Michael Olowokandi was born on the 3rd April 1975, in Lagos, Nigeria, and is a former British Nigerian basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1999 to 2007 in the position of centre, for the Los Angeles Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Boston Celtics. In 1999, he was named NBA All-Rookie Second Team.
How rich is the former NBA player? It has been estimated by authoritative sources that the overall size of Michael Olowokandi’s net worth is as much as $24 million, as of the data presented in the middle of 2017. Basketball is the main source of Olowokandi’s fortune.
Michael Olowokandi Net Worth $24 Million
To begin with, Michael Olowokandi grew up in London, but was educated at the Manor Scool, East Sussex, where he played rugby, cricket and was a track athlete. He started playing basketball only at the age of 18, thent went to Brunel University before joining the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California to play for the basketball team. In his first year, he led his team to the NCAA tournament.
After a good performance during the second year, he was the first player to be selected by the Los Angeles Clippers in the NBA Draft 1998, but because of the NBA lockout 1998 – 1999, he meantime played briefly for the Italian team Kinder Bologna. Because of his high achievements in the first professional year he was called into the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, and then played for the Clippers to 2003, but where he could never fully meet the expectations the team had set for him, although like many players, Olowokandi showed his best performances in the season before the end of his contract. He joined the Minnesota Timberwolves as an unrestricted free agent, in which his final breakthrough was expected. He was disappointing, however, and only managed to score an average of six points per game in three years. At the beginning of 2006, he switched to the Boston Celtics as part of a multi player trade, but there he played only 40 games in two years and never stood in the starting position. As of the 1st January 2007, Olowokandi was again free agent but found no new club, and so ended his career.
The decision of the Los Angeles Clippers for Olowokandi is today regarded as one of the biggest deficiencies in NBA Drafts. However, Michael Olowokandi was named by Sports Illustrated to be the third fastest player in the history of the NBA. The Clippers could have chosen Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison, Dirk Nowitzki, Paul Pierce, Mike Bibby and Rashard Lewis, all of whom had much more successful careers. Overall, during his 500 games played in the regular season, Olowokandi averaged 8.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks.
Finally, in the personal life of the basketball player, Olowokandi is single. He does not reveal much about his private life.
