| No. 31 Xinjiang Flying Tigers | |
|---|---|
| Power forward | |
| Personal information | |
| Date of birth | November 7, 1988 |
| Place of birth | College Park, Georgia |
| Nationality | American |
| High school | Norcross High School, Norcross, Georgia |
| Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
| Listed weight | 234 lb (106 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College | Georgia Tech |
| NBA Draft | 2010 / Round: 2 / Pick: 46th overall |
| Selected by the Phoenix Suns | |
| Pro career | 2010–present |
| Career history | |
|
Phoenix Suns (2010–2011) |
|
| Stats at NBA.com | |
Gani Oladimeji Lawal, Jr. (born November 7, 1988 in College Park, Georgia) is an American basketball player. He played with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball team for 3 years. A junior, Lawal led the team in field-goal percentage and blocked shots in 2007–2008.[1] Lawal was drafted by the Phoenix Suns with the 46th pick of the second round of the 2010 NBA Draft. On November 16, 2010, after not playing in any of the Suns prior regular season games, Lawal was assigned to the Iowa Energy of the NBA Development League.[2]
During his time at Norcross High School, Lawal was named to the McDonald's All-American Team following his senior season and was Mr. Basketball 2007 in Georgia.[3] After originally entering the draft following his sophomore year, Lawal pulled out of the draft on June 14, 2009 to return to Georgia Tech for his junior year.[4]
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In his freshman season of 2007–08, Lawal scored 10 points on 5-of-6 shots, with four rebounds at Duke, snapping a streak of six games in single digits.[3] He also had a game-high nine rebounds in a 77–64 win over Presbyterian on January 6, 2008.[5]
In his sophomore season of 2008–09, Lawal scored a career-best 34 points[6] in an 85–83 Georgia Tech loss to Penn State on December 3, 2008.[7] He had a career-high 16 rebounds in a 63–58 win over Tennessee State on December 30, 2008.[8] He bettered that mark by one rebound when he pulled down 17 in a 70–56 home loss to Duke on January 14, 2009.[9]
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007–08 | Georgia Tech | 32 | ... | 17.3 | .570 | .000 | .495 | 3.5 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 7.2 |
| 2008–09 | Georgia Tech | 31 | ... | 29.7 | .556 | .000 | .559 | 9.5 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 15.1 |
| 2009–10 | Georgia Tech | 36 | ... | 25.7 | .529 | .000 | .572 | 8.5 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 1.4 | 13.1 |
| Career[10] | 99 | ... | 24.2 | .419 | .000 | .752 | 7.2 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 11.8 |
Lawal played for the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Summer League in 2010. On August 2, 2010, Lawal signed a contract with the Suns.[11]
He only played one game with the Suns before an ankle injury on January 6, 2011 effectively ended his 2010-11 season. In the two minutes he played against the Detroit Pistons on December 31, 2010, he recorded only one foul.
During the 2011 NBA lockout, Lawal signed with Zastal Zielona Góra in Poland.[12] After the lockout ended, the Suns ended up waiving Lawal due to their depth situation at the power forward position.[13] After the announcement of Kenyon Martin leaving the Xinjiang Flying Tigers, Lawal signed with Xinjiang as Martin's replacement.
| SEASON | LEAGUE | TEAM | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-12 | PLK | Zastal Zielona Góra | 10 | 10 | 30.6 | .627 | .000 | .561 | 11.7 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 16.5 |
| 2011-12 | CBA | Xinjiang Flying Tigers | 1 | 1 | 43.0 | .647 | .000 | .385 | 24.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 27.0 |
Lawal's mother's name is Michelle, and his father, Gani, Sr., a real estate and mortgage broker, is from Nigeria. He has two sisters, Khalilah and Chasitie and one brother, Khalil.[1]
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