Foreign Born Celtic – Michael Olowokandi

It's possible you've erased this fact from your memory, but Michael Olowokandi did play a couple of season in Boston. Olowokandi was born on April 3, 1975 in Lagos, Nigeria. His father was a diplomat who eventually moved to London. Michael was an athlete in cricket and rugby among other random sports not called basketball. He was 18 years old when he first played the game. Already a bad sign. He played four years at University of Pacific, averaging 22-11 and 3 blocks. Those numbers (and his height) earned him the number one pick by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 1998 draft, over the likes of Finals MVP’s Paul Pierce and Dirk Nowitzki. During his 5 seasons with the Clippers, Olowokandi averaged 10 points, 8 rebounds and earned approximately $20 million. A rather ho-hum performance by a #1 draft pick. The Kandi Man took his skills to Minnesota where he signed a 3 year, $15 million contract. Would playing alongside Kevin Garnett help ressurect his career? Not really. He ...