Charles Bassey

About

Charles Akemini Bassey (born October 28, 2000) is a Nigerian professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. He was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round of 2021 NBA draft with the 53rd overall pick.

Bassey was born in Lagos, Nigeria, where he played soccer until age 12, standing 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) at the time. At that age, he was discovered by a youth basketball coach while Bassey was selling fried chicken on the side of a road and wearing flip-flops that were too small for him. He stopped playing soccer soon after, instead focusing on developing his basketball skills. At age 14, Bassey was named most valuable player (MVP) of basketball camp Giants of Africa, a program established by Toronto Raptors executive Masai Ujiri.

At age 14, Bassey stood 6 feet 10 inches (2.08 m) and moved to the United States to continue his basketball career at St. Anthony Catholic High School, a private school in San Antonio, Texas. By then, recruiting analysts considered him one of the best prospects in his class. As…