Luc Mbah a Moute

Mbah a Moute attended Montverde Academy in Florida from 2001 to 2005, where he was coached by Kevin Sutton.^[2] Soon, he would be Westwood-bound to play for Ben Howland and UCLA.

As a freshman in 2005–06, Mbah a Moute led the Pac-10 Champion Bruins in rebounding. Mbah a Moute led or tied for the lead for the Bruins in rebounding in 27 regular-season games. In the NCAA tournament, Mbah a Moute scored the winning layup at the end of a comeback win over Gonzaga in the Sweet 16. Mbah a Moute also posted 17 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 assist in a Final Four victory over LSU. For the year, Mbah a Moute averaged 8.9 points and 8.1 rebounds, and he was named Pac-10 Freshman of the Year.^[3]

He became something of a cult phenomenon among the UCLA faithful. Along with fellow Cameroonian Alfred Aboya, the dynamic duo sparked the "Cameroon Crazies" (a take-off of Duke's "Cameron Crazies" fans) section, along with an enormously popular T-shirt which read "Moute Kicks Boute".^[4] Mbah a Moute himself became known as The Fresh Prince of Africa, after the television show of the same name.^[5]

His mother, Goufane a Ziem Agnes Bertine, and his father, Camille Moute à Bidias, had never seen him play for UCLA until they came from Cameroon to attend the Final Four of the 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.^[6] During the 2008 season, his team had a record of 35–4 and won their third straight Pac-10 title and made their third straight NCAA Final Four.

Mbah a Moute ended his UCLA career with an honorable mention All-Pac-10, honorable mention Pac-10 All-Defensive Team selection and a fifth-place finish in scoring (8.8 ppg). He is ranked the No. 15 rebounder with a total of 775 rebounds.

Mbah a Moute became the first player to start in three straight Final Fours at UCLA in 34 years. Bill Walton, Jamaal Wilkes, and Greg Lee (1972–74) were the last players at UCLA, and Andre Hutson and Charlie Bell of Michigan State (1999–2001) were the last to do so.

 

Mbah a Moute gave up his final year of college eligibility at UCLA to enter the 2008 NBA draft, in which he was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 37th overall pick.^[7] Mbah a Moute got off to a quick start with the Bucks and quickly became a fan favorite. His strong play, especially on defense, led to him overtaking Charlie Villanueva as the Bucks' starting power forward only nine games into the season. In his second game as a starter, Mbah a Moute posted career highs of 19 points and 17 rebounds in a 101–96 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. Bucks head coach Scott Skiles and general manager John Hammond both praised Mbah a Moute's defensive skills.^[8]

After the 2010–11 season, Mbah a Moute became a restricted free agent. On 10 December 2011, he received a four-year, $18.7 million offer sheet from the Denver Nuggets. Three days later, the Bucks matched the offer sheet, re-signing Mbah a Moute.^[9]

On 12 July 2013, Mbah a Moute was traded to the Sacramento Kings.^[10]

On 26 November 2013, Mbah a Moute was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Derrick Williams.^[11]

On 23 August 2014, a three-team trade was completed, involving the Timberwolves, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Philadelphia 76ers. As part of the deal, Mbah a Moute and teammate Alexey Shved were traded to the Sixers, along with a 2015 first round draft pick from Cleveland. The Cavaliers received Kevin Love from Minnesota, whereas the Wolves received Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett from Cleveland and Thaddeus Young from Philadelphia.^[12] It united him with Joel Embiid, a fellow Cameroonian he had invited to his Basketball Without Borders camp in 2011 and who had been selected by the 76ers with their 2014 first round pick.^[13]

On 14 July 2015, Mbah a Moute signed with the Sacramento Kings once again.^[14] However, two days later, his contract was voided by the Kings after he failed his physical examination.^[15] Mbah a Moute felt he was mistreated by the Kings and filed grievance against the team. He later passed a medical test in order to compete for Team Africa at the 2015 NBA Africa exhibition game on 1 August.^[16]

On 25 September 2015, Mbah a Moute signed with the Los Angeles Clippers.^[17] Midway through the 2015–16 season, the Clippers placed Mbah a Moute in the starting lineup.

On 8 July 2016, Mbah a Moute re-signed with the Clippers.^[18] On 21 April 2017, in Game 3 of the Clippers' first-round playoff series against the Utah Jazz, Mbah a Moute scored a career playoff-high 15 points to help the Clippers win 111–106, taking a 2–1 lead in the series.^[19] The Clippers went on to lose the series to the Jazz in seven games.

On 19 July 2017, Mbah a Moute signed with the Houston Rockets.^[20] On 22 November 2017, in a 125–95 win against the Denver Nuggets, Mbah a Moute finished with a plus–minus of +57, the highest in an NBA game in 20 years. He was a perfect 5-of-5 shooting for 13 points in 26 minutes, during which the Rockets outscored the Nuggets 93–36.^[21] On 14 December 2017, he was ruled out for two to three weeks with a shoulder injury.^[22] Mbah a Moute dislocated his shoulder for a second time on 10 April 2018, in a 105–99 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.^[23] He subsequently missed the first round of the playoffs.^[24]

On 19 July 2018, Mbah a Moute signed with the Los Angeles Clippers, returning to the franchise for a second stint.^[25] He appeared in just four games for the Clippers in 2018–19 after injuring his left knee in a game against the New Orleans Pelicans on 23 October 2018.^[26] He initially underwent various non-surgical treatment options before ultimately undergoing a partial medial meniscectomy on his left knee, with medial femoral condyle chondroplasty, on 28 March 2019.^[26] He was subsequently waived by the Clippers on 7 April.^[27]

On July 7, 2020, the Houston Rockets announced that they had signed Mbah a Moute.^[28]

Mbah a Moute is a prince in the village of Bia Messe in the district of Bafia (near Yaoundé),^[29] as he is a son of the elected village chief, Camille Mouté à Bidias. His father is a high-ranking government official, managing the National Employment Fund of Cameroon, a training and job-placement national agency. Mbah a Moute is the twin brother of Emmanuel Bidias a Moute, who played basketball for Texas State University. His younger brother, Roger Moute a Bidias, was a basketball player for the California Golden Bears.^[30] Luc Mbah a Moute married Aurelie Van Assche on February 15, 2020, in Yaoundé, their hometown.^[31]

Mbah a Moute helped discover Cameroonian center Joel Embiid, the third overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft and eventual teammate on the Philadelphia 76ers.^[32] He also helped discover another Cameroonian player, power forward Pascal Siakam, the 27th pick in the 2016 NBA draft.^[33] and NBA G-League 2017-18 Defensive Player of the Year Landry Nnoko.

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Luc Mbah a Moute.

• Career statistics from NBA.com and Basketball Reference
• UCLA bio