyombo set a Toronto playoff record with 26 rebounds, helping the Raptors cut the Cavaliers' advantage in the series to 2–1.

The Raptors went on to lose the series in six games.

After declining his $2.9 million player option for the 2016–17 season, Biyombo became an unrestricted free agent on June 7, 2016.

Biyombo later revealed that he wished to re-sign with the Raptors, but with the re-signing of DeMar DeRozan, the Raptors did not have the salary cap space to make it possible.

On July 7, 2016, Biyombo signed a four-year, $72 million contract with the Orlando Magic.

After exceeding the flagrant foul limit during the 2016 playoffs, Biyombo was forced to serve an NBA-mandated one-game suspension to begin the 2016–17 season.