As a result, Famutimi was named MVP of the Nighthawks at the end of last season, an award that he views as a culmination of the effort that he has put in throughout his career.

“I never really expected that award at the point of my career that I’m at right now, so it was really a blessing and a testimony to the hard work that I’ve been putting in over the years,” Famutimi said.

That hard work has certainly paid off – allowing Famutimi to be a key player for the Nighthawks even at the age of 36 and with 15 years of professional basketball on his resume.

With that experience, Famutimi knows that he is in a position to set an example for some of the younger players on the team. “I think my biggest thing is just to lead by example, just going to work every day and working hard, paying attention to details and hoping that rubs off on some of the other guys,” Famutimi said.

Famutimi’s biggest desire right now is to win games. The veteran is willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen, whether that means going out and scoring or “being on the bench and being the best cheerleader,” he said.

Famutimi is a results-driven professional and is focused on contributing toward whatever makes the team better.

“Last year was an upsetting season for us because we thought we were better than what we showed on the court. This season we have a lot of talent coming in, we have a great coach coming back and some great players from last year coming back too,” Famutimi said.

There are still plenty of challenges this season, however. COVID-19 has prevented the players from being able to workout together in advance of training camp and the commencement of the CEBL Summer Series. But the Nighthawks have been doing what they can to make the most of the situation. Zoom calls and text conversations have become the norm while the team prepares for the season. 

A few of the players on the team have been able to get together for an outdoor shootaround, but Famutimi predicts that the biggest challenge for the players will be getting used to the speed and physicality of game action after not playing in any competitive games for a few months.

“As long as we all buy into the system that coach (Charles) Kissi wants, we’re a team with a lot of great personalities and I think that is going to help us overcome the lack of practices that we’ve missed throughout the summer,” Famutimi said.

The CEBL had to make some changes to the format of their season in order to compete in 2020, including turning the season into a single-site tournament, rather than the 20-game regular season that was originally scheduled. Adding to the fun is the CEBL’s incorporation of the Elam Ending, which sees teams play to a target score at the end of the fourth quarter, rather than the typical conclusion of the clock. As a result, every game has a game winning basket, and the usual malaises of clock management and intentional fouling disappear due to the absence of the game clock in the last four minutes of play.

“I like everything about it. Considering the situation, we’re lucky to even be able to actually have a season. The structure of the tournament is amazing, and I think the Elam Ending is going to make things really intense,” Famutimi said.

Famutimi will look to get the Nighthawks off to a hot start when they play their first game of the Summer Series against the Ottawa BlackJacks on July 25th.