Pascal Siakam has quietly climbed the ranks of NBA stardom since entering the league in 2016.
The former Raptors standout already sits as one of his past employer’s greatest-ever talents, helping propel them to gold in just his third year with the team. Siakam followed up his postseason exploits with a pair of All-Star nods, all the while enrapturing a long-suffering fanbase one spin move at a time.
Since arriving in Indiana via trade, Siakam has gone from strength to strength. He has fit seamlessly with star guard Tyrese Haliburton, seeing his efficiency bubble as his franchise’s lead guard feeds him sumptuous passes. With his contract set to expire, Siakam is also expecting to receive a gaudy paycheck. All of that is not too bad for a man who hadn’t held a basketball until he was a teenager.
Siakam is one of Cameroon’s greatest NBA talents. Here’s what you need to know about his African roots.
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Where is Pascal Siakam from?
Siakam hails from Douala, Cameroon, the largest city in the central African country’s borders.
The 30-year-old comes from a hoop-crazed family. Each of his three brothers earned college scholarships in America: Boris at Western Kentucky, Christian at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) and James at Vanderbilt.
Pascal was different, however. He didn’t take to the other beautiful game, at least not at first glance. Rather, he attended a seminary school in Bafia, a small village located roughly 80 miles north of Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde.
Siakam wasn’t all that passionate about the prospect of becoming a priest. In fact, he came to detest those prospects and opted to act out in an attempt to free himself from the clutches of theology.
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Pascal Siakam home country
Siakam’s salvation would soon appear atop a hardwood floor. In the summer of 2011, he was allowed entry into countryman Luc Mbah a Moute’s basketball camp. Although he rarely played, his brothers’ basketball prowess earned him a spot.
Siakam showed signs of potential while gracing the floor that balmy summer day. One year later, he returned to Mbah a Moute’s camp. Once more, he impressed. For his efforts, he was rewarded with the ultimate golden ticket: a spot in the vaunted Basketball Without Borders program.
At Basketball Without Borders, Siakam did all the little things well: he leaped high to swat away shots and sprawled across the floor to scoop up loose balls. He was not the most refined player, particularly when it came to shooting. But he left his mark on all those who attended, including former Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri.
“His effort was memorable,” Ujiri told ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan in 2018.
For his efforts, Siakam landed a scholarship with preparatory school God’s Academy in Lewisville, Texas. He was far from the finished article, New Mexico State head coach Marvin Menzies said.
“The skillset wasn’t great,” Menzies told Ivan Bekavac in 2018.
However, that endurance and energy continued to show up in spades, even in an entirely new environment.
“The motor was fantastic,” Menzies added. “He had this innate, natural thing that sometimes you can’t coach. When he first landed in Texas, he brought that with him. And he’s just never lost it.”
Siakam joined Menzies’ budding program one year later. The Raptors then took Siakam with the No. 27 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft.
He captured an NBA title with Toronto in 2019 and racked up two All-Star appearances, two All-NBA team selections and a Most Improved Player award during his time in the Six. He was traded to the Pacers in January in a three-team deal between Toronto, Indiana and New Orleans.
Siakam is locked into a four-year, $ 136,905,216 that expires after this season. He’ll enter free agency during the offseason.
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Where is Cameroon?
Cameroon is located in central Africa, just below Nigeria and Chad. The country also borders Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Congo and the Central African Republic.
The country lies on the coast of the Bight of Bonny.
Siakam was born and raised in Douala, the most populous city in Cameroon. Douala is estimated to have around 5 million people living within its jurisdiction.
Notable NBA players from Cameroon
Cameroon has become an increasingly popular place for NBA players to emerge out of. Siakam and Joel Embiid are the most prominent names. However, they’re not the only ones.
Here’s a look at Cameroonians to have played in the NBA:
| Slovenian NBA Players | Years in NBA |
| Pascal Siakam | 8* |
| Joel Embiid | 8* |
| D.J. Strawberry** | 1 |
| Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje | 3 |
| Luc Mbah a Moute | 12 |
| Christian Koloko | 1 |
* Active player
** Naturalized citizen
