Ghanaian basketball players abroad: signings, debuts and moves
Every report on Ghanaian players building careers outside Ghana, from US college courts to the NBA, China, Greece, France and Puerto Rico.
Who is followed on this desk
Ben Bentil, Nathan Mensah, Amida Brimah and Alhaji Mohammed lead the list. Bentil went from US college basketball to an NBA debut with the Dallas Mavericks and on to clubs in China and Greece. Mensah played college basketball at San Diego State. Brimah has moved between the NBA summer leagues and the Puerto Rican league. Mohammed played in France with Limoges before retiring in 2021.
Behind them is a wider group of Ghanaian and Ghanaian-heritage players in Canada, Europe and the US college system. Their stories are filed the same way: the city a report comes from, the date it was reported, and what changed for the player.
How the moves are reported
A signing is reported when the club announces it, an injury when the team or the player confirms it, a debut when the game has been played. Statistics are given as they stood on the day of the report, so a season average quoted from January stays a January figure.
For readers following one player, the list below is the record: each report links to the next stage of the same career, and the Sprite Ball and school stories show where several of these players first appeared in print.
Where the Ghanaian players have gone
The paths are varied. Bentil went from Providence College to a ten-day contract with the Dallas Mavericks, a spell with Xinjiang Guanghui in the Chinese league, and on to Peristeri and Panathinaikos in Greece, Olimpia Milano in Italy and Crvena zvezda in Serbia. Mensah, born in Accra, became a defensive anchor at San Diego State before reaching the NBA with the Charlotte Hornets. Brimah, also born in Accra, won an NCAA title with UConn before a career that has taken him to Belgium, France, the G League and Puerto Rico.
Other stories follow players with Ghanaian roots who grew up abroad, such as the Canadian forward Laeticia Amihere, whose father is Ghanaian and who went on to an NCAA title with South Carolina and the WNBA.
Ben Bentil, season by season
Bentil has the longest file on the desk. In November 2016 he left the Fort Wayne Mad Ants for Xinjiang Guanghui Flying Tigers in the Chinese Basketball Association, signed as cover for Andray Blatche a month after the Boston Celtics let him go. In March 2017 he played four minutes for the Dallas Mavericks against the Atlanta Hawks and became the first Ghana-born player to appear in an NBA game.
His 2018-19 season was spent with Peristeri in Athens. In May 2019 the club signed the American shooting guard Chris Flemmings from Cyprus to strengthen the roster for the Greek playoffs, and the report on that signing follows how the season finished for both players.
Mensah, Brimah and Mohammed
Nathan Mensah missed seven straight San Diego State games in January 2020 after doctors found a blood clot in his lungs, and the report follows his recovery and the career that came after it. Amida Brimah won a Belgian title with Filou Oostende and then, in June 2022, rejoined Mets de Guaynabo for the rest of the Puerto Rican season, back at the club he had taken to the BSN finals a year earlier.
Alhaji Mohammed, an American-born guard who played for Ghana, was inducted into the CSP Limoges Hall of Fame in April 2020 and said his one regret was leaving the French club so soon. He retired in late 2021, announcing it on his 40th birthday with a letter addressed to the game, after a 16-year career that took him to nine countries and two league titles.
Ghanaian roots in other national teams
Some players on the desk never played in Ghana. Laeticia Amihere, born in Canada to a Ghanaian father, spoke in June 2020 about the Black Lives Matter protests, which she called an eye-opening experience for people in Canada. Her story sits on the same list as Bentil's and Mensah's because the desk follows the Ghanaian connection wherever a career leads. She went on to win an NCAA title with South Carolina before moving to the WNBA.
All stories on Ghanaians abroad
Guaynabo —
Amida Brimah returns to Puerto Rico's Mets de Guaynabo for 2022
Ghana center Amida Brimah signed with Mets de Guaynabo in June 2022 to see out the Puerto Rican season, returning to the club he had taken to the BSN finals a year earlier.
Veteran Ghana guard Alhaji Mohammed retires from basketball
American-born Ghanaian guard Alhaji Mohammed retired from professional basketball in late 2021, announcing it on his 40th birthday with a letter addressed to the game itself.
Ghanaian-Canadian star Laeticia Amihere speaks on the BLM protests
Laeticia Amihere, the Canadian forward with a Ghanaian father, described the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020 as an eye-opening experience for people in Canada.
Alhaji Mohammed regrets not playing more for CSP Limoges
Veteran Ghanaian guard Alhaji Mohammed marked his induction into the CSP Limoges Hall of Fame in April 2020 by saying he wished he had played his whole career there.
San Diego —
San Diego State's Nathan Mensah diagnosed with blood clots
Ghana forward-center Nathan Mensah missed seven straight San Diego State games in early 2020 because of a blood clot in his lungs.
Athens —
Ben Bentil's Peristeri add Chris Flemmings for the Greek playoffs
Peristeri, the Athens club where Ghana forward Ben Bentil played in 2018-19, brought in American shooting guard Chris Flemmings for the end of the Greek season.
Ben Bentil makes NBA debut, plays for the Dallas Mavericks
Ghana forward Ben Bentil became the first Ghana-born player to appear in an NBA game when he played four minutes for the Dallas Mavericks against the Atlanta Hawks in March 2017.
Ben Bentil signs for CBA side Xinjiang Guanghui Flying Tigers
Ghana forward Ben Bentil signed with Chinese Basketball Association side Xinjiang Guanghui Flying Tigers in November 2016, a month after the Boston Celtics let him go.