Nigerian-born Adem Bona was selected No. 41 overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2024 NBA Draft held on Thursday, June 27th, 2024, at the ESPN Seaport District Studio in New York City.
Bona became the Bruins’ fourth NBA Draft selection in the past two seasons. The Nigerian-Turkish forward is also the first UCLA player selected by the Philadelphia 76ers since Jonah Bolden, who was picked No. 36 overall in the 2017 NBA Draft.
UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach Mick Cronin expressed his excitement: “We are all thrilled to see Adem selected, as he has worked very hard for this moment. The 76ers are getting a talented, hard-working, and driven young man who will be an asset to their organization. All of us at UCLA loved being around Adem every day.
is a humble and caring person, and I truly believe he has only scratched the surface in terms of his basketball potential and development. We look forward to watching him thrive in Philadelphia, and we will be cheering for him every step of the way.”
Additionally, two other Nigerian-born players, Jonathan Mogbo and Oso Ighodaro, were drafted to represent the Toronto Raptors and Phoenix Suns, respectively.
Jonathan Mogbo played for the San Francisco Dons before being drafted, while Ighodaro played college basketball for the Marquette Golden Eagles in the NCAA division.
The last African drafted was Cameroon’s Ulrich Chomche, who was selected by the Toronto Raptors. Ulrich, who plays as a center and power forward, has been labeled by ESPN as the best Cameroonian prospect of his generation since Joel Embiid.
