Former Shocker makes history with Washington Wizards as NBA’s first Colombian player
Jaime Echenique, a former Wichita State men’s basketball star, made NBA history Thursday night.
Echenique, a 6-foot-11 center from Barranquilla, Colombia, signed a 10-day contract with the Washington Wizards on Thursday, becoming the first Colombian player in the NBA’s 75-year history. And Thursday night, he got into the game for 3 minutes as the Wizards beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 110-93.
He didn’t attempt a shot or record any other statistics in his NBA debut, but Echenique is the seventh former Wichita State player to reach the NBA in the last decade, joining Gal Mekel (2013-15), Toure’ Murry (2013-15), Cleanthony Early (2014-16) and Ron Baker (2016-19), plus current players Fred VanVleet and Landry Shamet.
After going undrafted following a standout two-year run at WSU from 2018-20, Echenique earned an NBA Summer League invitation with the Wizards and made the most of the opportunity. He scored 17 points in one game and made such a good impression with the Wizards that they signed him to an Exhibit 10 contract and stashed him on their G-League team, the Capital City Go-Go.
Echenique has been playing well in the G League, averaging 12.6 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks with six double-doubles. After his breakthrough performance this summer in Las Vegas, Echenique told The Eagle he felt closer than ever at achieving his dream of becoming the first player from Colombia to reach the NBA.
“I have so much love from my family and friends and people who know me from back home,” Echenique said. “To be able to make it overseas and now to grind and make it this far (to NBA Summer League), it means a lot to me to be able to represent not only my country but for all of South America.”
Even though basketball is far from a popular sport in Colombia, Echenique took an early liking to it after growing too tall to play his first love, baseball. He was teased as a young boy because he was pudgy and taller than most other kids, making Echenique self-conscious — something he didn’t shed until he blossomed into a star at WSU.
His father, Jaime Sr., was a bus driver in the city and his mother, Lidis Salinas, was a chef who supported his basketball journey, as long as he also pursued a college education. Echenique delivered on his promise, as he graduated with a four-year degree from WSU in the spring of 2020 before pursuing a professional career in basketball.
“What I learned here was that if I don’t have confidence in myself, who else is going to?” Echenique told The Eagle in 2020. “If I don’t express confidence to other people, then who is going to have it for me?
“I could have never imagined being in this position. I’m so thankful. Wichita State feels like family to me. I’m so proud in my decision to come here because I’ve learned so much and these are things that I can take with me through my whole life.”
Echenique was outspoken about his pride in Colombia during his time at WSU, even wearing shoes with strips of yellow, blue and red — the colors of the Colombian flag — with Colombia written in Sharpie on the side.
While Echenique remains a favorite among Wichita State fans, he has become the face of basketball for an entire country. Search his name on Twitter and it quickly becomes evident what Echenique’s success means to his country back home.
“I’m just thinking about my community back home in Colombia and how proud they are,” Echenique told The Eagle this summer. “Whatever else happens happens. I’m embracing every moment and not focused on the end result of this. I’m just taking it day by day and doing my job and being the best me I can be.”
This story was originally published December 30, 2021 at 4:10 PM.
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