Festus Ezeli

Ifeanyi Festus Ezeli-Ndulue (born October 21, 1989) is a Nigerian-American former professional basketball player.

He previously played five seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

To further his career goals, Ezeli's parents sent him to live with his uncle, a pediatrician, in Yuba City, California in 2004.

Shortly after Ezeli arrived in Yuba City, his uncle encouraged him to take up what seemed to be the most appropriate sport for a 6'8" (2.03 m) teenager—basketball. This proved much more difficult for him than academics because Ezeli had never played any organized sports. despite the fact that he played soccer as a child. Ezeli 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 Ezeli's organized basketball career, with a low-level AAU team, was especially inauspicious since his first points were scored in his own team's basket. Recalling that incident, Ezeli said, "Everybody was running up the court, and I was just running with them.

It's kind of surreal.

Sometimes I think about it now and I'm like, Damn.

How did I get here?"

Also in the Katz interview, Ezeli remarked on his struggles to learn the game:"'I didn't know what I was doing. Imagine someone who is 14 or 15 years old, and you're teaching them as if they're 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, that's 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 team's videographer.

Although still learning the most basic of basketball skills, Ezeli made his high-level competitive debut on the AAU circuit in the summer of 2007.

By then, Ezeli had reached 6'11" (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.

Ezeli's 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 Ezeli's 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 program's 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 Ezeli's position.

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, Ezeli 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, Ezeli 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 Perdue's Vanderbilt single-season record for blocked shots.

Ezeli's improvement was noted by many in the basketball world; then-Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl told the Chattanooga Times Free Press, "I don't think they miss [Ogilvy] at all. Ezeli has improved so much that he gives them the best of both worlds [offense and defense]."

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 I'm alive."

He concentrated on academics, graduating from high school while still 14, and aspiring to become a physician.

Before the 2011–12 season, Ezeli was also named by Basketball Prospectus in its preseason outlook as one of the top 20 players in men's college basketball, along with teammates John Jenkins and Jeffery Taylor.

As the Commodores were preparing for Ezeli's 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 it's 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 didn't 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.'"

Ezeli played college basketball for Vanderbilt before being selected with the 30th overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft by the Golden State Warriors.

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.

Ezeli subsequently missed the entire 2013–14 season.

Ezeli returned to action for the Warriors in the team's 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, Ezeli sprained his left ankle in a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers and was confined to a moon boot.

He won an NBA Championship with the Warriors in 2015.

Ezeli last appeared in the 2016 NBA Finals and did not play basketball due to his knee surgery in the 2017 season, then coming back in 2021.