By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
On a loan assignment from FC Barcelona, James Nnaji will play for Girona during the next edition of Spain’s Liga Endesa.
Barca officially loaned the 19-year-old Nigerian center on Sunday.
Last summer, the Detroit Pistons selected Nnaji with the 31st overall pick of the 2023 NBA draft and traded him to the Charlotte Hornets. With a potential future in the league based in North America pending, he stayed with the Catalonia powerhouse for one more season. Projected for additional playing time, the next campaign will be with Girona, under team president Marc Gasol.
In the 2023-24 installment of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, the youth product of Barcelona tallied 2.6 points, 1.4 rebounds, 0.3 blocks, 0.2 steals, and 0.2 assists per contest. He averaged just under six minutes per game through 19 appearances. Over the last three seasons, he logged 51 games played in Europe’s premier club continental competition.
In his third ACB campaign since being promoted from the reserve squad of Barca, the promising upstart added 2.3 points per game over 26 appearances. A career total is up to 73 games played in the most competitive domestic league of the Old Continent will grow during his loan assignment.
Besides reuniting with former Barca teammate Sergi Martinez at Girona, his remaining new teammates are Aljami Durham, Guillem Ferrando, Maxi Fjellerup, Ike Iroegbu, Yves Pons, Nike Sibande, Jaume Sorolla, Mindaugas Susinskas, and Juani Marcos. He will play under the guidance of Greek tactician Fotis Katsikaris.
Photo Credit: EuroleagueBasketball.net