Former Florida State Standout Inks Overseas Deal After Four Years In The NBA

The focus is on football in the month of August but it won't be long until the action on the hardwood gets back under way as well. A ton of players are still looking for landing spots ahead of the NBA season which will force some of the talented athletes to take the leap overseas to continue chasing their professional dreams.

On Sunday, former Florida State forward Mfiondu Kabengele inked a deal with AEK B.C., one of the most popular teams in Greece. The club competes in the BCL, Greek League, and Greek Cup. AEK won the BCL as recently as 2017-18 with a victory over Monaco in the finals.

Kabengele joins a club that sports other NBA-level talents such as Ben McLemore and Jordan McRae. He'll be vying to make a sizable impact for AEK B.C. while grappling to find a roster spot back in the United States.

Στη «Βασίλισσα» ο Καμπενγκέλε! ✍🏻

Διαβάστε περισσότερα εδώ: https://t.co/GY2wwTn6a9 #aekbc #welcome #gabengele pic.twitter.com/wEz49M8cRI
— AEK BC (@aekbcgr) August 13, 2023

The 25-year-old is coming off a four-year stint in the NBA after being selected with the No. 27 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft by the Brooklyn Nets before his rights were traded to the Los Angeles Clippers. Kabengele failed to earn consistent time with the Clippers, appearing in 35 games over parts of two seasons before being traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

He finished out the 2020-21 season with the Cavaliers prior to being waived a few months later. Kabengele spent the 2021-22 season in the G-League but earned a two-way deal with the Boston Celtics after an impressive performance in the 2022 NBA Las Vegas Summer League.

Once again, Kabengele bounced between the main club and the G-League. He averaged 20 points, 10.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.7 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game for the Maine Celtics en route to being named to the All-NBA G League Second-Team and All-NBA G League Defensive Team. He landed with the Atlanta Hawks during summer league but didn't earn an invitation to training camp after five appearances with the team.

The potential is still there for Kabengele to put it all together. It wasn't that long ago when he starred at Florida State, earning ACC Sixth Man of the Year honors after averaging 13.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks in 2018-19.

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