The Knicks’ search for a backup center has taken an unusual turn, and the Dallas Mavericks are part of the reason why.
Dallas already blocked New York’s attempt to grab Mouss Cisse, but another young big man with a Mavs connection is still out there: Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu, better known as “Kao.” He flashed enough in Summer League to make himself worth a look, and he’s available for any team willing to take a swing.
At 6-foot-10 and 243 pounds, Akobundu-Ehiogu made his name in Vegas the way a rim-runner dreams of doing it - by living above the cylinder. He put down some of the most eye-catching lob finishes of the event, including three alley-oop posters in a row.
The phrase “He can jump out of the gym” gets tossed around constantly, but it fits here. His 48-inch vertical, 9-foot-3 standing reach and 7-foot-4 wingspan make him a rare athlete, and he’s one of the few people who can touch the top of a standard backboard, which stands 13 feet high.
That kind of explosion has even made him Tik Tok famous.
The athletic gifts are obvious. The path to this point has been anything but.
Akobundu-Ehiogu is 26 and has spent the last four years playing professionally in Europe, most recently with EuroCup participant Manresa in Spain. He also spent Summer League with the Nuggets last year.
Before that, the climb was steep. He didn’t start playing basketball until he was 13, and after his senior year of high school he had no scholarship offers at any level and didn’t show up on any of the major recruiting sites.
His route eventually took him to a small private Christian school, Southwestern Assembly of God University, where he played one season before suffering a Jones fracture in pickup. According to Yahoo Sports, he later worked at Home Depot while rehabbing and taking classes to improve his academic transcript so he could transfer. After that came two seasons at UT Arlington, then a year at Memphis under Penny Hardaway.
The production numbers hint at why teams keep circling back. Across those three college seasons, he posted a block rate close to 17%. He and Anthony Davis are the only Divison I men’s basketball players since 2008 - minimum 40 games - with career marks of 13 BLK%, 45 dunks and better than 70% shooting from the free throw line.
Still, the offensive game is very much a work in progress. Akobundu-Ehiogu has never averaged more than 5.0 points per game in a season, whether in college or overseas. He fouls too much, needs work on the basics, and still has to clean up his screen-setting.
That’s why Dallas may not be the right landing spot, even on a two-way deal, especially now that Cisse is back in the picture. But for New York, the fit is easier to see. The Knicks could take a low-risk shot on his raw tools with a two-way contract or a training camp invite, and they have room to do it.
With Ariel Hukporti gone and Andre Drummond already in place as the veteran option, the Knicks can afford to carry a developmental third center. That opens the door for a camp battle, too, with Liam Robbins also in the mix as another Summer League standout. For New York, Akobundu-Ehiogu looks like the kind of lottery-ticket swing that makes sense to at least consider.
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Knicks Fans Finally Got The Brunson Update They Needed
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There is reason for optimism around Brunsons path back, especially with the way similar offseason injuries can go in the NBA. The comparison to Jalen Williams serves as a reminder that these situations can become tricky if the recovery stalls, but so far Brunsons outlook appears to be the more encouraging one, which is exactly the kind of update Knicks fans were waiting to hear. [Read more 🡒]