Chuk-a-what? With the 56th pick in last night’s NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Lakers left a lot of viewers (and analysts) scratching their heads by selecting Chukwudiebere Maduabum. Besides being 6-9, 20 years old and from Nigeria, not much is known about Maduabum, who was quickly shipped from the Lakers to the Denver Nuggets for a future second-round pick. Here’s what could be scrounged up from a few minutes of research.
Maduabum – who goes by “Chu Chu” – played three games with the D-League’s Bakersfield Jam in 2011, scoring a total of two points on four shots in 20 minutes of play. He recorded just one rebound, but managed to block three shots.
Not much video exists of Maduabum, but if you start watching at the 32-second mark of this highlight clip, you can see him (No. 7 on the blue team) trying to play transition defense and then looking confused about how to inbound the ball.
According to his Facebook page, he describes himself as “thirty percent normal, seventy percent crazy.” Sounds like he will fit right in on the Nuggets with Chris Andersen.
Maduabum joins Mike Taylor (55th, 2008) and Latavious Williams (48th, 2010) as the only players taken in the NBA Draft after playing in the D-League.
Do you think Maduabum can make it in the NBA?
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