Mordi proud of roots, representing homeland

Jeremiah Mordi plays with pride no matter the uniform he wears — including, of course, the black and gold of the London Lightning. But playing for his birth country holds special meaning for the veteran guard.

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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For Jeremiah Mordi, basketball has always been a chance to reach for something larger than himself – be it realizing a lifelong dream of playing the sport he loves professionally or striving for back-to-back championships with teammates in London.

But of all his ambitions, representing his homeland on the hardwood – especially at the game’s highest level – has long held special meaning for the London Lightning shooting guard and his family.

“This was the NBA of Africa after all.”

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Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Mordi’s family moved to The States “chasing the American Dream” when he was 5 years old. It’s understandable that memories of his homeland are so few, but they run thick for his adopted home in Queens.

There, on Long Island, he was immersed in basketball. Although he played a bit of football, he abandoned the gridiron for his parents, and instead opted to hoop full time. Starting in junior high and high school, he chased a new dream of being a professional basketball player.

The 6-foot-4 Mordi was All-Conference in his junior and senior years at Valley Stream Central (N.Y.) before joining the Queen’s College (N.Y.) Knights. There, he ranked among the institution’s all-time leaders in points (1,285) points and rebounds (529). He was only the 12th player in Queen’s hoops history to surpass the one thousand-point plateau.

It was also there where Mordi first had serious thoughts of representing his homeland. In an interview with The Guardian Nigeria News in January 2016, he expressed his belief that Nigeria leagues have the capacity to rise to NBA standards if the basic infrastructure were put in place for local players.

He was not shy about his personal desires, either, telling the paper his target was to play for the Nigerian men’s basketball team in the (Rio) Olympics in 2016.

“My ambition has been to play for the Nigerian team ever since I started playing basketball,” the then-23-year-old told The Nation (Lagos State, Nigeria) in January 2016. “My resolve was strengthened after I watched the team play at the 2012 London Olympic Games. I was happy to see my country play in the basketball event of the Olympics, and I felt I had a chance if given an opportunity by the team handlers.”

At those London Games, Nigeria (1-4) finished 10th in men’s basketball. Mordi particularly remembered that game against the Americans and the so-called “Redeem Team,” featuring Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Kevin Durant and somehow even more stars. While Nigeria lost 156-73, seeing his countrymen on the same stage as the game’s biggest stars left an impression.

He continued to the paper, “I have put in so much hard work into my game. Getting the basics at high school have prepared me for the challenge ahead. As an athlete, I have always worked hard and playing at the highest level for the Nigerian team will be a dream come true. I saw them play against the USA at the last Olympics and I was impressed, though they lost. But the team has grown. I must say that I am happy to see basketball grow in the country.”

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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In 2017, Mordi joined the Saint John Riptide in the NBL Canada, where he had an instant impact, averaging 11.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.0 assists while starting 31 of 37 games.

When financial difficulties folded the Riptide franchise before the 2019-20 season, Mordi joined the Moncton Magic. He was having perhaps his best NBL Canada season yet (16.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.8 assists) when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancelation of the season.

At the time of the cancelation, Moncton was running away with the Atlantic Division by 6.5 games and were most likely headed to an NBL Canada Finals clash with the Lightning, led by first-year head coach Doug Plumb.

At the end of that season, Mordi was named both NBL Canada’s Most Improved Player and a member of the All-NBLC First Team.

In 2020-21, when the NBL Canada canceled its season, Mordi signed with Caen BC (France). Head coach Fabrice Courcier recruited Mordi as “an altruistic player who could score, play the others, and take rebounds. He has the ambition to enter the collective and work to go even higher.”

That first European exposure with the Calvados was perhaps just the showcase Mordi needed to realize his dream of finally representing his country. Soon after that season, current Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Brown, who also helms the Nigerian National Team, reached out seeking to round out his roster for FIBA AfroBasket 2021 in Rwanda.

“He was looking for the best available Nigerian players around. I was actually at a family barbecue when he called. He called me out of nowhere and asked if I could get on a flight in a few days to come to training camp,” Mordi said.

“It was literally out of the blue. I had no contact with him prior, no connection with him. But it goes to show you that somebody’s always watching, and you never know.”

Mordi was his usual steady self in AfroBasket, averaging 8.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.8 assists over four games. Nigeria finished 2-2 in the event and placed 12th overall.

“It was my first national tournament. It was a great tournament, very exciting,” said Mordi, who found his own game elevating alongside the level of competition he faced on the international stage.

It was during AfroBasket when Mordi was spotted by George Galanopoulos, head coach of Uganda’s National Team – and the Texas Legends of the NBA’s G League.

“I had a good game against their team (12 points, 4-of-5 shooting from 3). He liked how I played. So, he invited me to my first G League training camp to compete against 16 or 17 guys for 11 spots. I made the final roster, so that was a great opportunity that came from that.”

Despite making the initial roster, though, Mordi never played with the Legends, as he was waived by the Dallas Mavericks-connected franchise in November 2021 without seeing game action. That near-NBA experience, however, set him up for his biggest exposure.

(Photo: FIBA).

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In February 2023, Mordi joined the London Lightning a month into the season, and then proceeded to post four double-doubles in his first five games (all, strangely enough, against the Windsor Express). It was a stirring debut – one put on hold when the Basketball Africa League (BAL) called.

“It was probably going to be the highest level of competition I’ve played so far.”

The BAL is a partnership between the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the NBA – the NBA’s first collaboration to operate a league outside North America.

Headquartered in Dakar, Senegal, the league features 12 club teams from across Africa. Entering its fourth season, the league looks to provide a high-profile platform for African players to showcase their talent and pave a potential path to North American and European professional leagues. It has proven popular with the continent’s huge, tech-savvy, and young population.

While recruiting players for the league’s second year, many team officials turned to the G League seeking African talent.

“Thanks to Canada, Europe, the G League, and the national team, I had a high professional profile,” said Mordi, who performed well at the BAL combine and earned a contract offer from the Kwara Falcons.

“I definitely took it. Thankfully, Doug and the Lightning allowed me to leave the team, briefly.”

Based in Ilorin, Kwara, Nigeria, the Falcons won the Nigerian Premier League in 2022 and qualified for the BAL’s 2023 season where they were slotted into the Sahara Conference for group phrase.

The BAL season is short – a five-game regular season over three weeks and then two weeks of playoffs. It was a whirlwind for Mordi, who barely had time to learn his teammates’ names before play started. As an existing team, the Falcons brought its local championship roster to the BAL, picking up about four other players from the combine and one more import to compete with the team in the BAL.

“Honestly, you don’t have much space to practice. You just do everything on the fly. But that’s our job –– you learn the systems, learn them quickly and on the fly, and then perform out there.”

Outside of being among the ‘new guys’, Mordi was also the vet of the team, the oldest player among a younger crew, including an 18-year-old captain.

“My game is pretty good. At this point in my career, I can pretty much play anywhere. I didn’t need much of an adjustment period. From the first game on, I kept getting better as my performances, but as a team we didn’t play as well as we could have,” he said. “We had a younger team. It’s tough when a new group of guys come together.”

Mordi was among a trio of team leaders in points (8.6) and rebounds (6.6) per game, as well as its most reliable shooter from the field (46.9%) and three (87.5%). His double-double (14 points and 14 rebounds) nearly pushed the Falcons to a lone victory in the team’s closing 79-76 loss to Abidjan.

Despite the Kwara Falcons finishing 0-5 in the tourney, Mordi saw the team and league as a success.

“The fans love it out there. They’re so incredibly supportive. I had fans asking me for my jersey off my back and they were not even Nigerian. They showed a lot of love. They really appreciated a high-level basketball league out there,” Mordi said.

“It was magnificent. I’ve always tried to play at a high level. To play in the NBA-affiliate league on my home turf, where I’m from, it was a great experience. It was maybe a top three basketball experience so far in my career.”

Maybe it was the fact his dad nearly hopped a last-minute plane from his New York home to Kigali, Rwanda, but Mordi had a pretty good idea his family was proud of him playing basketball at the highest level on his home continent.

“All our games were on NBA-TV. So, everybody back home could watch me. Everybody dreams of playing in front of friends and family on TV – and we were with prime-time games,” he said. “Anytime I can represent and do something that I love at a high level, that always makes everybody back home proud.”

During his BAL experience, Mordi missed eight games with the Lightning. During that time, the team went 5-3.

“That was part of the deal when he came here,” Plumb said. “I said, ‘Look, man, you need to go represent your country.’”

Mordi rejoined the Lightning on March 29, and he immediately posted another double-double against, yes, the Express. He continued that dominance for the remainder of the regular season and into the playoffs. He was a monster performer in the NBL Canada Finals against Windsor, wrapping up the title with a triple-double (37 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists) in the decisive Game 5.

(Photo: Barry Field Photography).

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In London, Mordi has found a home in his second year with the Lightning. With a championship in hand, he is viewed by coaches as a leader on a squad returning only three players from last year’s title run.

“Mordi is a fantastic leader. He’s world class. He’s as good of a teammate as you’re going to find anywhere, anyplace. He is a relentless worker. He’s the first guy there. He’s the last guy to leave. He takes relentless care of his body. He sets a great tone for the rest of the guys that follow his lead,” Plumb said.

His head coach has liked what he’s seen thus far in the new season, although he’s unsurprised at Mordi’s development given a more favourable environment.

“He’s been much more vocal this year,” Plumb said. “There were certain people he didn’t really jive with on the team last year because he will demand excellence of you daily. He’s so meticulously prepared both in his physical and his mental approach that he expects you to be on board as well. He doesn’t have a lot of patience for guys to do things the wrong way – and that rubs some people the wrong way. Well, those guys aren’t here anymore because I agree with how he approaches the game.”

Plumb continued, “He’s our kind of guy. Every time he had a bad game last year – every single time – he responded and had a monster game the next game. That’s just the kind of guy he is.”

Mordi did not attend the BAL combine earlier this month in Morocco as the league gears up for its fourth season. But as his career has shown, that doesn’t mean the call won’t come. He played well last year, enough to get attention this year. So, if that call comes, he will answer – but it won’t be his immediate concern.

“That is going to come second to London,” he said. “We have a mission that we want to win this first championship, as well as two-peat for me and three-peat for the organization for the first year of the Basketball Super League. I’m just really focused on that. That’s our main focus right now. If a BAL opportunity comes along, and it doesn’t interfere with that, and the team and organization allow me to go, I’ll pursue it if it makes sense. But that’s not my main focus right now.”