DJ Mbenga

DJ Mbenga (http://blog.tempo.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/sites/ (blog.tempo.com.ph))

"Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard," (Tim Notke). I first found out about DJ Mbenga when I first became a Lakers fan. The Lakers are a basketball team in a league called the NBA. NBA stands for National Basketball Association. Even though he doesn't play too often when he does he takes advantage of every minute of it by being aggressive and trying his best. He is a very inspiring person because he had a very rough childhood but he never gave up on his dream and made it to the NBA. Making it to the NBA is a very difficult goal to accomplish but DJ Mbenga never gave up and made his goal a reality. I became a Lakers fan when I was really young because that was the first team that I ever saw play. I would also like to be a professional athlete. What made me most inspired about DJ is that he never gives up and plays his best.

Being a professional athlete takes mental toughness, a good attitude, lots of time, hard work, and lots of effort. You may think it's all fun and games to be a professional athlete but it's not. It takes major commitment to become a professional athlete because a lot of the time they are traveling and being away from home, family, and friends. According to Steve Aschburner from NBA.com, the average salary for an NBA player can be as much as 5.15 million! The average salary of an NBA player after their whole career is around $24.7 Million. This shows how much an athlete can make and it varies widely. Some similar careers could be athletes from different sports such as soccer, football, baseball, golf, tennis etc. All of these sports have so many amazing and highly skilled athletes.

DJ Mbenga had a very rough childhood. According to the DJ Mbenga Wikipedia, he was born in 1980. He was born in Kinshasa, Zaire and his father worked for the government. When a new leader took over power, he tried to seek out everyone who had worked for the other leader before him. Soon, Mbenga's family was imprisoned. The father couldn't save himself but he did manage to save his son and wife then Mbenga and his mother left the country. They were given asylum in Belgium and while he was being held there, he was discovered in a refugee center by Willy Steveniers who was a great basketball player. He was discovered because of his amazing basketball talent. He played basketball in Belguim from 2001-2004 then he went to the NBA. He made his first Laker start in 2009.

DJ Mbenga has done many good things in the community. DJ Mbenga has a lot of respect for Kobe Bryant. He is so kind and generous that he gave Kobe a very special gift. This was from when he announced it to Kobe: "I'm going to give you the best gift you've ever had . I'm building a basketball court in Congo with your name on it. People they love you there. You helped me to get a ring, I'm going to give you something back. I'm going to give you a basketball court with your name - that's something nobody else can have. Even Michael Jordan never had that. I told him, "You're going to give people hope. There are kids that are stealing, killing, (doing drugs) . instead I want them to play basketball at the Kobe . Bryant . Court." (By Mike Trudell on NBA.com). This took place in an interview with DJ Mbenga.

http://www.lakermania.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/ (www.lakermania.com)

Even though Mbenga didn't go to college I still want to go to do well in high school so I can go to UCLA. UCLA stands for University of California, Los Angeles. I still want to go to college so I can get some degrees. Mbenga is very successful with his career and he accomplishes his goals. I want to be like that to and set goals for myself and reach them. I hope to become a professional athlete. DJ Mbenga is a very respectable guy who has inspired me to achieve my goals.