Myck Kabongo

High school career

Kabongo started his high school career at Eastern Commerce Collegiate Institute in Toronto in Grade 9. He then transferred before Grade 10 alongside fellow Canadian Tristan Thompson for a season-and-a-half at St. Benedict's Prep before Thompson was removed from the team and transferred to Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nevada. Kabongo stayed at St. Benedict's through his Grade 11 season before he transferred to Findlay Prep for 12th Grade year. Kabongo was the #10 player in the class of 2011 by Scout.com and in the ESPNU 100. Rivals.com rated as the #26 player. He was selected to play in the 2011 McDonald's All-American Game and the 2011 Jordan Brand Classic.

College commitment

Kabongo committed to Texas on January 12, 2009 on his 17th birthday. On October 30, 2010, Kabongo decommitted from Texas, but 5 days later, he recommitted, and signed his letter of intent.

College career

Kabongo started playing for Texas in the 2011–12 season. Kabongo was under investigation for alleged inappropriate contact with Rich Paul, an agent who also handles the contracts of former Findlay Prep and current NBA players Tristan Thompson and Cory Joseph. Initially banned for the entire 2012–13 season, his suspension was later reduced to 23 games, and he made his debut in mid-February and would go on to average 14.6 points per game in eleven games.

In April 2013, he declared for the NBA draft, forgoing his final two years of college eligibility.

Professional career

After going undrafted in the 2013 NBA draft, Kabongo joined the Miami Heat for the 2013 NBA Summer League. On September 30, 2013, he signed with the San Antonio Spurs. However, he was waived by the Spurs on October 15, 2013. On October 31, 2013, he was acquired by the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League.

On October 30, 2014, Kabongo was acquired by the Austin Spurs. On November 1, 2014, he was traded to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. On December 29, 2014, he was waived by the Mad Ants after appearing in 16 games while averaging 8.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. On January 9, 2015, he was acquired by the Texas Legends. Five days later, he was waived by the Legends after appearing in just two games.

On October 31, 2015, Kabongo was selected by the Delaware 87ers in the second round of the 2015 NBA Development League Draft, only to be traded to the Erie BayHawks on draft night.

On August 27, 2016, Kabongo signed with BCM U Pitești of the Romanian Liga Națională.

On January 4, 2018, Kabongo signed with Zornotza Saskibaloi Taldea of the Spanish Liga EBA.

On February 23, 2018, Kabongo signed with STB Le Havre of the French LNB Pro B. Kabono joined the Guelph Nighthawks of the Canadian Elite Basketball League in 2019, but was waived on July 22. Kabongo joined the Svendborg Rabbits in 2019. He averaged 12.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. On September 10, 2020, Kabongo signed with Akademija FMP in the Macedonian First League.

On May 1, 2021, Kabongo signed with Mozambican club Ferroviário de Maputo to play in the Basketball Africa League (BAL). He was a key part of Ferroviário's run to the quarterfinals in the first BAL season.

Starting from November 2021, Kabongo played for Al-Rayyan in the Qatari Basketball League. On December 5, he scored 42 points and had 11 assists in a 111–91 win over rival Al Ahli.

On December 7, 2021, Kabongo joined South African champions Cape Town Tigers to play for the team in the 2022 BAL qualification games.

National team

Kabongo represented the DR Congo national basketball team at the AfroBasket 2017 in Senegal/Tunisia where he finished among the top players in the categories assists per game (4.8) and steals per game (2.8).

Kabongo was invited to camp with Canada's national team for the 2013 FIBA Americas Championship but failed to make the final roster.

Amateur career

Kabongo competes for Overseas Elite in annual The Basketball Tournament. He was a point guard on the 2015 team who won TBT's $1 million prize.

Coaching career

On October 4, 2024, Kabongo was hired as an assistant coach and player development coach by the Salt Lake City Stars of the NBA G League.

Personal life

Kabongo was born and raised in Lubumbashi, a city in Zaire (now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo). He has four brothers, including actor Emmanuel Kabongo, and one sister Vanessa who obtained an athletic scholarship and played basketball at the University of Delaware from 2007-2012. In 1998, Kabongo immigrated to Toronto with his family after five years of living in South Africa.

Awards and honors

• 2011 McDonald's All-American team selection
• 2011 Jordan Brand High School All-American team selection
• 2012 Big 12 All-Rookie team selection
• 2021 BAL assists leader

BAL career statistics

|- | 4 || 4 || 34.2 || .236 || .208 || .826 || 5.0 || style="background:#cfecec;"| 6.8* || 2.3 || .0 || 12.5 |- | 6 || 6 || 31.2 || .278 || .125 || .625 || 5.3 || 6.7 || 2.3 || .0 || 8.8 |-

References

References

1. Luicci, Tom. (February 11, 2009). "Texas recruit Tristan Thompson kicked off St. Benedict's boys basketball team". NJ.com.
2. Kabongo, Myck. (May 7, 2010). "Myck Kabongo: Headed to Findlay Prep". ESPN Rise.
3. "Scout.com Basketball Rankings - 2011". Scout.com.
4. "ESPNU 100 Rankings - 2011". ESPN.com.
5. "Rivals.com Basketball Rankings - 2011". Rivals.com.
6. (March 8, 2011). "Findlay Prep's Myck Kabongo the latest Canadian to go from Henderson to McDonald's All-American". Las Vegas Sun.
7. "2011 Jordan Brand Classic: West Team". Jordan Brand Classic.
8. (January 12, 2009). "Myck Kabongo is a Longhorn". Scout.com.
9. (October 30, 2010). "Texas loses its No. 1 prospect". ESPN.com.
10. (November 4, 2010). "Myck Kabongo back with Texas". ESPN.
11. (October 11, 2012). "NCAA probing Myck Kabongo".
12. [https://www.espn.com/nba/draft2013/story/_/id/9163612/myck-kabongo-texas-longhorns-skip-final-two-seasons Myck Kabongo declares for draft]
13. [http://www.nba.com/spurs/news/130930_spurs_training_camp_roster Spurs Announce Training Camp Roster]
14. [http://www.nba.com/spurs/news/131015_spurs_waive_cousin_kabongo_maggette Spurs Waive Cousin, Kabongo and Maggette]
15. [http://www.nba.com/dleague/austin/austin_toros_announce_trainig__2013_10_31.html Austin Toros Announce Trainig [sic] Camp Invitees] {{webarchive. link. (2016-01-10)
16. [http://www.nba.com/dleague/fortwayne/mad_ants_finalize_201415_trai_2014_11_02.html Mad Ants Finalize 2014-15 Training Camp Roster]
17. link. (2014-11-03)
18. [http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=4909363 Mad Ants Cut Kabongo]
19. [http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=4913573 Legends Acquire William Buford and Myck Kabongo]
20. [http://dleague.nba.com/news/transactions/ NBA D-League 2014-15 Transactions]
21. "2015 NBA D-League Draft Board".
22. [http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=5065470 Erie BayHawks Acquire 24th Overall Pick Myck Kabongo and Player Rights to D.J. Seeley]
23. [http://www.sportando.com/en/europe/romania/210555/myck-kabongo-signs-with-bcm-u-pitesti.html Myck Kabongo signs with BCM U Pitesti]
24. (January 4, 2018). "Zornotza signs Myck Kabongo".
25. (February 23, 2018). "Le Havre lands Myck Kabongo".
26. (July 22, 2019). "Guelph Nighthawks release one of their top performers". Guelph Today.
27. (March 17, 2020). "Myck Kabongo selected the top Congolese playing abroad in last week's games".
28. (September 10, 2020). "Akademija FMP Skopje inks Myck Kabongo".
29. (May 1, 2021). "Fer.Maputo signs Myck Kabongo". USbasket.com.
30. (7 December 2021). "Myck Kabongo's double-double gives him the Player of the Week award among Congolese players abroad". Afrobasket.com.
31. "Road to BAL 2022 : Myck Lukusa Kabongo à Cape Town Tigers". LeCoindole.
32. [http://www.torontosun.com/2013/08/15/kabongo-and-scrubb-cut-from-team-canada Kabongo and Scrubb cut from Team Canada]
33. "Overseas Elite uses a different formula once again on way to victory {{!}} The Basketball Tournament".
34. (October 4, 2024). "SLC Stars Announce 2024-25 Basketball Staff".
35. "Exclusive: Toronto's Own Myck Kabongo Ready To Take On Nike CROWN LEAGUE".
36. (2020-01-26). "Kabongo: Fired up by Nollywood spirit".
37. "Setting the Tone with Actor and Entrepreneur Emmanuel Kabongo {{!}} Harry Rosen".
38. Schneller, Johanna. (2022-04-06). "Meet actor Emmanuel Kabongo, the unstoppable force of energy the Canadian film and TV scene needs". The Globe and Mail.