At the age of 12, I knew what I wanted to be a professional basketball player. The thing I never knew was how this game would change my life and take me across the globe. I was able to get scholarships to play at schools like a mount Zion Christian academy where the likes of Tracy McGrady and Amar’e Stoudemire have dominated the court in previous years. I bounced around in Florida for a bit trying to find the perfect fit, but ended up taking my talents to Texas where I was the 4th-5th ranked player in the country, it resulted to me getting a scholarship to play division 1 basketball at the University of New Mexico State as an Aggie. I decided to come home to spend time with my family and friends and graduated from Central Commerce Collegiate. I've been blessed with the chance to attend and play in University and to play professionally in NBA G league, summer league, as well as to play overseas. After all those experiences I still feel like I haven’t fulfilled my purpose, which is to help open the eyes of my generation and younger generations to see that the slow grind is not as glamorous as a fast come up but the lessons we learn along the way and the journey is what makes it all beautiful.
Christian Kelenda-Kabongo