Adem Bona, growing up in Nigeria, and then moving to Turkey has some other experiences outside of basketball that have prepared him for his basketball career.
The 6’8, 243lbs big man was first-team Pac-12 in 2024, won the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year award, and the previous season was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year award.
Bona has experience playing at the FIBA U18 European Championships in Greece with Team Turkey. He also played in the U16 FIBA European Championships with Serbia in 2018.
The 21-year-old, who was drafted in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft credits much of his ability to play basketball to the game of soccer. Bona had this to say about his soccer days, per Ky Carlin of Sixers Wire:
“Growing up, I played soccer, I think that helped with my speed and my agility and my mobileness—the way I move on the floor. Also, playing at UCLA, I played behind the Defensive Player of the Year my freshman year in Jaylen Clark. I think that kind of opened my eyes to how much defense can make an impact in the game.”
Let’s see if it translates to the NBA level.