Festus Ezeli
Festus Ezeli was born in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria on October 21st, 1989 and is the Basketball Player. At the age of 34, Festus Ezeli biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 34 years old, Festus Ezeli has this physical status:
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, he 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, he 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]." 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,
Professional career
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. He subsequently missed the entire 2013–14 season, returning 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, he sprained his left ankle in a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers and was confined to a moon boot. The injury kept him out all of January, when on January 28, he was assigned to the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA Development League for rehabilitation. On February 2, he was recalled by Golden State after successfully competing in two D-League games. The following day, he made his return for Golden State, playing eight minutes of action in a win over the Sacramento Kings. In the 2015 NBA playoffs, Ezeli logged key minutes as the first big man off Golden State's bench, often filling in for the foul-prone Andrew Bogut. The Warriors, with the help of Ezeli, advanced deep into the postseason to win the Western Conference Finals against James Harden and the Houston Rockets in a 4–1 series. Ezeli won his first NBA championship after the Warriors defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2015 NBA Finals in six games.
On August 1, 2015, Ezeli played for Team Africa at the 2015 NBA Africa exhibition game.
On November 6, 2015, Ezeli scored a career-high 16 points as a starter in a 119–104 win over the Denver Nuggets. The Warriors' NBA-record start ended after 24 wins when they lost to the Milwaukee Bucks 108–95 on December 12. On February 8, 2016, he underwent successful arthroscopic surgery to clean out debris from his left knee and was subsequently ruled out for six weeks. He returned to action on April 3 against the Portland Trail Blazers after missing 31 games. Ezeli helped the Warriors win an NBA record 73 games to eclipse the 72 wins set by the 1995–96 Chicago Bulls. The Warriors made it to the 2016 NBA Finals after overcoming a 3–1 deficit against the Oklahoma City Thunder, winning the Western Conference Finals in seven games.
On July 7, 2016, Ezeli signed with the Portland Trail Blazers. On August 23, 2016, he was ruled out for six weeks after undergoing a left knee injection. Two months later, he suffered a minor setback in his comeback from the procedure, with swelling in his left knee. In mid-December, it became apparent to the Trail Blazers that conservative treatment of Ezeli's aching left knee wasn't working, and that season-ending surgery was imminent. On March 8, 2017, he underwent surgery on his left knee and was ruled out for the entire 2016–17 season. On June 30, 2017, he was waived by the Trail Blazers before appearing in a game for them.
On March 2, 2021, Ezeli signed a contract with the Westchester Knicks of the NBA G League, returning to professional basketball after a 5-years hiatus dealing with multiple injuries and difficult recoveries. He was immediately assigned the number 20 jersey. He appeared in two games.
On April 17, 2021, Ezeli signed with Rivers Hoopers to play in the inaugural season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). However, before playing a single game with the Hoopers, Ezeli got injured and was replaced by Robinson Opong.
