VIDEO: Honey Badgers alum Caleb Agada part of Nigeria’s historic hoops win over Team USA

Mississauga | Ontario | Sports |

By

Published July 11, 2021 at 6:38 pm

calebagada_honeybadgers-is

Burlington basketballer Caleb Agada contributed to a bit of hoops history on Saturday night.

In a pre-Olympics exhibition game in Las Vegas, Nigeria defeated the NBA star-studded United States 90-87, becoming the first team from an African nation to ever defeat the Americans. Agada, whose pro hoops resumé includes a brief stint with the Hamilton Honey Badgers, came off the bench to score 17 points in as many minutes. The 26-year-old combo guard shot seven-of-10 from the floor and made all three of his three-point attempts, including a buzzer-beater at the end of the third quarter that put D’Tigers into the lead going into the fourth quarter.

The U.S. starting five included the Brooklyn Nets’ Kevin Durant, Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum Portland Trail Blaziers’ Damien Lillard and the Washington Wizards’ Bradley Beal.

Nine years ago, Nigeria lost to the U.S. by a record 83 points at the 2012 London Olympics. With Canada failing to qualify in men’s basketball, the up-and-coming D’Tigers with a Canadian contributor might be a rooting interest for the Tokyo Olympics.

Agada played for the Honey Badgers in both the 2019 and ’20 Canadian Elite Basketball League seasons. He spent his first pro seasons in Spain’s second division. More recently, he has found a niche with Hapoel Be’er Sheva in the Israeli  League, where he averaged 22.9 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.4 steals last season.

Published reports have said that Agada will be playing for the Denver Nuggets team in the NBA Las Vegas Summer League in August, following the Tokyo Olympics.

Prior to going pro, Agada grew his game in Ontario University Athletics with the Ottawa Gee-Gees. He helped Ottawa win medals in three consecutive years at the CIS Final 8, with a bronze medal in 2013 and silvers in ’14 and ’15.

INsauga's Editorial Standards and Policies