While Hasheem Thabeet has often been viewed as an NBA bust for his lackluster and short career, in Africa — more specifically his native Tanzania — he is seen as a pioneer, legend and role model.

Back on “the continent,” Thabeet, the No. 2 pick in the 2009 NBA draft — selected ahead of such stars as James Harden, Stephen Curry and DeMar DeRozan — is still playing in the Basketball Africa League.

“I wish I could have played longer [in the NBA],” Thabeet, 39, told Andscape in a phone call from Pretoria, South Africa. “Yes. It didn’t happen. So what? Life goes on. You got to keep it moving. I look at it as it was another step for me to learn something.”

Standing 7-foot-3, Thabeet had tall expectations when he was selected by the Memphis Grizzlies in 2009. The UConn star was viewed as a generational defensive player after winning the Big East Defensive Player of the Year and NABC national Defensive Player of the Year awards twice, blocking 10 shots in a game three times and averaging 13.6 points, 10.8 rebounds and 4.2 blocks as a junior during the 2008-09 season. He was inducted into the UConn Athletics Hall of Fame this year.

Thabeet’s NBA career, however, spanned a mere five seasons as he struggled to adapt, averaging 2.2 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per game in 224 contests. After last playing in the NBA for the Oklahoma City Thunder during the 2013-14 season, Thabeet bounced around in the G League, Japan, Taiwan, China and now Tanzania.

“I was drafted so high, but I feel like I wasn’t the first priority, because you see these days you just don’t send a No. 2 [pick] to the G League,” Thabeet said. “So, I feel like there was so many things that happened to me where I was vulnerable. I didn’t know how to react, how to handle the situation. So, people can say whatever they want to say. It’s an opinion world these days. Everybody has their opinion. People who never played or played sports [on that level], they can say whatever they want to say. That is me now looking at it right now as a man.

“But as a young boy, of course I went through so much. So much frustration with myself. Frustration with the teams. There was a time where I felt like there was a breaking point. I stopped believing. You know what? I came from a very different world. I can’t put the burden on myself through this sport. I happened to fall in love with basketball. I got to keep it going. I can’t be like, ‘Oh, this is the guy who didn’t make it in the NBA and he quit in life.’ I’m different. I’m from a very different world.”

Thabeet didn’t begin playing organized basketball in his hometown of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, until he was 15 years old. Standing 6-8 at the time, he became intrigued by basketball after watching local pickup games and was allowed to join because of his height. There were no notable in-country basketball role models for Thabeet, as Tanzania is known for soccer players and marathon runners. Nevertheless, he went on to play for his secondary school’s basketball team.

When he had the ability to pay for web access in Tanzania, Thabeet reached out to several small colleges and high schools in the United States in 2005 in hopes of finding a place to pursue basketball. Having grown more than 7 feet tall, he also had to learn English, as his main languages were French and Swahili.

Thabeet attended Stoneridge Prep in Simi Valley, California, for a month, followed by Picayune (Miss.) Memorial High School for two months — until he was ruled ineligible because guardianship could not be established — before settling at Cypress Christian High School in Houston.

Comfortable in a smaller town like Storrs, Conn., he chose UConn over Louisville and Cincinnati, then became the first-ever Tanzanian drafted in the NBA in 2009.

Thabeet, Hakeem Olajuwon, Michael Olowokandi and Joel Embiid are the only Africans selected in the top three picks in NBA draft history. Thabeet is also the only East African to play in the NBA.

“I was very inspired by the [African] guys who played before me,” Thabeet said. “Rest in peace to the great Dikembe Mutombo and many more that I’ve met in settings like Basketball Without Borders, Giants of Africa with Masai [Ujiri], NBA Africa with Amadou [Fall]. I’ll go to these meetings and then they look at me like, ‘Man, you made it.’ And then I’m like, ‘Man, what if I played in the NBA for 20 years? Then these kids will think I’m a basketball god with what I’ve done just a few years in the pros.’ But they’re looking at me [positively]? I got to keep going.”

Today, Thabeet is playing the lead role in development of basketball in Tanzania and proudly playing for his country.

He was elected as the new president of the Tanzania Basketball Federation on Feb. 27 after securing 34 of 60 votes. Thabeet hopes to develop basketball players at the grassroots level all over Africa’s fifth-most populous nation, improve the basketball infrastructure and identify talent nationally. He will have quite a challenge on his hands; Tanzania men’s national basketball team has zero appearances in the FIBA World Cup or the Olympic Games and last played in the FIBA Africa Championships in 1974.

“I inspire a lot of kids back home. Kids are reaching out to me left and right,” Thabeet said. “If they need to get to school in the States, I’m able to connect them. There are a few kids that I sent. … I know a lot of them are not going to make it to the NBA. But they can become lawyers, they can become doctors. My perspective is, ‘I’ve done something through basketball and if I can pull [strings] here and there it’s good for me.’

“My whole thing is to inspire the youth and to tell them, ‘You have to keep growing in life. Life doesn’t stop because one situation didn’t work. You got to keep working and believing in whatever you believe in.’ And that is what kept me going. My goal has always been to help the youth back home because the game is why I am where I am today.”

Fall, president of the BAL, told Andscape that Thabeet told him nearly three years ago while attending the BAL playoffs about his goal to become president of the Tanzanian Basketball Federation. Thabeet has not only met that goal but is still inspiring African basketball players by playing in the BAL with Tanzania’s Dar City.

“We are very proud of Hasheem and the work he has done in such a short period of time,” Fall said. “Putting up the investment with his partners to start a team in his country, Tanzania. Playing on the team to qualify for BAL season six, after missing qualification in season five, it’s a story of resilience and perseverance. He was very intentional in his pursuit. …

“He is a huge role model for future generations, not only for youth in Tanzania but across Africa. An example of what it means to have a vision and ambition and to commit to doing what it takes to make it a reality.”

With Dar City, Thabeet also helped Tanzania place a team in the BAL for the first time in the league’s six years of existence.

Dar City secured its first-ever spot after a successful Road to BAL 2026 campaign by finishing qualifying play with a 6-1 record. Dar City routed the Johannesburg Giants 100-70 in its BAL opener last week with Thabeet having four points, three blocks and two rebounds in 24 minutes, followed by a 90-85 win against the Nairobi City Thunder on Sunday in which Thabeet had four points, 13 rebounds and a block. After a 118-97 loss on Tuesday to Al Ahly Ly Libya, Dar City (2-1) faces Petro de Luanda Angola on Saturday. In three games, Thabeet is averaging 3.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game.

Thabeet is excited not only to be a part of the BAL, but also to support what it is bringing to Africa.

“When I was coming out, we didn’t have really leagues going on,” Thabeet said. “Now with the BAL, the NBA created this opportunity for the local players to start learning the pro way before they can get out there. We didn’t have guys back then pulling our hands and showing us the way. But now we have a Basketball Africa League, which is like the Champions League of Africa. If you come to these settings, you see for yourself, this is like NBA settings.

“The way they accommodate the player, the meetings. We even have discussions where they talk about mental health and all that. So, it’s kind of a very big deal for African young guys right now. A lot of them are being inspired by the NBA guys, but not everybody gets a chance to go to that side so they can actually build up the name for themselves. There are NBA scouts at the games. So, I think it’s a very exciting time for young guys here in Africa in basketball. My countrymen are very excited for this opportunity, being that it’s our very first time ever to be in it.”

Thabeet’s goal is to continue to play into his 40s and influence Tanzanians and Africans to play basketball — a game he’s appreciative of for giving him the platform he has in Africa today.

“I believe basketball is everywhere,” Thabeet said. “Me being an African kid finding the game and just playing and getting to play at a high level, why should I stop now? Because I’m not in the NBA? I fell in love with the sport. I just got to keep it doing until I’m not enjoying doing it anymore. Then I’ll find something else to do. But I enjoy the game so much.”

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