You know it’s the offseason when the “Where Are You Now” series restarts on 213 Hoops. I annually review the careers of a few former Clippers since they left the team, focusing on players that have not stuck around the NBA that Clippers fans will know less about. First up in this offseason is Mfiondu Kabengele.
Clippers Tenure
Fi was taken by the Nets with the 27th pick in the 2019 Draft, but the Clippers traded for his rights on draft night, sending away a future pick. Drafted as a project, Fi had the outlines of a modern NBA big man with the potential ability to be a three-point shooter and rim protector, an extremely valuable combination. However, despite being almost 22 on draft day, Fi’s lack of feel was noticeable, and there were no expectations he would play much his rookie season. That was, also of course, the summer the Clippers acquired Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, so the team was going for a championship right away. It was a difficult spot to put a rookie.
Thus, Fi saw very little playing time his rookie season, logging just 12 games played, all in garbage time. That wasn’t unexpected. Unfortunately, what the Clippers saw behind the scenes troubled them so much that they declined Fi’s third-year team option as part of his first-round rookie contract, something that is very, very rarely ever done. As soon as they did that, Fi’s days as a Clipper were numbered. He played in 23 games in 2021, all in garbage time, before being traded to the Kings in a salary dump. In 35 games as a Clipper, Fi played more than 10 minutes just twice, an incredible sign of how little the coaching staff believed in him.
2021 Season
The Kings promptly waived Fi, who never played in game for them. The Cleveland Cavaliers swooped in and signed Fi to a 10-day deal, then another 10-day, and then finally to a rest-of-season deal. This tenure with the Cavs was by far the most he played in the NBA, appearing in 23 games and averaging 11.6 minutes per game. Sadly, despite the playing time, Fi’s stats did not tick up much, as the Cavaliers were tanking and not trying to win. During his time on the Cavs, Fi averaged 4.3 points and 2.9 rebounds while shooting 42.1% from the field and 28.1% from three.
2022 Season
Fi was signed to a training camp deal by the Rockets, but was nearly immediately waived, and signed with their G-League affiliate, the Rio Grande Vipers. He played the entire season for Rio Grande, appearing in 33 regular season games (starting 30) and 4 playoff games (starting all four), with pretty strong numbers. Importantly, Fi actually shot well from three, hitting 43.4% of his shots from deep on 3 attempts per game in the regular season while averaging 17.5 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. His three-point shooting dipped in the playoffs, but his raw production went up to 21.8 points and 12.3 rebounds. It was a nice season for Fi.
2023 Season
On the back of that G-League season and a strong Summer League, Fi earned a two-way deal with the Boston Celtics in the Summer of 2023. Despite that two-way deal, Fi spent nearly the entire season with the Maine Red Claws, logging a mere four games with the Celtics, all in garbage time. However, Fi thrived in Maine, 20 points, 10.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.1 blocks while shooting a staggering 60.4% from the field, 34.2% from three (2.9 attempts), and 79.1% from the line (3.4 attempts). Put simply, Fi was one of the best players in the G that year, and he received much deserved nods on the All G-League Second Team and All-Defensive Team.
2024 Season
After several years mostly playing in the G-League, Fi headed overseas in the summer of 2023, signing with AEK Athens of the Greek Basket League. However, Fi played in just 10 games for Athens before his contract was terminated (reason unclear, his stats look pretty good). He fairly quickly turned around and signed with an Italian team, Reyer Venezia of the LBA and EuroCup. Fi finished 18 regular season games with averages of 9.2 points and 6.6 rebounds on 55% shooting from the field, though he scored more in the EuroCup and Italian Cup games. Fi had a downswing in production compared to his G-League years, but that was probably a sign of the raised competition overseas compared to the G-League. One interesting thing happened, which is that Fi stopped taking so many threes – a reverse pivot from other players who have focused more on their shots over the years.
2025 Season
Venezia liked what they saw from Fi, as they signed him to a new deal for the 2025 season. Fi spent the whole season as a starter, appearing in 35 regular season games and 18 EuroCup games. His averages across both leagues were quite similar, with a combination of 15.3 points, 9.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 0.8 blocks on excellent scoring efficiency (he shot much better in EuroCup than domestic play). Venezia was around .500, and Fi led the team in scoring and rebounding by significant margins, even with former NBA players like Rodney McGruder (another former Clipper) and Tyler Ennis on the roster. It was a return to form for Fi, with the final cherry on top being an All First-Team EuroCup spot.
2026 Season
Fi’s 2025 success brought immediate dividends, as he signed in May 2025 with Dubai, which plays in the EuroLeague (the best league in the world outside of the US) and Adriatic Basketball League (ABA, another top 10 league). Across a very, very long top-level international season, Fi played in 68 games, and started 61. Dubai actually won the ABA League championship, with Fi voted as the Finals MVP and placing on the All ABA First Team. Dubai was only middling in EuroLeague, but still, Fi’s numbers of 14.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.7 blocks while shooting 56.3% from the field were quite good. Fi was third on the team in scoring and led the team in rebounding and blocks while playing with a host of former NBA players like McKinley Wright, Dwayne Bacon, Filip Petrusev, Justin Anderson, Davis Bertans, and Bruno Caboclo. Squarely in his prime at 28 years old, Fi had firmly placed himself as a top-flight starter at the very highest levels of basketball outside of the United States.
Future
Just last month Dubai announced that they had extended Fi’s contract through 2028, meaning he will be on the team another two seasons. International contracts are usually much more team-friendly than those in the NBA, so I don’t think it’s guaranteed Fi will stick around that long, but it’s a strong sign of commitment regardless. Fi may have found his long-term home for the rest of his basketball prime, and honestly, solidifying himself as a true Euroleague-level starter is about as good as your career can be outside the NBA. Somewhat shockingly, Fi has turned into probably the best player of any “Where Are They Now” guy I’ve done in quite a while. Good for Fi!
