Chimezie Metu is heading to Spain to play for FC Barcelona. That is what has been reported by Evan Sidery of Forbes Sports. The 27-year-old will be heading overseas after spending the last six seasons in the NBA with four different teams.
Chimezie Metu has signed an overseas contract with FC Barcelona.
Metu spent this season with the Suns and Pistons averaging 6.5 points per game. pic.twitter.com/68dXEaTw0l
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) July 24, 2024
Chimezie Metu Agrees To Deal With FC Barcelona
After playing three seasons collegiately with USC, Metu was selected in the second round (49th overall) in the 2018 NBA Draft by the San Antonio Spurs. He declared for the draft after his junior year where he was named First Team All-Pac 12. The six-foot-nine forward/center played his first two seasons with San Antonio. In the following three seasons from 2020-21 to 2022-23, he was a member of the Sacramento Kings.
Metu began the 2023-24 season with the Phoenix Suns. In 37 games with the team, he posted averages of 5.0 points and 3.0 rebounds in 12.1 minutes. He actually scored a career-high 23 points on Christmas Day for Phoenix against the Dallas Mavericks. At the trade deadline, Metu was involved in a three-team deal that sent him to the Memphis Grizzlies. He was subsequently waived by Memphis.
In late March, Metu signed a 10-day contract with the Detroit Pistons. Once that expired, he was signed for the rest of the season. Metu averaged 29.4 minutes per contest in his 14 outings with a bad Detroit team that was just looking to finish out the season. With them, he would average 10.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.7 steals.
The most productive of Metu’s seasons in the league came in 2021-22 with Sacramento. That season, he made more than half of his career starts (20 of 38) and averaged a career-high 21.3 minutes per game. That season, Metu had per-game averages of 8.9 points and 5.6 rebounds.
In 260 career regular season games, Metu has averages of 5.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 0.8 assists in 13.7 minutes. He has career shooting marks of 49.5% from the field, 29.8% from three-point range, and 78.7% from the free-throw line.
Joining A Legendary Team In Spain
Many well-known basketball players have appeared with FC Barcelona throughout the years. Fans of the NBA are well aware of names such as Pau Gasol, Marc Gasol, Ricky Rubio, Nikola Mirotic, Anderson Varejao, and Rony Seikaly.
Last season, they employed many former NBA players including Rubio, Jan Vesely, Jabari Parker, Willy Hernangomez, Tomas Satoransky, and Alex Abrines. They were the runner-up in the Spanish Liga ACB last season, a league they have won 10 times since 2000. Metu will look to help add to their legacy starting in 2024-25.
