Abodunrin Gabriel Olaseni (born 29 December 1991) is a British professional basketball player for Mersin MSK of the Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL). He also plays for the Great Britain men's national basketball team.

Gabriel Olaseni
Olaseni during the 2019 FIBA Europe Cup Finals
No. 0 – Mersin MSK
PositionCenter
LeagueBasketbol Süper Ligi
Personal information
Born (1991-12-29) 29 December 1991 (age 32)
Walthamstow, London, England
NationalityBritish
Listed height210 cm (6 ft 11 in)
Listed weight104 kg (229 lb)
Career information
High schoolSunrise Christian Academy
(Bel Aire, Kansas)
CollegeIowa (2011–2015)
NBA draft2015: undrafted
Playing career2015–present
Career history
2015Brose Bamberg
2015–2016Gießen 46ers
2016–2017Dinamo Sassari
2017Orléans Loiret
2017–2018Fuenlabrada
2018–2019s.Oliver Würzburg
2019–2020Bursaspor
2020–2021Büyükçekmece Basketbol
2021–2023Darüşşafaka
2023–2024London Lions
2024–presentMersin MSK
Career highlights and awards

Professional career

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Olaseni went undrafted in the 2015 NBA draft. In July 2015, he joined the Miami Heat for the 2015 NBA Summer League.[1] On 23 July 2015 he signed with German club Brose Baskets.[2] On 22 November 2015 he was loaned to Gießen 46ers for the rest of the 2015–16 season.[3]

On 13 July 2016 Olaseni signed with Italian club Dinamo Sassari.[4] On 3 March 2017 he parted ways with Sassari.[5] The next day he signed with French club Orléans Loiret Basket for the rest of the 2017–18 Pro A season.[6]

On 23 August 2017 Olaseni signed with Fuenlabrada for the 2017–18 season.[7]

For the 2018–19 season, he signed with s.Oliver Würzburg of the German Bundesliga. He played in the 2019 FIBA Europe Cup Finals with s.Oliver, where he lost to his former team Dinamo Sassari.

On 13 August 2019 he signed with Bursaspor of the Turkish Basketball Super League.[8]

On 10 August 2020 he signed with Büyükçekmece Basketbol of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL).[9] Olaseni averaged 15.6 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.

On 3 July 2021 he signed with Darüşşafaka.[10]

On 28 June 2023 he signed with London Lions of the British Basketball League (BBL).[11]

On July 6, 2024, he signed with Mersin MSK of the Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL).[12]

National team career

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Olaseni has established himself as a key member of the Great Britain men's national team. He is the most efficient scorer in GB national team history with a career field goal percentage of .647 (165/255) as of 25 February 2020.

Olaseni had a breakout performance at FIBA EuroBasket 2017 with averages of 16.8 points (11th) and 11.2 rebounds (2nd). He led all players in defensive rebounding per game (8.8) and earned the highest efficiency rating per game (26.8).[13] Matched up against NBA star Kristaps Porziņģis, Olaseni scored a career high 23 points on 10 for 11 shooting in their game against Latvia.[14]

Personal life

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Born in England, Olaseni is of Nigerian descent.[15]

Career statistics

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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  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high

EuroLeague

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2015–16 Brose Bamberg 5 2 13.2 .417 1.000 2.8 .6 .2 .4 2.4 1.2
Career[16] 5 2 13.2 .417 1.000 2.8 .6 .2 .4 2.4 1.2

References

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  1. ^ "HEAT Announce Summer League Information". www.nba.com.
  2. ^ "Latest News | EuroLeague". Euroleague Basketball. 21 July 2023.
  3. ^ "Gabriel Olaseni replaces Ekene Ibekwe in Giessen 46ers".
  4. ^ "Dinamo Sassari lands Gabriel Olaseni".
  5. ^ "Dinamo Sassari parts ways with Gabriel Olaseni".
  6. ^ "Orleans lands Gabriel Olaseni and JP Prince".
  7. ^ "Gabriel Olaseni agreed to a deal with Fuenlabrada".
  8. ^ Carchia, Emiliano (13 August 2019). "Bursaspor sign Gabe Olaseni". Sportando. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  9. ^ "Gabriel Olaseni is a newcomer at Buyukcekmece". Sportando. 10 August 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  10. ^ "Daçka'miza Hoş Geldin Abodunrin Gabriel Olaseni". darussafakabasketbol.com (in Turkish). 3 July 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  11. ^ "Darüşşafaka'dan Ayrılan Gabriel Olaseni'nin Yeni Adresi Belli Oldu" (in Turkish). Eurohoops. 28 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  12. ^ @mersin_msk (6 July 2024). "Msk'ya hoş geldin Abodunrin Gabirel Olaseni" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. ^ "Players statistics of the FIBA EuroBasket 2017". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  14. ^ "Latvia v Great Britain boxscore - FIBA EuroBasket 2017 - 4 September". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  15. ^ "Olaseni's growth an inspiration for all Hawkeyes". www.thegazette.com.
  16. ^ "Euroleague Basketball". Euroleague Basketball.
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