| Nathan Mensah | |
| Position: | Center / power forward |
| Height M: | 2.10 |
| Weight Kg: | 105 |
| League: | NBA G League |
| Team: | Charlotte Hornets |
| Number: | 31 |
| Birth Date: | 9 April 1998 |
| Birth Place: | Accra, Ghana |
| High School: |
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| College: | San Diego State (2018–2023) |
| Draft Year: | 2023 |
| Career Start: | 2023 |
| Years1: | 2023–present |
| Team1: | Greensboro Swarm |
| Team2: | Charlotte Hornets |
| Years3: | 2023–2024 |
| Highlights: |
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Nathan Mensah (born 9 April 1998) is a Ghanaian professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets of the NBA . Known for his immense 7feet wingspan, he played college basketball for the San Diego State Aztecs.[1]
Mensah grew up playing soccer in Ghana. At the age of 13, he began playing basketball after being recruited to play in a tournament. Mensah was spotted by Kwaku Amoaku and moved to the United States to attend Prolific Prep. In August 2017, he averaged 13.8 points and 7.4 rebounds per game for Team Africa in the Adidas Global Nations event. Mensah transferred to Findlay Prep before his senior season. Rated a four-star recruit, Mensah committed to playing college basketball for San Diego State in October 2017, choosing the Aztecs over Oregon, Oregon State, USC and Texas Tech.[2]
As a freshman at San Diego State, Mensah averaged 5.6 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.[3] On 28 December 2019, Mensah requested to be substituted during the second half of a game against Cal Poly, due to shortness of breath. He was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism, forcing him to miss the remainder of the season.[4] Mensah averaged 6.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per game as a sophomore.[5] As a junior, he averaged 8.1 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.[6] Mensah was named Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year as a senior as well as Honorable Mention All-Mountain West,[7] and helped lead the Aztecs to their first Final Four and national championship game.
After going undrafted in the 2023 NBA draft, Mensah joined the Charlotte Hornets for the 2023 NBA Summer League. On 5 September 2023, he signed with the Hornets,[8] [9] but was waived on 21 October, prior to the start of the season.[10] Eight days later, he signed with the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA G League.[11] On 14 December, he signed a two-way contract with the Hornets[12] and the next day, he made his NBA debut in a 112–107 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. On 2 March 2024, he was waived by the Hornets[13] and two days later, he returned to Greensboro.[14]
|-| style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Charlotte| 25 || 0 || 12.3 || .429 || || .750 || 2.6 || .4 || .2 || .6 || 1.3|- class="sortbottom"| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career| 25 || 0 || 12.3 || .429 || || .750 || 2.6 || .4 || .2 || .6 || 1.3
|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2018–19| style="text-align:left;"| San Diego State| 34 || 20 || 18.9 || .541 || – || .708 || 5.5 || .6 || .3 || 1.1 || 5.6|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2019–20| style="text-align:left;"| San Diego State| 13 || 13 || 20.2 || .617 || – || .640 || 6.8 || .3 || .8 || 1.7 || 6.9|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2020–21| style="text-align:left;"| San Diego State| 28 || 27 || 21.4 || .579 || .000 || .600 || 6.1 || .6 || .6 || 1.4 || 8.1|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2021–22| style="text-align:left;"| San Diego State| 32 || 32 || 24.8 || .482 || .250 || .533 || 6.9 || .6 || .8 || 2.2 || 7.0|- class="sortbottom"|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2022–23| style="text-align:left;"| San Diego State| 39 || 38 || 20.8 || .521 || .500 || .648 || 5.9 || .6 || .7 || 1.6 || 6.0|- class="sortbottom"| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career| 146 || 130 || 21.3 || .539 || .222 || .622 || 6.2 || .6 || .6 || 1.6 || 6.6
Mensah is of the Christian faith.[15]