Panathinaikos BC OPAP announces a two-year agreement with Ben Bentil.
Benjamin "Ben" Bentil (born March 29, 1995) is a Ghanaian professional basketball player who played two seasons of college basketball for Providence before being drafted 51st overall by the Boston Celtics in the 2016 NBA draft.
Bentil and his family moved from Ghana to the United States when he was 15. He played for the school's soccer and basketball teams, ultimately earning a basketball scholarship at Providence. As a freshman at Providence College, Bentil started 23 of the Friars' 34 games, while averaging 6.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and 21.5 minutes per game.
Bentil broke out during his sophomore campaign, and he and teammate Kris Dunn – a consensus All-American – became one of the top one-two punches in college basketball. He led the Big East Conference with 21.1 points per game and 7.7 rebounds per game On March 23, 2016, Bentil declared for the NBA draft, forgoing his final two years of college eligibility.
On June 23, 2016, Bentil was selected by the Boston Celtics with the 51st overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft. He signed with the Celtics on July 27, 2016, but was waived on October 21 after appearing in three preseason games. Three days later, he was signed and waived by the Indiana Pacers. On October 31, he was acquired by the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA Development League as an affiliate player of the Pacers. After appearing in just a single D-League game for the Mad Ants, he left the team in mid-November in order to play in China (Xinjiang Flying Tigers).
He left Xinjiang in late December 2016 after appearing in 11 games. On January 16, 2017, Bentil returned to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. On February 26, 2017, Bentil signed a 10-day contract with the Dallas Mavericks. He made his NBA debut three days later in the Mavericks' 100–95 loss to the Atlanta Hawks, becoming the first player born in Ghana to play in the NBA. On March 8, 2017, after two more games with the Mavericks, the 10-day contract expired and returned to the Mad Ants.
Bentil was included in San Antonio Spurs roster for 2017 NBA Summer League. On August 28, 2017, he signed a deal with the Champagne Châlons-Reims Basket out in France's LNB Pro A. In February 2018, Bentil left Châlons-Reims and signed with Bilbao Basket in Spain for the remainder of the season.
On September 25, 2018, Bentil signed with Peristeri in Greece. He averaged 12.5 points and 6.7 rebounds in 35 games in the Greek Basket League.
Stats
COLLEGE
Season | School | Conf | G | 2P% | 3P% | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PTS |
34 | .465 | .300 | .695 | 2.3 | 2.6 | 4.9 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 6.4 | |||
35 | .517 | .329 | .782 | 2.7 | 5.0 | 7.7 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 21.1 | |||
Career | Providence | 69 | .503 | .324 | .761 | 2.5 | 3.8 | 6.3 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 13.8 |
OTHER COMPETITION
