Meet Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu, Mavs' athletic freak with 7-4 wingspan and 48-inch vertical

Meet Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu, Mavs' athletic freak with 7-4 wingspan and 48-inch vertical originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

It takes more than length and athleticism to make the NBA, but that's a good place to start.

Very few players on the planet have those two traits in the way that Dallas Mavericks' Summer League eye-catcher Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu does.

Akobundu-Ehiogu's measurables are astounding.

He's 6-foot-10, but he has a 7-foot-4 wingspan.

And his max vertical? It's 48 inches.

Look at him fly:

Naw, apparently Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu, who is about 6’10” with a 7’4” wing span, has a 41” standing vertical and a 48” max vertical????

This is an alien in the same athletic tier as the Thompson twins pic.twitter.com/GBB1Zq9sUkhttps://t.co/2Phw07lDC5

— Point Made Basketball (@pointmadebball) July 16, 2026

So now the question becomes: Can he really make it?

MORE: Caleb Wilson fires a subtle shot at AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson

Who is Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu?

Akobundu-Ehiogu is a 26-year old forward for the Mavs trying to make it in the NBA.

He has played professionally in both Italy and Spain, most recently for EuroCup-participant Manresa in Spain.

Before that, he played Division I basketball at UT-Arlington and Memphis.

He never has averaged even 5.0 points per game in a season at the D-I level or for his international teams, so on paper, his skillset isn't there.

But jeez, you can dream on his athleticism and length.

It wouldn't be surprising to see the Mavs keep him with their G League team, just in case. It'd be painful to send KAE to the curb only for him to finally develop this insane athletic ability into real skills for a different organization.