Ariel Hukporti

About

Ariel Washington Hukporti (born 12 April 2002) is a German professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Hukporti was born in Stralsund, northern Germany to Togolese parents and was raised by a single mother. He grew up playing football as a defender. Hukporti stood 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) at age nine and started playing basketball when he was 11 years old, in part due to his height. He began playing in the Jugend Basketball Bundesliga, the German U16 league, with USC Freiburg. After one season, he received offers from renowned clubs, including Bayern Munich and Brose Bamberg. He decided to continue his career with Riesen Ludwigsburg and its junior team, Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg.
In December 2018, at the Adidas Next Generation Tournament (ANGT) Valencia, Hukporti averaged 18 points, 15.2 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game for U18 Porsche Ludwigsburg, while leading the event in blocks (1.8 per game) and index rating (26.7). He helped his team to fourth place and was named to the all-tournament team. In 2019, Hukporti was honored as Rookie of the Year and All-Star Game MVP in the Nachwuchs Basketball…