Emmanuel Mudiay played in China while waiting to be eligible for the NBA under the league’s new age rules. He figured why not learn a bit about a new culture, make $1 million, and come back in time to be drafted 7th overall by the Denver Nuggets. That plan sounded better to the worldly 19-year-old Mudiay than a year at SMU in Dallas, where he was planning to go.
The 6’9″ future star wasted no time taking advantage of the marketing dollars available stateside either. Mudiay stars in a cool commercial for Foot Locker/Under Armour where he shows what big fulfilled basketball dreams can do: he gives his mom the keys to a new house for her birthday. (Before the draft, he gave her a “bouquet of food.”)
