Africa's Former NBA Stars Wenyen Gabriel & Ishmail Wainright Take Their Talents to Israel

Africa's Former NBA Stars Wenyen Gabriel & Ishmail Wainright Take Their Talents to Israel

The 2024 offseason has seen several of Africa's most talented basketball players signing with some of the biggest clubs worldwide. From the NBA to France's Ligue Féminine de Basketball (LFB), Africa is exporting its basketball talent to many of the world's toughest leagues.

Israel, despite its ongoing conflict with Palestine, continues to attract some of the best basketball talent to its domestic league. Former NBA stars and FIBA Zone 5 players Wenyen Gabriel and Ishmail Wainright are the latest to be drawn to the highly competitive and respected Winner Basket League.

In one of the offseason's most talked-about moves, 27-year-old Wenyen Gabriel, a standout for the South Sudanese national team, has agreed to terms with Euroleague giants Maccabi Tel Aviv. The talented forward/center has signed a 1+1 deal that will run through the end of the 2024-25 season, with an option to extend for a further year.

Via a press release, the former LA Laker spoke on his excitement in joining the historic 92-year-old club:

"I am very excited and grateful for the opportunity to join such a historic organisation... I can no longer wait to bring my passion to Tel Aviv and the Euroleague and meet the famous fan base. I can say that I feel at home wearing the yellow jersey."

Gabriel represented South Sudan during the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup and is currently gearing up for the 2024 Paris Olympics with the national team. Over 5 games in the 2023 World Cup, Gabriel averaged 23.5 minutes per game, contributing 9.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 2.6 blocks.

Gabriel is an experienced player who will bring a wealth of professional insight from his five seasons in the NBA, during which time he played for seven different teams, including the Los Angeles Lakers and the Portland Trail Blazers. In 150 regular-season games, he averaged 4.4 points and 3.4 rebounds.

In addition to his NBA tenure, Gabriel has spent time in the NBA G League, playing for the Stockton Kings, Wisconsin Herd, and Erie BayHawks. He also participated in the NBA Summer League with the Sacramento Kings, further honing his craft and preparing for this new chapter in his career.

Uganda national team regular Ishmail Wainright will be joining Wenyen Gabriel in Israel, signing a two-year deal with rival club Hapoel Tel Aviv.

Wainright, a former standout in American football at Baylor University, has spent the last three seasons in the NBA. He also brings a wealth of European basketball experience, having played in Germany for the Nuernberg Falcons and Rasta Vechta, and in France for SIG Strasbourg.

Speaking with media, the club General manager George Hynas stated the following about Hapoel Tel Aviv's new signing:

"Ish is one of the toughest players a basketball fan can expect to see on the court. He is a true competitor who thinks first of his teammates and not himself, and will do anything to help the team achieve victory."

Wainright, who will join Ghana-born forward/center Ben Bentil at Hapoel stated the following:

"I'm very happy to be a part of this organisation. I can't wait to get on the field, start working with the other members of the team, and bring victories to the club and to the amazing fans of Hapoel Tel Aviv."

Throughout his NBA career, which included stints with the Phoenix Suns and the Portland Trail Blazers, Wainright averaged 3.3 points and 1.8 rebounds across 116 games. He also had a brief tenure with the Rip City Remix, Portland's G-League affiliate.

Wainright who suited up for the Uganda national team during the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 African Qualifiers was earlier this year named in a preliminary squad that will compete in their forthcoming AfroBasket qualifiers, in February 2025. The East African nation are chasing their fourth straight appearance at AfroBasket.

[Photography / Imagery Courtesy of NBA.com, hapoeluta.org, maccabi.co.il]