UConn Set to Honor Former Center Hasheem Thabeet

Thabeet played three college seasons for the Huskies from 2006 to 2009. He didn’t enter as a top athlete and was ranked No. 64 in the men’s recruiting rankings before his freshman year.

Thabeet played 100 games for the Huskies, averaging 10.3 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.2 blocks per game. During the 2008-2009 season, Thabeet posted 13.6 points, 10.2 rebounds and 4.2 blocks per game, helping him earn consensus second-team All-America honors.

He is still ranked second in Huskies’ all-time blocks list (417) behind Okafor. His rim-protection abilities helped him win the Big East Men’s Defensive Player of the Year award twice and Big East Player of the Year in 2019. 

In the 2009 NBA Draft, he became the first Tanzanian-born NBA player. Thabeet didn’t live up to the hype as one of the top two picks.

Struggles in the NBA

His size placed him among the tallest players in the league, but he was too slow near the rim against quicker NBA centers.

He didn’t have a reliable jump shot and the quicker NBA players also knew how to negate his shot-blocking. His best season came as a rookie when he played a career-high 13 minutes per game and posted career-highs of 3.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game.

Thabeet was traded after two seasons by the Grizzlies and then spent his next three seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets. Then he spent his last two NBA seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Overall, the Tanzanian center played in 224 games and finished with an underwhelming 2.2 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per game.

He is often referred to as one of the biggest “busts” in NBA history. Thabeet was out of the league by 2014, but played for a ton of overseas clubs. Currently, he is playing for his hometown club Dar City BC, which is a part of the Basketball Africa League (BAL).