Summer League standout Mfiondu Kabengele earns Celtics contract originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
After a strong audition with the Boston Celtics, Mfiondu Kabengele has earned himself a gig.
The Celtics have signed the 24-year-old big man to a two-way contract, the team announced Saturday night after their NBA Summer League finale against the Brooklyn Nets.
Kabengele turned plenty of heads in Las Vegas, averaging 14.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 2.2 blocks over five Summer League games while playing just 24.5 minutes per night. The Florida State product may have reminded Celtics fans of Robert Williams with his thunderous alley-oops on offense and strong rim protection on defense.
Two-way players can’t spend more than 45 days with their NBA team during the regular season, so Kabengele likely will spend most of the 2022-23 campaign with the Maine Celtics in the G League.
Still, the Celtics need frontcourt depth after sending Daniel Theis to the Indiana Pacers in the Malcolm Brogdon trade, and Kabengele will be eager to prove he can contribute to Boston in the future.
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“I showed them my heart, my energy, my tenacity,” Kabengele told The Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach on Saturday night.
“… I feel like the way I set screens, the way I crash the glass, make plays off the ball, rebound, move the ball, stretch the floor, make my free throws, switch 1-5, those kind of versatility things I feel like are really valuable to a team, and I want to show that for Boston.”
