He was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers (second round, 39th overall) and immediately traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2018 NBA draft.

[2][3] His father emigrated to Germany in the early 1990s with plans to move to Canada, but he instead stayed in the country and began living in Frankfurt and then Koblenz.

[5] At age seven, Bonga began playing streetball in Neuwied, and two years later, he joined the local club.

[8] Bonga was one of the top European prospects to be picked to attend the 2016 Basketball without Borders Camp Europe in Helsinki in September 2016.

[9] Bonga made his Bundesliga debut for the Skyliners at age 16 on September 23, 2016, in an 84–55 loss to Brose Bamberg, as he played 28 seconds.

[12] On June 21, 2018, Bonga was selected with the 39th overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers on behalf of the Los Angeles Lakers.

[30] In 2017, he participated in the 2017 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup with the German under-19 national team, averaging 6.6 points in seven contests[31] en route to a fifth-place finish.

In November 2017, he was named to the senior German men's national team roster for the first time in his career, to take part in the qualifiers for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup.