Chris Silva
Chris Silva | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 19, 1996 Gabon |
| Occupation | Professional basketball player |
| Years active | 2015–present |
| Known for | Playing for AEK Athens, Miami Heat, South Carolina Gamecocks |
Chris Silva Obame Correia Silva (born September 19, 1996) is a professional basketball athlete from Gabon currently playing for AEK Athens in both the Greek Basketball League and the Basketball Champions League. His collegiate basketball career was with the South Carolina Gamecocks.
Early life
Born in Gabon, Silva's father, who previously represented the Gabon men's national basketball team, played a key role in facilitating his relocation to the United States during his teenage years to advance his basketball ambitions.
At 15 years old, in September 2012, Silva arrived in the U.S. to attend Roselle Catholic High School in New Jersey. Although he initially lacked English language skills and formal basketball experience, he confidently expressed to assistant coach Tommy Sacks, "Coach, I go NBA." Sacks remarked on Silva’s remarkable dedication and potential, emphasizing his commitment to rigorous practice and skill improvement.
High school career
Starting with limited knowledge of basketball regulations, Silva competed for Roselle Catholic and successfully led his senior squad to a state championship title. He drew recruitment attention from several college programs, including Seton Hall and Rhode Island, ultimately choosing to join the South Carolina Gamecocks. Silva commended the institution for its academic quality and comprehensive player support.
College career
In 2017, Silva was a starter for all 37 games as South Carolina advanced to the Final Four. He ranked tenth in the SEC with a 52.6% success rate on two-point shots. The following year, he received multiple honors such as SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year, First-team All-SEC, and All-Defensive recognition.
During his junior year, Silva averaged 14.3 points and 8.0 rebounds per game—ranking fourth in the SEC—while shooting 46.7% from the field. He led the conference by making 213 free throws. After declaring for the NBA draft but not receiving an invitation to the NBA combine, he returned to South Carolina. In the 2018–19 season, his averages were 15.2 points (ninth in SEC), 7.6 rebounds (sixth), and 1.9 blocks (fourth) per contest. His accolades included SEC Player of the Week (March 11, 2019), All-SEC Second Team (AP), ABC All-District Second Team, and First Team All-SEC by coaches.
Miami Heat (2019–2021)
Silva inked a deal with the Miami Heat on July 11, 2019. On October 19, his contract was converted into a two-way agreement involving Miami’s NBA G League affiliate, Sioux Falls Skyforce. He made his NBA debut on October 23 by contributing eight points, six rebounds, and three blocks off the bench during a victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Silva earned a standard NBA contract with Miami on January 15, 2020; however, he was briefly reassigned to Sioux Falls on January 23 before rejoining the Heat three days later. He played a role in Miami’s journey to the 2020 NBA Finals where they fell in six games to the Los Angeles Lakers. Across 44 games that season, Silva averaged 3.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 0.5 blocks while logging an average of 7.9 minutes per game.
Sacramento Kings (2021)
On March 25, 2021, Silva was traded alongside Maurice Harkless to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Nemanja Bjelica. He took part in four games with Sacramento, averaging 2.4 minutes per appearance before being waived on April 28.
Iowa Wolves (2021)
Silva inked a deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves on September 20, 2021, but was released prior to the commencement of the season. Subsequently, he signed with the Iowa Wolves on October 26, participating in 12 contests where he posted averages of 15.1 points, 9.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 0.8 blocks per game—leading the squad in both rebounds and blocks.
Minnesota Timberwolves (2021)
On December 21, 2021, Silva secured a 10-day contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves, making a single appearance that totaled 3.5 minutes of playtime.
Return to Miami (2021–2022)
Silva rejoined the Miami Heat on December 31, 2021, signing a sequence of four consecutive 10-day contracts extending through January 31, 2022. Across nine games, he averaged 9.7 minutes on the court, contributing 2.9 points and 3.9 rebounds per outing.
Return to Iowa (2022)
On February 9, 2022, Silva returned to play for the Iowa Wolves.
College Park Skyhawks (2022–2023)
Silva was included in the College Park Skyhawks’ opening night roster on November 3, 2022. Over the course of 22 games, he averaged 14.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per contest.
Dallas Mavericks (2023)
The Dallas Mavericks brought Silva aboard with a 10-day contract on January 31, 2023. He appeared in one game for three minutes before securing a second 10-day contract on February 10. Nevertheless, he was waived four days later to clear a roster spot for Justin Holiday.
Return to College Park (2023–2024)
Silva re-signed with the College Park Skyhawks on February 14, 2023, delivering averages of 17.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks over 25 games. He signed with the Atlanta Hawks on September 25 but was released two days afterward. On October 29, Silva once again joined the Skyhawks roster.
Piratas de Quebradillas (2024)
On April 1, 2024, Silva agreed to terms with the Piratas de Quebradillas of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional. Arriving in the team’s second week of play as a temporary replacement for veteran Jeff Adrien, Silva—a forward/center standing at 6'9"—had previously averaged 17.1 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks in roughly 27 minutes per game with the College Park Skyhawks in the G-League. The organization intended to bring in center Tacko Fall as their main reinforcement; however, Silva was waived on April 15 due to an injury after appearing in four games where he averaged 12.8 points and 7.8 rebounds.
Mets de Guaynabo (2024)
On May 20, 2024, Silva signed with the Mets de Guaynabo of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional, filling the roster spot left by Deonte Burton. Over seven games played, he posted averages of 9.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per contest.
Bnei Herzliya (2024–2025)
In July of 2024, Silva committed to Bnei Herzliya, competing in the Israeli Basketball Premier League.
AEK Athens (2025–present)
Silva joined Greek side AEK Athens on August 13, 2025. On October 17 of that year, he earned Player of the Week honors in the Basketball Champions League. Later, on November 17, he received the Hoops Agents Player of the Week award after leading his team with a stat line of 25 points, nine rebounds, and four assists in a win.
National team career
On June 11, 2015, head coach Thierry Bouanga included Silva in the preliminary roster for the Gabon national basketball team ahead of AfroBasket 2015. He was anticipated to make his international debut alongside former NBA athlete Stéphane Lasme and took part in an intensive three-week training session held in Libreville during July.
Regular season
|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Miami | 44 || 0 || 7.9 || .615 || .000 || .673 || 2.9 || .5 || .2 || .5 || 3.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Miami | 11 || 0 || 7.5 || .692 || 1.000 || .773 || 2.3 || .5 || .1 || .5 || 2.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Sacramento | 4 || 0 || 2.3 || .333 || — || — || .5 || .0 || .0 || .3 || .5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Minnesota | 1 || 0 || 3.0 || — || — || — || 1.0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Miami | 9 || 0 || 9.8 || .533 || — || .833 || 3.9 || .8 || .0 || .1 || 2.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Dallas | 1 || 0 || 3.0 || 1.000 || — || — || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || 2.0 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 70 || 0 || 7.6 || .609 || .250 || .707 || 2.7 || .5 || .1 || .4 || 2.8
College
|- | style="text-align:left;" |2015–16 | style="text-align:left;" |South Carolina | 32||6||13.3||.482|| —||.609||4.5||.2||.4||.9||5.4 |- | style="text-align:left;" |2016–17 | style="text-align:left;" |South Carolina | 37||37||20.9||.524||.000||.749||6.1||.4||.6||1.4||10.2 |- | style="text-align:left;" |2017–18
| style="text-align:left;" |South Carolina |33||33||25.8||.467||.417||.753||.8||1.2||.6||1.4||14.3 |- |style="text-align:left;" |2018–19 |style="text-align:left;" |South Carolina |32||32||26.7||.508||.500||.744||7.6||.9||.9||.19||15.2 |- class="sortbottom" |style="text-align:center;" colspan=2 |Career |134||108||21.7||'.497'||'.475'||'.729'||6.5||'.7'||'.6'||1.4||11.3
External links
- 1996 births
- Living people
- 21st-century Gabonese sportsmen
- Basketball players from New Jersey
- Bnei Herzliya basketball players
- Centers (basketball)
- College Park Skyhawks players
- Dallas Mavericks players
- Expatriate basketball people in the United States
- Gabonese expatriate sportspeople in Israel
- Gabonese expatriate sportspeople in the United States
- Gabonese men's basketball players
- Iowa Wolves players
- Mets de Guaynabo basketball players
- Miami Heat players
- Minnesota Timberwolves players
- Piratas de Quebradillas players
- Power forwards
- Roselle Catholic High School alumni
- Sacramento Kings players
- Sioux Falls Skyforce players
- South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball players
- Sportspeople from Libreville
- Undrafted NBA players