Nathan Mensah will become the latest Ghanaian basketball player to feature in the National Basketball Association league when the season begins today.

The 25-year-old will join a few but rich list of basketball stars to emerge from the football-mad West Africa nation when he plays for the Charlotte Hornets this season.

Nathan Mensah, Basketball, NBA, Ghana — Nathan Mensah joined Charlotte Hornets for Media Day ahead of NBA season. Credit: @hornets
Source: Twitter

In the past Props Mensah-Bonsu, Ben Bentil and Amida Braimah were the Ghanaian players to play in the NBA, per basketball.realgm.com.

Mensah-Bonsu, who was born in London starred for the Dallas Mavericks and the Toronto Raptors while Bentil played for the Boston Celtics. Braimah represented the Indiana Pacers. Bentil and Braimah are still active but not in the NBA.

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With the likes of Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Steph Curry headlining media day, 25-year-old Nathan Mensah showed up for Charlotte Hornets.

Nathan Mensah's journey to the NBA

Just like many Ghanaians, every child grows up on the streets trying to make it out of football and Mensah was no different. He did not start his journey in sports as a basketball enthusiast, however, his enormous athletic stature made it easy for him to switch disciplines.

At 7'4 ft, Mensah started playing basketball at the age of 13. With his height being an advantage, he began to hone his skills with dreams of playing in the NBA.

He was later scouted by Kwaku Amoaku and moved to the United States for school and sports.

Four years later, he was averaging 13.8 points and 7.4 rebounds per game for Team Africa in the Adidas Global Nations event leading to his move to Findley Prep and subsequently the San Diego State University.

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Mensah, who was undrafted in 2023, joined the Hornets for the 2023 Summer League and eventually earned his deal in September this year, as reported by nba.com.

Giannis Antetokounmpo visits Nigeria with mother

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo has visited Nigeria with his mother during the summer break.

The Milwaukee Bucks player, who was born to Nigerian parents in Greece, took the opportunity to visit the West African nation as he traces back to his lineage.

Antetokounmpo also engaged aspiring basketball players in Lagos, giving them lessons on the basics of becoming an NBA star.

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