NBA
Who is James Nnaji, the player acquired by the Knicks in the KAT trade? Where does he play and career stats
A blockbuster three-way trade involving Karl-Anthony Towns will see the young Nigerian move to the New York Knicks.
Young prospect James Nnaji has been traded to the New York Knicks as part of a huge three-team deal which also sees four-time NBA All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves join the Knicks.
Due to wage restrictions the Knicks and the Timberwolves were unable to match KAT’s salary, meaning that they needed a third party to step in and balance the books. The Charlotte Hornets will receive three second round draft picks (two from the Knicks, one from the Timberwolves) and DaQuan Jeffries, Charlie Brown and Duane Washington Jr.
The deal also involves Charlotte sending 20-year-old prospect Nnaji to the Knicks. The Nigerian starlet was drafted with the 31st pick of the 2023 NBA Draft but is currently playing for Girona, on loan from Barcelona, in Spain’s Liga ACB.
James Nnaji’s career stats and salary
Having grown up in Nigeria, Nnanji’s basketball career began in 2018 when he moved to the Ratgeber Basketball Academy in Hungary at the age of 14. He went on to appear Ratgeber Akademia in 2019 and impressed in the Hungarian league, joining Barcelona the following year.
He declared for the 2023 NBA Draft and was selected by the Detroit Pistons with the 31st overall pick, before being immediately traded to Charlotte.
Nnaji is a 6ft 11in center, weighing 226lb. Across the 2023/24 season he averaged 2.3 points and 2.2 rebounds with 8.3 minutes per game for Barcelona, highlighting that there is still work to be done before he could end up on an NBA roster.
But while Nnaji is still raw there’s signs of potential, recording a field goal percentage of .649 in Liga ACB this season. He’s also put up 57 total rebounds in just 215 minutes played for Barcelona, impressive numbers for a young player.