Gani Lawal

Gani Lawal

Lawal playing for Georgia Tech
Dinamo Sassari
Position Power forward / Center
League Italian Serie A
Champions League
Personal information
Born (1988-11-07) November 7, 1988
College Park, Georgia
Nationality Nigerian / American
Listed height 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight 234 lb (106 kg)
Career information
High school Norcross (Norcross, Georgia)
College Georgia Tech (2007–2010)
NBA draft 2010 / Round: 2 / Pick: 46th overall
Selected by the Phoenix Suns
Playing career 2010–present
Career history
2010–2011 Phoenix Suns
2010 →Iowa Energy
2011 Zastal Zielona Góra
2011–2012 Xinjiang Flying Tigers
2012 Zastal Zielona Góra
2012 Chorale Roanne
2012–2013 Virtus Roma
2013 Guangzhou Liu Sui
2013–2014 Emporio Armani Milano
2014–2015 Trabzonspor
2015 Panathinaikos
2015 Emporio Armani Milano
2015 Delaware 87ers
2015–2016 Westchester Knicks
2016 Reno Bighorns
2016 Al-Ahli Dubai
2016 Pallacanestro Cantù
2016–present Dinamo Sassari
Career highlights and awards

Gani Oladimeji Lawal Jr. (born November 7, 1988) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player for Dinamo Sassari of the Italian Serie A. He played college basketball for Georgia Tech.

High school career

During his time at Norcross High School, Lawal was named to the McDonald's All-American Team, following his senior season, and was Mr. Basketball 2007 in Georgia.[1]

Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Lawal was listed as the No. 7 power forward and the No. 29 player in the nation in 2007.[2]

College career

As a freshman in 2007–08, Lawal scored 10 points on 5-of-6 shots, with four rebounds at Duke, snapping a streak of six games in single digits.[1] He also had a game-high nine rebounds in a 77–64 win over Presbyterian on January 6, 2008.[3]

As a sophomore in 2008–09, Lawal scored a career-best 34 points[4] in an 85–83 Georgia Tech loss to Penn State, on December 3, 2008.[5] He had a career-high 16 rebounds in a 63–58 win over Tennessee State, on December 30, 2008.[6] He bested that mark by one rebound, when he pulled down 17 in a 70–56 home loss to Duke, on January 14, 2009.[7]

After originally entering the NBA draft following his sophomore year, Lawal pulled out of the draft on June 14, 2009, to return to Georgia Tech for his junior year.[8] As a junior, Lawal led the team in field-goal percentage and blocked shots.[9]

College statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2007–08 Georgia Tech 32 25 17.3 .570 .000 .495 3.5 .3 .4 1.0 7.2
2008–09 Georgia Tech 31 30 29.6 .556 .000 .559 9.5 .6 1.0 1.5 15.1
2009–10 Georgia Tech 36 36 25.8 .529 .000 .572 8.5 .4 .4 1.4 13.1
Career 99 91 24.2 .548 .000 .549 7.2 .5 .6 1.3 11.8

Professional career

Lawal was drafted by the Phoenix Suns with the 46th overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft. On August 1, 2010, he signed a three-year deal with the Suns.[10] On November 16, 2010, he was assigned to the Iowa Energy of the NBA Development League.[11] He was recalled by the Suns on December 19 and made his NBA debut on December 31, recording one foul in two minutes of action against the Detroit Pistons.[12] His season was later ended on January 6 after he suffered a torn ACL.

During the 2011 NBA lockout, Lawal played for Zastal Zielona Góra of the Polish Basketball League.[13] After the lockout ended, he returned to the United States. However, he was waived by the Phoenix on December 9, 2011,[14] and three days later, signed with the San Antonio Spurs. He was waived by the Spurs on December 22 prior to the start of the regular season.

On December 27, 2011, Lawal signed with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers to replace the outgoing Kenyon Martin.[15] He appeared in 17 games for Xinjiang before being released by the club prior to the start of the 2012 CBA Playoffs. He subsequently returned to Zastal, but lasted just three games. In April 2012, he signed with the French League club Chorale Roanne for the rest of the season.[16]

In August 2012, Lawal joined the Italian League team Virtus Roma.[17] In July 2013, he has a short stint with Chinese NBL club Guangzhou Liu Sui.[18]

On August 9, 2013, Lawal signed a one-year deal with the Latvian League team VEF Rīga.[19] However, it was reported that he chose not to travel with the team for a Euroleague qualification match on October 1, 2013. The team's coach also said that he was disappointed with Lawal's attitude.[20] Two days later, he parted ways with VEF Rīga before appearing in a game for them.[21]

On October 5, 2013, Lawal signed with the Philadelphia 76ers.[22] However, he was later waived by the 76ers on October 27 after appearing in six preseason games.[23] On November 5, 2013, he signed with the Italian team Emporio Armani Milano for the rest of the 2013–14 season.[24]

In August 2014, Lawal signed with Trabzonspor of the Turkish Basketball League.[25] On January 31, 2015, he left Trabzonspor and signed with the Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos.[26] On May 11, 2015, he parted ways with Panathinaikos.[27]

On July 14, 2015, Lawal signed a one-year deal with Emporio Armani Milan, returning to the club for a second stint.[28][29] On November 27, he parted ways with Milano after appearing in three league games and five Euroleague games.[30] On December 1, he was acquired by the Delaware 87ers of the NBA Development League.[31] On December 12, he had a season-best game with 10 points and 10 rebounds in a loss to the Westchester Knicks.[32] On December 30, he was traded to the Westchester Knicks in exchange for a 2016 second-round pick.[33] On January 2, 2016, he made his debut with Westchester in a 106–97 win over Delaware, recording nine points, five rebounds, two steals and one block in 21 minutes.[34] On February 23, he was traded again, this time to the Reno Bighorns along with a 2016 fourth-round pick, in exchange for the returning player rights to Ra'shad James and a 2016 sixth-round pick.[35] Three days later, he made his debut for Reno in a 121–115 loss to the Santa Cruz Warriors, recording 11 points and 12 rebounds in 14 minutes.[36] On April 15, 2016, Lawal signed with UAE basketball club Al-Ahli Dubai.[37]

On July 6, 2016, Lawal signed with Italian club Pallacanestro Cantù for the 2016–17 season.[38] On November 29, 2016, he parted ways with Cantù after appearing in nine games.[39] The next day, he signed with Dinamo Sassari.[40]

Nigerian national team

Lawal has been a member of the senior men's Nigerian national basketball team, playing for the team at the 2013 FIBA Africa Championship.

Personal

Lawal is the son of American Michelle, and Nigerian Gani Sr. He has two sisters, Khalilah and Chasitie, and one brother, Khalil.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 Profile at RamblinWreck.com
  2. ↑ Gani Lawal Recruiting Profile
  3. ↑ Georgia Tech 77, Presbyterian 64 – Recap
  4. ↑ Georgia Tech beats Vanderbilt 63–51
  5. ↑ Penn State 85, Georgia Tech 83 – Box score
  6. ↑ Georgia Tech 63, Tennessee St. 58 – Recap
  7. ↑ Singler, Henderson stabilize No. 2 Duke against careless Georgia Tech
  8. ↑ Lawal opts to return to Yellow Jackets
  9. 1 2 Gani Lawal Profile at scout.com
  10. ↑ Phoenix Suns sign Gani Lawal to three-year deal
  11. ↑ Phoenix Suns Assign Gani Lawal To Iowa
  12. ↑ Gani Lawal 2010-11 Game Log
  13. ↑ Phoenix Suns' Gani Lawal signs with Polish club
  14. ↑ Phoenix Suns waive Vince Carter, Gani Lawal
  15. ↑ Kenyon Martin leaves Xinjiang, to be replaced with Gani Lawal
  16. ↑ Chorale Roanne tabs Gani Lawal
  17. ↑ Virtus Roma officially lands Gani Lawal
  18. ↑ "Gani Lawal played two games in NBL with Guangzhou Liu Sui". Sportando.com. July 11, 2013. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
  19. ↑ "Gani Lawal officially signs with VEF Riga". Sportando.com. August 9, 2013. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  20. ↑ Ramunas Butautas: 'Gani Lawal himself decided not to travel with us'
  21. ↑ "VEF Riga, Gani Lawal officially part ways". Sportando.com. October 3, 2013. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  22. ↑ Sixers sign Gani Lawal, waive Solomon Alabi
  23. ↑ Philadelphia 76ers waive Rodney Williams and Gani Lawal
  24. ↑ "Olimpia: Gani Lawal is on board". OlimpiaMilano.com. November 5, 2013. Retrieved November 8, 2013.
  25. ↑ "Gani Lawal agreed to terms with Trabzonspor". Sportando.com. August 8, 2014. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
  26. ↑ "Panathinaikos Athens bolsters frontcourt with Lawal". Euroleague.net. January 31, 2015. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
  27. ↑ "Gani Lawal, Panathinaikos part ways". Sportando.com. May 11, 2015. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
  28. ↑ "Gani Lawal is returning home". Olimpiamilano.com. 14 July 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  29. ↑ "Milan adds rim-protector Lawal in the paint". Euroleague.net. 14 July 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  30. ↑ "Lawal leaves EA7 Armani". Eurobasket.com. November 27, 2015. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
  31. ↑ "Delaware 87ers acquire Gani Lawal". NBA.com. December 1, 2015. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
  32. ↑ "NBA D-League Stats – 87ers vs Knicks". NBA.com. December 19, 2015. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
  33. ↑ "Westchester Knicks Acquire Gani Lawal". OurSportsCentral.com. December 30, 2015. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  34. ↑ "Fredette's Double-Double Leads Knicks Past 87ers". NBA.com. February 27, 2016. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
  35. ↑ "Bighorns Acquire Gani Lawal". OurSportsCentral.com. February 23, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  36. ↑ "Warriors Take Down Bighorns". NBA.com. February 27, 2016. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  37. ↑ "Al Ahli adds Lawal to their roster". Asia-Basket.com. April 15, 2016. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  38. ↑ "PRIMO COLPO PER LA PALLACANESTRO CANTU' CHE INGAGGIA GANI LAWAL". Pallacanestrocantu.com (in Italian). July 6, 2016. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
  39. ↑ Pallacanestro Cantù, Gani Lawal part ways
  40. ↑ Dinamo Sassari signs Gani Lawal
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