1. Talib Zanna played college basketball for the Pittsburgh Panthers before playing professionally in the NBA G League, France, Israel, Spain, Turkey, Bulgaria, Dominican Republic, and Croatia.
35 Facts About Talib Zanna
1. 2.
Talib Zanna was brought up with three brothers and two sisters.
3.
Talib Zanna began playing basketball at the age of 10 years because of a growth spurt and urging from his brother.
4.
Talib Zanna ran mountains to improve his speed, fitness, and vertical leap.
5.
Talib Zanna was eventually discovered by American coaches in a camp run by ex-Georgetown player, Godwin Owinje, in Lagos.
6.
Talib Zanna called his father with the desire to return to Nigeria.
7.
Talib Zanna later visited South Africa for "Basketball Without Borders," with several other players, including Serge Ibaka, Dikembe Mutombo, Dirk Nowitzki and Luol Deng.
8.
Talib Zanna said seeing an NBA player in person was a great experience.
9.
Talib Zanna stated that it made him want to be in their position.
10.
Talib Zanna finished his sophomore season by posting 17 points and 15 rebounds against Paul VI Catholic High School in the WCAC Tournament quarter-finals.
11.
Talib Zanna was marked one of the top candidates for All-MET honors.
12.
On 19 November 2008, Talib Zanna signed a National Letter of Intent to play college basketball for the University of Pittsburgh.
13.
Talib Zanna was recruited by Boston College, Connecticut, Oklahoma, Providence, South Florida, Saint Joseph's, Villanova, and West Virginia.
14.
Talib Zanna registered three double-doubles, nine double figure scoring games and four double figure rebounding games, and at the end of season team banquet, he earned Best Defensive Player honors.
15.
Talib Zanna totaled three 20-point games, 14 double figure scoring games and four double figure rebounding games, and at the end of season team banquet, he earned the Coaches' Award.
16.
Talib Zanna appeared in all seven of Oklahoma City's preseason contests, averaging 4.4 points and 5.0 rebounds in 17.4 minutes per game before he was waived by the team on October 24,2014.
17.
Talib Zanna recorded eight double-doubles in his first 13 games, including four straight to begin the season.
18.
In July 2015, Talib Zanna joined the Oklahoma City Thunder for the Orlando Summer League and the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Las Vegas Summer League.
19.
In July 2016, Talib Zanna joined the D-League Select Team for the 2016 NBA Summer League.
20.
Talib Zanna helped Nes Ziona reach the 2018 Israeli League Playoffs, where they eventually were eliminated by Maccabi Tel Aviv.
21.
On July 31,2018, Talib Zanna signed a one-year deal with the Spanish team Fuenlabrada.
22.
On November 28,2018, Talib Zanna parted ways with Fuenlabrada after appearing in 14 games.
23.
On January 8,2019, Talib Zanna returned to Ironi Nes Ziona for a second stint, replacing Gerald Lee.
24.
On September 22,2019, Talib Zanna signed a one-year deal with Afyon Belediye of the Turkish Basketbol Super Ligi.
25.
On May 15,2020, Talib Zanna signed with Hapoel Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League.
26.
Talib Zanna averaged 10.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game in 11 games during June and July 2020.
27.
Talib Zanna appeared in three Israeli League games, three Balkan League games, and one BCL game, with his final game coming on November 16,2020.
28.
On January 12,2022, Talib Zanna was acquired by the Long Island Nets of the NBA G League.
29.
In January 2024, Talib Zanna joined Spartak of the Bulgarian National Basketball League.
30.
In July 2024, Talib Zanna had a 10-game stint with Caneros del Este of the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto.
31.
In October 2024, Talib Zanna had an eight-game stint with KK Cibona of the Adriatic League and the Croatian League.
32.
In March 2025, Talib Zanna joined the Tauranga Whai of the New Zealand National Basketball League for the 2025 season.
33.
Talib Zanna played for Nigeria at the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
34.
Talib Zanna's father died not long after he committed to Pittsburgh.
35.
Talib Zanna is fluent in four different languages and could speak English before arriving in the United States in 2006.