NC State Basketball

Congolese NC State Signee Paul Mbiya is Locked in with NC State

Published

6 months ago

June 8, 2025

According to Cory Smith of PackPride, NC State 2025 prep signee Paul Mbiya (6’11″/260) is locked in with NC State.

Back on May 2nd, news broke that Mbiya had committed to NC State, and signed his National Letter of Intent to play for the Wolfpack.

Since then, there has been speculation, founded or unfounded, that Mbiya might not actually make it across the pond to Raleigh for an array of reasons.

The signing of UNC Transfer Forward Val-Allen Lubin was one of the things that raised questions for people. Did NC State sign Lubin because they knew that Mbiya might not make it?

Questions about money and eligibility also swirled around the world wide web.

PackPride’s Smith caught up with Mbiya, and the Congolese Big Man shared that he couldn’t wait to get to Raleigh. Smith originally posted the article on May 30th, but it’s noteworthy and intentional that he reshared it yesterday.

ICYMI: Congolese center Paul Mbiya confirms he’s joining NC State: ‘I can’t wait to be there’

Incoming NC State center Paul Mbiya on who he models his game after, why he chose the Wolfpack and more with @PackPride.

✍️: https://t.co/IdU0uvor4i pic.twitter.com/kslYW2P4Dn

— Cory Smith (@RCorySmith) June 7, 2025

Here are a couple of quotes from Mbiya from the PackPride piece:

“I chose NC State because of my circle and I like coach Wade’s type of coaching,” Mbiya told Pack Pride exclusively. “We felt like I could really progress under his wings.”

“I will be coming to NC State after Adidas Eurocamp. Tell them I can’t wait to be there.”

“I wear the number 34 because of Giannis [Antetokounmpo],” Mbiya said. “I like the fact that he plays hard on both end of the floor. I love the fact that he wants to dominate. They call me ‘Mobutu, the Dictator of the Paint.'” (PP)

Mbiya has a 7’7″ wingspan!

Prior to deciding to run with the Wolfpack, he took a visit to Oregon.

Mbiya is currently 20 years old (born April 11, 2005) but has only been playing basketball for three years.

At 17, Mbiya got his start with the NBA Academy in Senegal and played five games with Ferroviario de Beira out of Mozambique.

At 18, he headed to France to play with Espoirs ASVEL, the U21 team of the ASVEL program owned by NBA Hall of Famer Tony Parker. In 2022–23, he averaged 10.9 points, 8.9 rebounds, 1.3 blocks, and 1.1 steals for Espoirs ASVEL.

This season, Mbiya continued to play primarily in France’s ProA U21 league with ASVEL, averaging 15.3 points, 11.7 rebounds, 3.0 blocks, and 1.0 steals in 23 games. In his final game, his stat line was 23 points and 20 rebounds in 31 minutes of play.

As a 19-year-old, he was called up to play with ASVEL’s top-tier professional team for a total of 11 games in both the EuroLeague and France’s Betclic Élite league.

Even though I think it is safe to say that we will see Mbiya suit up for the Wolfpack next season, it is still unknown whether or not he will initially have to sit out for some games to start the year due to playing a couple of games at the professional level. Despite his age and experience, Mbiya is a prep signee, and until proven otherwise, we are operating under the assumption that he will have 4 years of collegiate eligibility.

Check out some of the footage of Mbiya at the Euro Camp the past couple of weeks.