The argument for the Top 10 African players to have graced the NBA will likely become animated and heated after even just the first two names. Number one is obvious, as is number two, for many reasons.
Then it becomes interesting ... what parameters do we apply? Longevity in the league? Numbers of games and minutes played? Influence of the players on their teams? Championships won?
Everyone will have different opinions, but here KweséESPN has a go at selecting Africa's greatest NBA players ...
No 10: Gorgui Dieng
The Senegalese forward was selected by the Utah Jazz with the 21st pick in the 2013 Draft Class, one of the few Africans to be selected in the First Round. He was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves almost immediately, and it didn't take long before he made an impact at the franchise - the 22-point and 21-rebound game he had against the Houston Rockets in March 2014 was the first ever 20-20 game by a rookie in Wolves' history. Dieng is about to enter his fifth season in the League, and he is posting a career-average of 8.9 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.
No 9: DeSagana Diop
Next up is another Senegalese legend, DeSagana Diop, who played in the NBA for 11 seasons between 2002 and 2013. He has the distinction of being the first African to be drafted straight out of high school when his name was called out by the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had the eighth pick at the 2001 Draft. He spent four years in Cleveland, then moved between Dallas and New Jersey before ending his career in Charlotte with the Bobcats in 2013. He currently works at Utah as an associate coach with the Jazz.
No 8: Bismack Biyombo
Biyombo has spent six years in the NBA, played for three franchises and started 185 games. He is currently with the Orlando Magic, but will forever be remembered for his exploits with the Toronto Raptors in 2016, when he played 20 games, averaged 6.2 points per game and 9.4 rebounds. Those numbers were a wild leap from his usual regular season total at the time, but it gave a glimpse of what the Congolese forward is truly capable of. His numbers have since improved at the Magic, and we will likely hear the name Bismack Biyombo a lot more often.
No 7: Manute Bol
The second tallest player ever to be drafted into the NBA, Bol stood just a few centimetres shorter than Gheorghe Muresan at 7'7. The Sudanese-American played for four teams in the 13 years he spent in the NBA, and remains the only man ever to average more blocked shots than points in (3.3 blocks vs 2.6 points). He was named in the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 1986, and was the NBA blocks leader in 1986 and 1989.
No 6: Luc Mbah A Moute
The father of Cameroon players in the NBA, Luc has spent nine seasons at the top and donned the uniforms of five franchises, with most of those years spent with the Milwaukee Bucks. He has played 621 games, starting 438 of them, and logging 14 338 minutes of playing time. He was recently acquired by the Houston Rockets, his sixth team, after his contract with the LA Clippers expired.
No 5: Didier Ilunga-Mbenga
At number 5 is Ilunga-Mbenga, the giant Belgian/Congolese who was waived twice by the Dallas Mavericks and once by the Golden State Warriors, but then went on to play 29 post-season games with the LA Lakers, including three NBA Finals. In the 234 games he played in the NBA he started only four, but he picked up two titles and remains the only African, along with Hakeem Olajuwon, with two Championship rings.
No 4: Festus Ezeli
Like Mbenga, Ezeli has been unlucky with injuries. The Nigerian has lost two full seasons to injury since he was drafted in 2012, and spent a fair portion of the remaining three on the treatment table. He also won an NBA Championship with the Golden State Warriors in 2015, averaging 9.2 minutes per game over 20 matches in the Playoffs.
No 3: Luol Deng
Deng, who hails from South Sudan, is the only other Africa-born player other than Hakeem Olajuwon and Dikembe Mutombo to have been selected as an All-Star, where he represented the Eastern Conference in 2012 and 2013 while with Chicago Bulls. The Phoenix Suns took him with the seventh pick at the 2004 Draft and sent him to the Bulls the same night. He has since gone on to play for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat. He is currently with the LA Lakers.
No 2: Dikembe Mutombo
The man who is famous for wagging his finger after blocking an opponent's shot played 19 eventful seasons in the NBA from 1991. He was named an All-Star eight times, named in an All-NBA Team three times, was a four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, was named in an NBA All-Defensive Team six Times, an NBA Blocks leader three times, and NBA Rebound Leader twice. His number 55 jersey has been retired by both the Atlanta Hawks and Denver Nuggets, two of the six franchises he played for.
No 1: Hakeem Olajuwon
Olajuwon is the first African player to earn global recognition for the skills he brought to the NBA. Born in Lagos, Nigeria, he played 1 238 games in the NBA, clocking up a staggering 44 222 minutes. Olajuwon won two Championships with the Houston Rockets in 1994 and 1995 and was named MVP both times; that after he was named MVP of the NBA regular season in 1994. His 12 All-Star Game appearances remains comfortably the most by an African player; he was named into an All-NBA Team 12 times, making the first team in six of those. His All-NBA Defensive Team nominations are no less intimidating; he got 9 nominations, with five in the First Team, and his 3, 830 career blocks remain the most by any player in NBA history.