Obiri Yeboah Kyei (born 3 December 1994) is an Australian-British professional basketball player for the Sydney Comets of NBL1 East. He played college basketball for NCAA Division II schools Metro State and Eckerd College.

Obi Kyei
Sydney Comets
PositionCenter
LeagueNBL1 East
Personal information
Born (1994-12-03) 3 December 1994 (age 29)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
NationalityAustralian / British
Listed height206 cm (6 ft 9 in)
Listed weight90 kg (198 lb)
Career information
High schoolSydney Secondary
(Sydney, New South Wales)
College
NBA draft2017: undrafted
Playing career2012–present
Career history
2012–2013Sydney Comets
2017Albury Wodonga Bandits
2017Cuxhaven BasCats
2017Leeds Force
2018Logan Thunder
2018–2019Força Lleida CE
2019–2020Adelaide 36ers
2021–2022Logan Thunder
2024–presentSydney Comets

Early life

edit

Kyei was born in Sydney, New South Wales,[1] to a Ghanaian father.[2] He attended Sydney Secondary College[3] and played in the Waratah League in 2012 and 2013 for the Sydney Comets.[4]

College career

edit

Kyei played college basketball for Metro State (2013–2015) and Eckerd College (2015–2017).[5]

Professional career

edit

In July 2017, Kyei had a one-game stint for the Albury Wodonga Bandits in the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL).[6]

Kyei joined Cuxhaven BasCats of the German ProB for the 2017–18 season. He played 10 games between 23 September and 18 November.[4] He subsequently joined the Leeds Force of the British Basketball League, where he played two games between 26 November and 1 December.[4]

Kyei joined the Logan Thunder of the Queensland Basketball League (QBL) for the 2018 season.[4]

In August 2018, Kyei signed with Força Lleida CE of the Spanish LEB Gold.[7]

On 21 May 2019, Kyei signed a two-year deal with the Adelaide 36ers of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL).[8] He averaged 3.3 points and 4.2 rebounds in 28 games played for the team.[9] On 29 September 2020, he was granted a release by the 36ers to pursue business interests.[9]

On 21 June 2021, Kyei joined the Logan Thunder of the NBL1 North for the remainder of the 2021 season.[10] He averaged 11.2 points and 10.2 rebounds per game in five games played.[11] He returned to the Thunder for the 2022 season and averaged 10.1 points and 11.4 rebounds in 11 games.[4]

Kyei joined the Sydney Comets of NBL1 East for the 2024 season.[12] His impressive start to the NBL1 season saw him gain NBL interest.[13]

Fashion career

edit

Kyei creates sustainable fashion for his label Obiri using vintage clothes and deadstock fabrics to produce new clothing.[14] He fronted the campaign for Champion Australia's sustainable Re:Bound collection in 2021.[14]

Personal life

edit

Kyei holds Australian and British dual citizenship.[1]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "Power forward Obi Kyei is a new player of Força Lleida". Spanish Basketball Federation. 3 August 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  2. ^ Jimma, Natal; Huntsdale, Justin (14 February 2020). "Australian basketball diversifies as 'tsunami' of African players hits NBL". ABC. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  3. ^ "Obi Kyei Bio - Metro State". Metropolitan State University of Denver Athletics. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Obi Kyei". Australiabasket.com. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  5. ^ "Obi Kyei Bio - Eckerd College". Eckerd College Athletics. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  6. ^ "Obi Kyei". SEABL. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  7. ^ "Kyei, Kearse Sign Professional Contracts in Spain". eckerdtritons.com. 14 August 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  8. ^ "36ers Complete #NBL20 Squad with Obi Kyei". Adelaide 36ers. 21 May 2019. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Adelaide 36ers Agree to Obi Kyei's Release". Adelaide 36ers. 29 September 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  10. ^ "NBL1 North McDonald's Logan Thunder Men Player Announcement: Obi Kyei". Logan Thunder. 21 June 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  11. ^ "Obi Kyei". NBL1. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  12. ^ "2024 NBL1 East Roster Tracker". NBL1. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  13. ^ "NBL1 stars reportedly gaining NBL interest". NBL1. 23 April 2024. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  14. ^ a b Bailey, Imogen (19 January 2021). "Champion ANZ recruits NBL basketballer turned designer for new campaign". Ragtrader. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
edit