Wenyen Gabriel (born March 26, 1997) is a South Sudanese-American professional basketball player for the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
2014
Gabriel attended Wilbraham & Monson Academy in Wilbraham, Massachusetts since 2014.
Prior to that, he played at Trinity High School in Manchester, New Hampshire for three years.
2015
As a senior in 2015-16, he averaged 22.0 points per game, 14.0 rebounds per game, 7.0 blocks per game and 6.3 assists per game.
In October 2015, he announced his decision to enroll at the University of Kentucky.
Maryland, Duke, UConn and Providence were other schools on his shortlist.
2016
He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats, after being a 5-star prospect in 2016, ranked as high as #14 on ESPN's Top 100.
Gabriel has also played in the NBA for the Sacramento Kings, Portland Trail Blazers, New Orleans Pelicans, Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Clippers and the Los Angeles Lakers.
He played 19:17 minutes in the 2016 Nike Hoop Summit, scoring two points, grabbing four rebounds and dishing out two assists.
He also played in the 2016 Jordan Brand Classic.
Gabriel was rated as a five-star recruit and ranked #14 in the Class of 2016 by ESPN.
He made his debut for the Kentucky Wildcats in an exhibition game on October 31, 2016 against Clarion University, tallying nine points, two rebounds and one assist in 17 minutes coming off the bench.
As a freshman, he played in 38 games, including 23 starts, averaging 4.6 points and 4.8 rebounds in 17.8 minutes.
During his sophomore year, Gabriel became more of a key figure for Kentucky's success that season, tallying 6.8 points and 5.4 rebounds in 37 games.
He led Kentucky with 40 blocked shots.
2018
Gabriel declared for the 2018 NBA draft, but went undrafted.
He joined the Sacramento Kings for the 2018 NBA Summer League.
On July 31, 2018, he signed a two-way contract with the Kings.
However, he did not appear in a game during that season.
2019
Just prior to the start of the 2019–20 season, the Kings converted Gabriel’s contract to a standard deal.
He had a double-double of 16 points and 16 rebounds for the Stockton Kings on December 20, 2019, in a win over the Delaware Blue Coats.
2020
On January 11, 2020, Gabriel had 37 points, 11 rebounds and three assists for Stockton in its 163–143 win over the Iowa Wolves.
On January 20, 2020, Gabriel was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers along with Trevor Ariza and Caleb Swanigan in exchange for Kent Bazemore, Anthony Tolliver and two future second round picks.
He made his debut for the Trail Blazers on January 31, going 0-for-3 from the field with one rebound, one assist and a block in 13 minutes as the Blazers defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 127–119.
On November 30, 2020, Gabriel signed with the New Orleans Pelicans.
He was waived just prior to the start of the 2021–22 season.
In October 2021, Gabriel joined the Wisconsin Herd as an affiliate player.
In 12 games he averaged 13.8 points on 47.5 percent shooting from the field and 38.7 percent shooting from 3-point range, 8.6 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.1 steals and 2.0 blocks in 25.8 minutes per contest.
On December 21, 2021, Gabriel signed a 10-day contract with the Brooklyn Nets.
On December 31, 2021, Gabriel signed a 10-day contract with the Los Angeles Clippers.
He signed a third 10-day contract with the Clippers on January 11, 2022.
Following the expiration of his second 10-day contract, Gabriel was re-acquired by the Wisconsin Herd on January 21.
On January 29, 2022, Gabriel signed a 10-day contract with the New Orleans Pelicans.
He did not play in a game for the Pelicans before his deal expired.
On February 8, he was reacquired by the Herd.
On March 1, 2022, Gabriel signed a two-way contract with the Los Angeles Lakers.
On April 8, 2022, the Los Angeles Lakers converted Gabriel's two-way contract into a two-year standard contract.
On October 3, 2023, Gabriel signed with the Boston Celtics, but was waived on October 20.
On October 30, 2023, Gabriel joined the Wisconsin Herd and on March 8, 2024, he signed a 10-day contract with the Memphis Grizzlies.
Gabriel joined the South Sudan national team in August 2023, as he was selected in the roster for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, where South Sudan made their international debut.
