Michael Olowokandi Net worth
The estimated net worth of Michael Olowokandi is in between $20 million to $50 million.
Michael Olowokandi Biography
Michael Olowokandi, a former professional basketball player from Nigeria, was born on April 3, 1975. He was reared in London after being born in Lagos, Nigeria, and played collegiate basketball for the Pacific Tigers in Stockton, California.
Olowokandi, also known as “The Kandi Man,” was taken by the Los Angeles Clippers as the first overall choice in the 1998 NBA Draft. He continued to play professionally until 2007, when a severe hernia and knee issues forced him to quit.
Michael Olowokandi Early years
Olowokandi was the oldest of five children when he was born in Lagos, Nigeria. Ezekiel, his father, was an ambassador for Nigeria.
Olowokandi’s family relocated to London when he was 3 years old, where he was raised. Olowokandi was a Nigerian citizen who, as of 2004, lacked a British passport.
At the Newlands Manor School in Seaford, East Sussex, Olowokandi played center midfield in football and set British age group records in the long jump and triple jump.
Olowokandi grew six inches in two years, reaching a height of 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) at the age of 16. At the age of 17, he held a basketball for the first time.
At the age of 18, he started playing basketball. Olowokandi later enrolled at Brunel University to study mechanical engineering.
He participated in track and field, cricket, and rugby union as an athlete. He participated in a tryout with the Budweiser Basketball League’s Thames Valley Tigers, but he was not offered a contract.
Michael Olowokandi Career
On his 20th birthday, April 3, 1995, Olowokandi randomly selected the University of the Pacific (UOP) from the Peterson’s Guide to American Colleges and Universities and opened it. Olowokandi dialed the UOP basketball office in the hopes that the Pacific Tigers would accept him as a player.
UOP assistant coach Tony Marcopulos answered the phone call and was stunned when informed of Olowokandi’s height of 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m). After being informed that there were no more available basketball scholarships at UOP, Olowokandi offered to pay for his schooling (about $23,000 annually) for two years.
He also called Georgetown University and Duke University but was informed they would not offer scholarships without sending a scout to see him. Olowokandi and Marcupulos spent hundreds of phone calls arranging credit transferal and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) eligibility, which was determined that Olowokandi had three seasons of college remaining.
When Olowokandi arrived in the United States in August 1995, he had not played a game of organized basketball or met the UOP coaches; Pacific head coach Bob Thomason joked, “I had told him on the phone that if he wasn’t 7 foot I was going to put him right back on the plane.”
Arriving as a sophomore in eligibility, Olowokandi had no understanding of basketball terminology and was in poor physical condition. He frequently committed backcourt and traveling violations in his early games but persisted with his progression and committed to extended practice sessions.
Olowokandi became a star for the team during his junior season, averaging a team high 12.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.9 blocks. Olowokandi led his team to the 1997 NCAA Tournament and as a senior he led the Tigers to the 1998 National Invitation Tournament.
He averaged 22 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks per game his senior year and was the 1997–98 Big West Conference Player of the Year. Olowokandi was named as a 1998 Honorable Mention All-American by the Associated Press. He graduated from Pacific with a degree in Economics and had his No. 55 jersey retired by the university in 1998.
Olowokandi’s wingspan of 7 feet 6 inches (2.29 meters) and “unlimited upside” made him a top two pick in the 1998 NBA draft. He did well at the NBA’s yearly pre-draft competitions thanks to his strength, speed, and quickness.
In his pre-draft workouts in Denver and Vancouver, Olowokandi broke several records, including the mark for medicine ball dunks in Denver and the time he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.55 seconds.
When the two performed together at the camps, fellow NBA player Andrew Lang said that Olowokandi had some of the fastest feet he had ever seen.
Olowokandi was drafted with the first overall pick by the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers had initially planned to draft eventual second pick Mike Bibby but Elgin Baylor cited Olowokandi’s work habits and off-season improvements as the swaying factors.
The start of the 1998–99 NBA season was hampered due to a lockout and the Clippers were not allowed to contact Olowokandi.
His agent, Bill Duffy, put Olowokandi in contact with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who trained together extensively during the 1998 offseason. Olokowandi signed with Italian team Kinder Bologna on 5 January 1999 – only two days before the lockout was resolved.
In 3 regular season Italian League games played with Bologna, he averaged 4.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 0.3 assists in 17.3 minutes per game. He also played for 3 games in the FIBA EuroLeague, where he averaged 10.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 0.3 assists in 21.3 minutes per game.
Bologna granted Olowokandi an early release to sign with the Clippers as he did not have a considerable impact and was poorly conditioned. Olowokandi claimed that he felt misused by the team and did not have his offensive abilities utilised.
Olowokandi signed with the Clippers on 29 January 1999. During his rookie season, he averaged 8.9 points and 7.9 rebounds in 45 games played for the Clippers. Olowokandi underwent surgery on his left knee on 11 May 1999, in what would be the first of multiple knee surgeries.
In the 2001–02 season, Olowokandi saw the most playing time of his career and averaged 11.1 points and 8.8 rebounds. After Abdul-Jabbar’s stint, Olowokandi received tutelage from Clippers assistant coach Igor Kokoskov who worked together on footwork and shot selection.
Olowokandi received additional playing time after center Elton Brand was sidelined by a bruised left hip, and Olowokandi became “the Clippers’ go-to guy”. He averaged 17 points a game and 11 rebounds during the last 20 games of the season and was considered one of the biggest free agents in the 2002–03 free agency class.
On 5 April 2002, Olowokandi was fined $50,000 by the Clippers for “behavior detrimental to the team” after he criticized teammates for a loss against the Utah Jazz. Olowokandi was coveted by the San Antonio Spurs to replace the retiring David Robinson.
He was also a top choice for the Denver Nuggets, with Kiki VanDeWeghe of the Denver Nuggets considering Olowokandi to be a “legitimate center.” However, Olowokandi resigned with the Clippers to their qualifying offer on 24 September 2002, following weeks of uncertainty in contract negotiations.
Olowokandi injured his left knee during his extensive training during the offseason and missed most of the preseason. The team’s apprehension in offering him a longterm contract extension caused conflict between the Clippers and Olowokandi, who by December 2002 had decided he would not again resign with the team.
He also considered himself as having a limited role in coach Alvin Gentry’s offense despite having a breakthrough season that saw improvements in his aggressiveness and consistency. Olowokandi’s left knee injury flared up in January 2003 and he was placed on the injured list.
He underwent knee surgery on 3 February 2003, and was ruled out for three to four weeks. Olowokandi was ultimately ruled out for the rest of the season by the Clippers in April. Olowokandi averaged 9.9 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in his 323 games played with the Clippers over five seasons.
Abdul-Jabbar, who became an assistant coach for the Clippers during Olowokandi’s tenure, considered Olowokandi “talented but uncoachable” and cited his lack of willingness to accept criticism in practice as being detrimental to his career.
Olowokandi signed a three-year, $16.2 million contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves after having financial problems with the Los Angeles Clippers. Olowokandi accepted the only decent offer he was given despite being the fourth most valuable free agent that offseason and receiving little interest from NBA teams.
Olowokandi was enticed by Timberwolves general manager and former player Kevin McHale, who trained one-on-one together before the season started.
Olowokandi again experienced pain and swelling in his left knee so had a second procedure before the start of the regular season that resulted in him missing all of training camp and attending only three team practices.
He appeared sporadically in games for the Timberwolves during November and December due to tendinitis in his right knee. Olowokandi underwent surgery on 12 December 2003, and was ruled out indefinitely.
On 26 November 2004, Olowokandi was suspended by the Timberwolves for two games after he was arrested for refusing to leave an Indianapolis night club. On 16 January 2005, Olowokandi was suspended by the NBA for four games for a fight with Nenê of the Denver Nuggets during a game the previous night.
On 26 January 2006, he was traded by the Timberwolves to the Boston Celtics in a multi-player trade. In 500 regular season NBA games (399 games started), Olowokandi averaged 8.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.39 blocked shots per game. In 15 playoff games (2 starts), he averaged 2.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, and .7 blocks per game.
Before his injuries occurred due to overtraining, Olowokandi was noted for his large size and skills with scoring, blocking shots, and rebounding, readily helping the Clippers against top NBA defenders such as Dikembe Mutombo.
Michael Olowokandi Charity
Olowokandi and his fellow Clippers teammates took part in the 2001 BasketBowl Challenge at Keystone Lanes in Norwalk, California, to support the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Clippers Foundation.
Olowokandi provided Thanksgiving dinner for more than 200 homeless people at the Pine Street Inn in Boston in 2006 while volunteering at the Boston Children’s Hospital.
Additionally, he has given to a number of hospitals and charities. For example, he gave the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles nearly $100,000 to build a new incubator for premature newborn babies.
Many of Olowokandi’s humanitarian endeavors were carried out secretively and without the involvement of his teams.
Hilda Baci
Read about Hilda who won Guinness book of record award.
Hilda Effiong Bassey, also referred to as Hilda Baci, is a well-known Nigerian chef who was born on September 20, 1996, in the Nigerian state of Akwa Ibom. She has established a reputation for herself in Nigeria’s food business.
Where is Hilda Bassey from?
Hilda Effiong Bassey, also referred to as Hilda Baci, is a well-known Nigerian chef who was born on September 20, 1996, in the Nigerian state of Akwa Ibom. She has established a reputation for herself in Nigerian culinary industry.
Where is chef Hilda from?
Hilda Baci, a young Nigerian cook from Akwa Ibom State, should be noted. ‘My Food by Hilda’ is the name of the food brand she owns in Lagos.
Who holds the record for the longest cooking time?
Hilda Baci, a well-known Hilda from Nigeria, breaks the world record for the longest cooking time.
Nigerian chef, Hilda Bassey Effiong, popularly known as Hilda Buci has broken the Guinness World Record for longest cooking hours.
Hilda broke the record which was previously held by Indian chef, Lata Tondon on Monday morning at 7:45 am.
Tondon had made meals for 87 hours, 45 minutes and 00 seconds.
However, as of the time of filing this report, Hilda has cooked for 88 hours, 19 minutes.
She aims to cook for 96 hours, that is why she is expected to complete the task at 5pm on Monday.
The chef has been getting massive support, especially from Nigerians, celebrities and politicians in the country.
Nollywood actor, Charles Okocha; actress, Kate Henshaw; singer, Tiwa Savage; media personality, Enioluwa, and many others appeared at the event.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu also visited the venue on Sunday to cheer up Baci.
Baci is not new to cooking competitions, she was a participant in the maiden edition of the Jollof Face-off Competition in 2021. The talented chef made Nigeria proud by winning the competition and walking away with a grand prize of $5000.
The world record for longest cooking
Nigerian chef, Hilda Bassey Effiong, popularly known as Hilda Buci has broken the Guinness World Record for longest cooking hours. Hilda broke the record which was previously held by Indian chef, Lata Tondon on Monday morning at 7:45 am. Tondon had made meals for 87 hours, 45 minutes and 00 seconds.
10+ facts about Hilda Baci
1. Her real name is Hilda Bassey Effiong. She is a young Nigerian chef from Akwa Ibom State. She owes a food brand in Lagos called “My Food by Hilda”
2. She will be cooking for 4 days non-stop.
3. She must stand to cook, she is not permitted to sit while cooking.
4. She’s not allowed to take coffee, stimulants, or any energy drink to artificially boost her energy and bodily strength while cooking
5. She’s allowed to eat food, drink water or fruit juice, & take glucose
6. The cooking is taking place at Amore Gardens, Lekki, Lagos State, Nigeria.
7. She cooks round the clock, no sleep (Morning, afternoon, evening, and night. So, for 4 nights, she won’t sleep)
8. She has just 5 minutes rest per hour [meaning for every 1 hour, she is entitled to just 5 minutes rest or break, that’s an hour break in every 12 hours].
Other sources claim
She gets a 30-minute break every 6 hours, she spends the 30mins in a medical van which is just close by, within which she can nap, use the restroom, and also get a medical assessment or checkup by the medical team available on the spot.
9. Whatever she cooks is shared to the people at the venue for FREE. She is not selling the food.
10. She cooks different meals simultaneously. She is at liberty to cook any meal she likes. There are no restrictions as to what she can cook or not cook.
The World Record title is about cooking within a time frame, not about what is cooked. As long as she is cooking, she is on track.
11. Every meal cooked and every plate served is recorded.
She has cooked over 115 meals so far with almost 3,000 portions if not more by the time you are reading this.
12. She started the cooking on Thursday and is expected to complete the target time frame by Monday 15th May, 2023 evening.
13. The current holder of the title Hilda seeks to break is an Indian chef Lata Tandon, who set a Guinness World Record for cooking for 87 hours and 45 minutes non-stop in 2019.
14. To break the record, Hilda Baci is attempting to cook for 96 hours, using extra 9 hours to break the world record as the first human on earth to spend such an amount of time cooking a marathon.
15. She tagged the cooking project “Cook-a-thon”, a phrase literally coined from the word “marathon”
16. She appears exhausted already, but the people around her are cheering her on to boost her morale. And they are available with her as she cook 247, even at night.
17. Most of the food items, ingredients, utensils, etc she used for this project are provided by her sponsors. So, the money expended on this project is not 100% from Hilda or her Food brand.
18. Uber, one of her partners is offering a 40% discounted ride to the venue for people who wishes to join and cheer her up at the venue.
19. Hilda’s mum is also a chef. She owes a food brand called “Calabar Pot”