Boniface Ndong

Boniface Ndong is just another in a long line of examples showing that some players just don’t start to scratch the full surface on their full potential until much later in their careers compared with others. At the tender age of 30, Ndong is playing the best basketball of his career, and looks like an incredibly useful player to have on both ends of the court. We’ve followed him with a lot of interest after he seemingly came out of nowhere and had a terrific showing in the Vegas Summer League in 2005, and he only seems to be improving every year ever since.

7-1, with a skinny frame and super long arms, N’Dong is a mobile big man who uses his physical tools to the fullest. He brings great energy to the floor with his excellent activity level, capable of changing and blocking shots in the paint, either on the ball or off it, and always looking to make a positive impact for his team. He’s no offensive juggernaut, but still has some basic skills on this end—a nice turnaround jumper, some simple moves in the post (nothing extraordinary), a solid looking jump-hook, and even a mid-range jumper he can hit all the way out to 18 feet. He’s a team player, not incredibly fluid or coordinated, but still smart and energetic enough to get the job done. His lack of strength hinders him from being a great finisher around the basket, though, and he’s not terribly quick defending the pick and roll out on the perimeter.

With his size, length and the variety of things he brings to the floor, Ndong could easily be a backup in the NBA, if he so desired. The problem is that it’s not quite clear how much sense that would make for him, considering that he’s making much more than the NBA league minimum, and is also doing so living in paradise (Malaga), while contributing heavily to a solid Euroleague team.