Yannick Nzosa

Yannick Nzosa Manzila was born in November of 2003 in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The 6-foot-10 center grew up playing soccer as a goalkeeper. He started playing basketball at age 12 but did not join a notable club team until 2017, when he latched on with Stella Azzurra Roma in Italy. In 2019, Nzosa was on Stella Azzurra's U18 roster for the Kaunas Tournament. The then-16-year-old earned a spot on the All-Tournament team. Nzosa spent the 2019-20 season on loan with the Roseto Sharks - an affiliate of Stella Azzurra - of the Serie A2 Basket. Later in 2019, Nzosa left Roseto and joined the Spanish club Unicaja Malaga. In December of 2019, Nzosa played for Unicaja's U18 team at the ANGT Valencia Tournament and was named to the All-Tournament team. Across four games, he averaged 3.8 blocks over just 28 minutes per game. For the 2020-21 season, Nzosa joined Unicaja's senior team and made his debut in September of 2020. Across 39 games, he delivered 4.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 0.8 blocks over 12 minutes per game. In a win over Valencia, Nzosa became the youngest player in league history to rack up four blocks in a single game. The following season, Nzosa posted 2.1 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.6 blocks in 11 minutes per contest. In the 2022 NBA Draft, Nzosa was selected by the Washington Wizards with the 54th overall pick.