Efe Abogidi’s pro path has been anything but straight, but the former Washington State forward keeps finding his way back onto the court.
Two years ago, that meant long nights in Adelaide, Australia, where he would stay up until 2 or 3 a.m. waiting on his agent to call with word on whether an NBA or G League opportunity had come through. If nothing came, he’d usually drift off around 3 in the morning. He knew the reason for all that waiting was simple: he believed he could still play at the professional level and just needed the chance.
That chance eventually came after a brutal detour. On Jan. 3, 2023, while playing for the now-defunct NBA G League Ignite, Abogidi tore his ACL.
The injury arrived only about two months into his professional career and left him facing an 18-month recovery. He did some rehab work in Spokane, where his girlfriend was living at the time, but visa restrictions as an immigrant eventually forced him back to Australia.
Once he was cleared to play, Abogidi signed with the Central Districts Lions in Adelaide and got back to building his game. The 2024-25 season with the second-tier NBL1 was productive: he averaged 17 points and 10.5 rebounds, made the NBL Central All-Star Five and delivered his biggest night against the South Adelaide Panthers, a 30-point, 20-rebound double-double. He also kept stretching his range, adding perimeter shooting to a game that had already been built on power and explosiveness.
“I’m a very resilient person,” Abogidi said. “I’ve been through a lot in basketball, especially with my health.
When it comes to injury, I’m very experienced in getting myself back so having confidence wasn’t an issue for me. The main issue was, how long is it going to take for me to get healthy and get back on the floor.
“So whenever I’m healthy and back to being ready to play basketball again, confidence isn’t a big issue for me.”
Eventually, the wait in Australia paid off. One of those late-night phone calls from his agent brought the news he’d been hoping for, though it was delivered in a way that made him brace for the worst.
“Do you want to hear the good news or the bad news?’’
“I was like, OK, any news is good news,” Abogidi said. “He said, ‘OK, it’s going to be a standard contract in the G League.’ I was like, that’s not bad news, that’s good news.”
That contract came from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, and Abogidi made the most of it. In 44 games with the Houston Rockets’ G League affiliate, he averaged 13 points, 6.4 rebounds and one block while shooting 51.1% from the field. He also knocked down 34.8% of his 3-point attempts, a sign of how much his game had expanded since his Washington State days, when he made just 24 3s over 64 games.
Abogidi said the injury changed the way he thought about his career.
“I believe in myself. I’m very talented in basketball so the biggest obstacle for me was just being healthy,” Abogidi said.
“So when I felt healthy, I know I’ll come back on this stage again and play basketball again, I’m still going to be on top of my field. So I wasn’t worried.
I’m a very resilient person. This isn’t a big deal for me, so here I am now.”
He still has the athletic pop that made him a highlight machine at WSU, but now there’s more to his game. He can still rise for the occasional emphatic finish, including a G League Tip-Off Tournament dunk where he split two Austin Spurs defenders in midair for a two-handed jam. At the same time, he’s working with a more complete skill set, one built around both his bounce and a growing outside shot.
“I’m still athletic, I’m still one of the most athletic guys in the gym,” Abogidi said. “Now I can shoot the ball and extend my game.
I can’t rely on my athleticism a lot. I’ve still got to think about my longevity.
It’s been a journey.”
That journey took another step forward after his G League season, when the Denver Nuggets invited him to Summer League. In Las Vegas, he appeared in three games and averaged seven points and two rebounds while shooting 60% from the field and 42.9% from deep.
His minutes were limited - 9.7 per game - but Nuggets Summer League coach J.J. Barea came away encouraged.
“I’m giving him confidence, if it’s open let it fly,” Barea said. “He got some good blocks, some good rebounds and then he made some open shots so great job by him.”
Abogidi’s next stop is Spain, not the NBA. Before Summer League, he was living in Olympia with his girlfriend, and after that stretch in Las Vegas he signed a one-year contract with Obradoiro CAB, a club in Spain’s top professional league. He also helped Nigeria’s national team in FIBA World Cup qualifiers against Cameroon and Cape Verde, averaging 11.5 points over two games.
He said the long rehab process knocked him out of sight for a while.
“Initially, I kind of fell off the radar,” Abogidi said. “I took my time getting my rehab.
Got a couple surgeries, getting myself back on track again. That was a really traumatic experience for me.”
Even so, he still sees the NBA as something worth chasing. Three years after the ACL injury that altered everything, he’s still pushing forward.
“It’s been a journey, man. It’s been a journey,” he said.
“Got injured, had to leave the country, go back to Australia, get healthy, come back here. It’s been a journey for me.”
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