Talk:D. J. Mbenga

This article must adhere to the biographies of living persons (BLP) policy, even if it is not a biography, because it contains material about living persons. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libellous. If such material is repeatedly inserted, or if you have other concerns, please report the issue to this noticeboard.

If you are a subject of this article, or acting on behalf of one, and you need help, please see this help page.

This article is rated Start-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale.
It is of interest to the following WikiProjects:

Biography: Sports and Games

	Biography portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Biography, a collaborative effort to create, develop and organize Wikipedia's articles about people. All interested editors are invited to join the project and contribute to the discussion. For instructions on how to use this banner, please refer to the documentation.BiographyWikipedia:WikiProject BiographyTemplate:WikiProject Biographybiography
	Sports portal This article is supported by the sports and games work group.

United States: Texas Low‑importance

	United States portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject United States, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of topics relating to the United States of America on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the ongoing discussions. Template Usage Articles Requested! Become a Member Project Talk Alerts United StatesWikipedia:WikiProject United StatesTemplate:WikiProject United StatesUnited States
Low	This article has been rated as Low-importance on the project's importance scale.
	Texas portal This article is supported by WikiProject Texas (assessed as Low-importance).

Basketball

	This article is within the scope of WikiProject Basketball, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Basketball on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.BasketballWikipedia:WikiProject BasketballTemplate:WikiProject BasketballBasketball
	This article has been automatically rated by a bot or other tool because one or more other projects use this class. Please ensure the assessment is correct before removing the `\|auto=` parameter.

National Basketball Association Low‑importance

	This article is within the scope of WikiProject National Basketball Association, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of the NBA on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.National Basketball AssociationWikipedia:WikiProject National Basketball AssociationTemplate:WikiProject National Basketball AssociationNBA
Low	This article has been rated as Low-importance on the project's importance scale.

Untitled

Who screwed up this article? There was no mention of him surviving the Rwandan Massacre at all, and top-selling jerseys? Geez.

Three seasons or five?

According to the trivia section of this article, Mbenga "played three seasons in the Belgian League averaging 6.3 points and 4.1 rebounds." However, the table in the playing career section (originally from the French Wikipedia) states that he played for five seasons in Belgium. Which one is correct? Bash Kash (talk) 21:22, 28 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Never mind, I just realized that the Antwerp Diamond Giants only counts as "National Junior Youth League", which would leave the other three as being in the Belgian League. Bash Kash (talk) 19:34, 27 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Petros and Money Show

If Mbenga has stated on KLAC 570 that his Wikipedia biography is not entirely accurate, then I don't see any reason why we should include it in its current state. It is a completely unsourced translated version from the French Wikipeida (other Wikipedias do not meet WP:RS), so I'm removing it per WP:BLP. If someone can find me this interview (I've looked on their website but to no avail), then this would be a start in restoring his biography. However for the time being it should be removed. Bash Kash (talk) 05:33, 6 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Here's an accurate source. http://youtube.com/watch?v=9i0tWOUD0UU.

72.67.85.131 (talk) 05:53, 20 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

This is good - it proves that most of the information is accurate for the most part. Firstly however, we must determine the source of this video. Who did the interview? I think Mbenga was recently on NBA Access with Ahmad Rashad, although I was unable to catch the content of the interview. Hopefully it will be posted on NBA.com shortly. However, the main problem is that I don't think we're allowed to link to YouTube, so we must find the source of the video/interview. Maybe a transcript would be even better so we can cite direct quotes of his early life. Thanks for the video, this is a good start. Bash Kash (talk) 03:05, 21 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Ok, here is the link (NBA Access: Lakers-Jazz). Apparently it is an elongated version of your video, so both of them are from NBA Access. Here is the summary: Cameras follow the Lakers and the Jazz, and the amazing journey of Los Angeles big man DJ Mbenga. Growing up in war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mbenga faced imprisonment and certain execution until his father managed to buy his freedom. After fleeing to Belgium, Mbenga was discovered by a national basketball legend who coached him and paved the way for his career in the NBA.

To save people the trouble, I have transcribed Ahmad Rashad's words in the video.

Mbenga was raised in Zaire, now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where his father held a government job. When a new regime took over power, it hunted down everyone who worked for the previous leader.

Escalating unrest in the country endangered the survival of the Mbenga family when D.J.'s father was imprisoned. Although he was ultimately unable to save himself, he did manage to negotiate on behalf of his sons, who were also thrown in jail, facing execution.

Mbenga fled the country on a plane headed for Belgium, where he received asylum. While living in a refugee center, he was discovered by a national hoops legend, who helped him learn the game. But more importantly, provided D.J. with an escape from his past.

After playing a few years in the Belgian league, D.J.'s improbable journey landed him in the NBA. While he's proud to be on a championship contender, any basketball success Mbenga might have is easy for him to put in perspective.

So hopefully with this info we can start the Early life section from scratch. Thanks again for the link. Bash Kash (talk) 05:38, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The "Early life" section has been restored. Bash Kash (talk) 21:32, 29 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Title

This page should probably be at D.J. Mbenga, since this is the name he is mostly known by in English. What do other people think? Bash Kash (talk) 21:39, 29 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The following discussion is an archived discussion of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the proposal was Move - although I'm going to include a space between D. and J. as is usually the case. —Wknight94 (talk) 23:45, 14 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Requested move

Didier Ilunga Mbenga → D.J. Mbenga — In English, he is more commonly referred to as D.J. Mbenga (this is how they say his name almost always on television) as opposed to his full name in French: Didier Ilunga Mbenga. Google corresponds to this: 95,500 vs. 23,100. Bash Kash (talk) 04:48, 8 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Momentum

Can someone who can edit this page insert a section with the title "momentum", and then say that the Harker School in San Jose, California love him so much that the Physics Department of the Harker School named momentum after DJ Mbenga, It's unites were changed from {kg*m/s] to [Mb], for Mbenga. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Kathir.sraj95 (talk • contribs) 19:41, 14 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Survey

Feel free to state your position on the renaming proposal by beginning a new line in this section with *'''Support''' or *'''Oppose''', then sign your comment with ~~~~. Since polling is not a substitute for discussion, please explain your reasons, taking into account Wikipedia's naming conventions.

~~Oppose~~. I do not think his full name is difficult to pronounce or type. And if anyone would like to search for DJ Mbenga or D.J. Mbenga, they are free to do so and the redirect will bring them here. I think it is fully appropriate that D.J. Mbenga is listed in the first line of the article. --DerRichter (talk) 18:42, 8 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I never said that it is difficult to pronounce or type, but I don't think it should be the title of the article. Is Allen Iverson at Allen Ezail Iverson? Michael Jordan at Michael Jeffrey Jordan? Typically we don't have titles for the full name of individuals unless they are most well-known in English by their full name. Bash Kash (talk) 18:55, 8 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I must have misunderstood. I thought that Ilunga Mbenga was two last names, as displayed on the NBA page which hyphenates the two. I change my vote to Support as long as there is a redirect created for Didier Ilunga Mbenga and the full name is mentioned and bolded in the first line of the article. --DerRichter (talk) 19:37, 8 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Discussion

Any additional comments:

Interesting case. His NBA page uses "Didier Ilunga-Mbenga" (notice the hyphen) but then NBA news releases use "D.J. Mbenga." ESPN also uses "D.J." but Mbenga's blog uses both. Since it seems wider USA media usage favors "D.J. Mbenga" and Mbenga is more notable for his US career than his Belgian one, the move should be made. — AjaxSmack 16:38, 8 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Many websites may use these abbreviations becuase it is just shorter to write and fits better on a page. Does anyone know how he is announced at the beginning of games? Although this would be a horrible analogy, I know that Ichiro Suzuki's uniform says only Ichiro despite the fact that most players use a last name on the back, and he is much more recognized by his first name than both names together. --DerRichter (talk) 18:42, 8 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

In Southern Belgian French "Didier" is often prounounced like what the English "D.J." sounds like, i.e. [di.dʒe]. I am almost certain this is where the nickname "D.J.", or simply alternate spelling of his name, comes from. --moyogo (talk) 14:10, 18 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

date of birth

The Moniteur Belge of July 20 2004 (when Mbenga became Belgian) gives December 30th 1980 as the date of Birth of Mbenga. --moyogo (talk) 14:13, 18 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

D.<space>J. Mbenga

Why is there a space in the middle of D.J.? --85.27.111.54 (talk) 08:17, 26 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Ask Wknight94. (see [1]) Bash Kash (talk) 02:38, 28 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

PPG

I think there is a problem with the PPG numbers ... too high, maybe? :) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Salgado88 (talk • contribs) 20:07, 12 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

"...a crowd favorite..." Really?

The last line in the article is "During his stay in Los Angeles, he has become a crowd favorite..." I'd like to see some citations about this, as everyone I know at Staples Center and everyone I've seen who writes about the Lakers seem to be happy about his and Adam Morrison's impending departure. Thanks.118.7.197.198 (talk) 09:07, 8 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Nationality

The International Basketball Federation FIBA has ruled in June 2011 that Mbenga is "fully Belgian" as opposed to "naturalized", because he was a political refugee and only started his basketball training after moving to Belgium. This is important because of the "only one naturalized player in the national team" rule. see http://www.sporza.be/permalink/1.1042753 (in Dutch) 78.21.5.181 (talk) 20:10, 10 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]

External links modified

Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 3 external links on D. J. Mbenga. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:

When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true or failed to let others know (documentation at {{Sourcecheck}}).

This message was posted before February 2018. After February 2018, "External links modified" talk page sections are no longer generated or monitored by InternetArchiveBot. No special action is required regarding these talk page notices, other than regular verification using the archive tool instructions below. Editors have permission to delete these "External links modified" talk page sections if they want to de-clutter talk pages, but see the RfC before doing mass systematic removals. This message is updated dynamically through the template {{source check}} (last update: 5 June 2024).

If you have discovered URLs which were erroneously considered dead by the bot, you can report them with this tool.
If you found an error with any archives or the URLs themselves, you can fix them with this tool.

Cheers.—InternetArchiveBot (Report bug) 14:40, 4 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

External links modified

Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 2 external links on D. J. Mbenga. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

This message was posted before February 2018. After February 2018, "External links modified" talk page sections are no longer generated or monitored by InternetArchiveBot. No special action is required regarding these talk page notices, other than regular verification using the archive tool instructions below. Editors have permission to delete these "External links modified" talk page sections if they want to de-clutter talk pages, but see the RfC before doing mass systematic removals. This message is updated dynamically through the template {{source check}} (last update: 5 June 2024).

If you have discovered URLs which were erroneously considered dead by the bot, you can report them with this tool.
If you found an error with any archives or the URLs themselves, you can fix them with this tool.

Cheers.—InternetArchiveBot (Report bug) 20:23, 2 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]