Mouhammadou Einstein Jaiteh (born 27 November 1994), commonly known as Mam Jaiteh, is a French professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for

AS Monaco Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club, commonly referred to as AS Monaco (), is a professional football club based in Fontvieille, Monaco. Although not in France, they are a member of the French Football Federation (FFF) and currently ...

of the French

LNB Élite The LNB Élite, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Betclic Élite, is a professional basketball league in France and is the highest level of the French basketball system. The competition has existed since 1921. Since 1987, the Ligue Nat ...

and the

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

. He is of Senegalese and Gambian descent.

Early life and career

In his youth, Jaiteh originally played

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

with friends, before beginning his basketball career at 13. After playing for INSEP for a few years, Jaiteh would participate at the

2010 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship The 2010 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship was the 24th edition of the FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship. 16 teams featured the competition, held in Montenegro from August 5–15. Spain was the defending champion. This year's edition was won by Cr ...

, and then the

FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship The FIBA U18 EuroBasket is the new name for the FIBA U18 European Championship, originally known as the FIBA European Championship for Juniors. It is a men's youth basketball competition that was inaugurated with the 1964 edition. It was held bi ...

s in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

and

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

. The 2012 championship had Jaiteh leading all competitors in rebounds per game.

Professional career

After being recruited by the

Connecticut Huskies The UConn Huskies (or Connecticut Huskies) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Connecticut, with its main campus located in Storrs, Connecticut. The school is a member of the NCAA's Division I and the Big Eas ...

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) N ...

Gonzaga Bulldogs The Gonzaga Bulldogs (), also known unofficially as the Zags, are the intercollegiate athletic teams representing Gonzaga University, located in Spokane, Washington, United States. Gonzaga competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association ...

, and

Virginia Tech Hokies The Virginia Tech Hokies are the athletic teams representing Virginia Tech in intercollegiate athletics. The Hokies participate in the NCAA's Division I Atlantic Coast Conference in 22 varsity sports. Virginia Tech's men's sports are football, b ...

, Jaiteh decided to sign a two-year contract to play with the Stade Olympique Maritime Boulonnais of the

LNB Pro B The LNB Pro B, commonly known as Pro B, is the second-tier level men's professional basketball league in France. It is the second division of the Ligue Nationale de Basket (LNB), which has organized the league since the year 1987. The regular se ...

(French 2nd Division), where he would get more playing time. During that period, Jaiteh was considered as a finalist for France's Pro B MVP award, due to his performance of averaging 16.2 points and 9.9 rebounds per game, in 27.6 minutes of play per game. On May 3, 2013, Jaiteh ended up being declared the winner of the 2013 LNB Pro B French Player's MVP award, as well as the winner of the LNB Pro B Most Improved Player award. In 2013, Jaiteh was selected to participate in the

Nike Hoop Summit The Nike Hoop Summit is an international basketball all-star game sponsored by Nike, Inc., Nike, held once a year, which features the USA Basketball Men's Junior Select Team against a World Select Team of international players. The players demons ...

. During the competition, he would score 6 points and grab 9 rebounds, to help the World Team win the competition. Two days after performing in the competition on April 20, Jaiteh decided to officially declare for the

2013 NBA draft The 2013 NBA draft was held on June 27, 2013, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including internation ...

. He was projected to go between the late first round and the second round of the draft, but Jaiteh wanted to be convinced that he would be drafted in the first round by somebody. Ultimately, Jaiteh ended up withdrawing from the draft, because of that issue, and he ended up withdrawing alongside fellow Frenchmen Louis Labeyrie and Axel Toupane. On July 28, 2013, Jaiteh signed a contract with the French team JSF Nanterre. Jaiteh would officially declare for the

2015 NBA draft The 2015 NBA draft was held on June 25, 2015, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. It was televised nationally in the U.S. by ESPN. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eli ...

, in April 2015, after trying to gain earlier recognition as a prospect in the

2014 NBA draft The 2014 NBA draft was held on June 26, 2014, at Barclays Center, Brooklyn. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. The ...

. A few weeks before the

took place, Nanterre would win the

2014–15 EuroChallenge The 2014–15 EuroChallenge was the 12th and last edition of Europe's third-tier level transnational competition for men's professional basketball clubs. The winner and the runner-up of this competition earned a place at the group stage of next ...

championship, with Jaiteh helping the team by grabbing 7 timely rebounds in a close, buzzer-beating 64–63 victory over Trabzonspor Medical Park. As an early entrant in the 2015 NBA draft, he went

undrafted In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

. On July 28, 2016, Jaiteh signed with

SIG Strasbourg Strasbourg Illkirch-Graffenstaden Basket, most commonly known as SIG Basket or SIG Strasbourg, is a French professional basketball club that is based in Strasbourg. The club, founded in 1929, competes domestically in the French Pro A League. The ...

. On November 8, 2018, Jaiteh signed a deal with Auxilium Torino. On July 29, 2019, he signed with

Avtodor Saratov BC Avtodor (), commonly known as simply Avtodor and internationally as Avtodor Saratov, is a Russian professional basketball club based in Saratov. It plays in the VTB United League, the highest level of Russian basketball. In early 2022, after ...

of the

VTB United League The VTB United League () is an international professional men's club basketball league that was founded in 2009. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus and Kazakhstan. Since 2013, it is the first tier of Russian ...

. On June 30, 2020, he signed with

Gaziantep Basketbol Gaziantep Basketbol is a professional basketball team based in the city of Gaziantep in Turkey that plays in the Turkish Basketball First League (TBL). Their home arena is the Karataş Şahinbey Sport Hall with a capacity of 6,400 seats. Histo ...

of the Turkish

Basketbol Süper Ligi The Basketball Super League (; TBSL), also known as the Türkiye Sigorta Basketbol Süper Ligi for sponsorship reasons, is the top men's professional basketball division of the Turkish basketball league system. It replaced the former Turkish Bas ...

(BSL). During the season he was with the team, Jaiteh was the Basketbol Süper Ligi's leading rebounder for that season.

Virtus Bologna (2021–2023)

On July 20, 2021, he signed a two-year deal with

Virtus Bologna Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, known for sponsorship reasons as Virtus Segafredo Bologna, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. The club was founded in 1929, which makes it the oldest club in Italy and one ...

of the Italian

Lega Basket Serie A The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club (sport), club basketball list of basketball leagues, league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball ...

(LBA). On September 21, the team won its second Supercup, defeating

Olimpia Milano Pallacanestro Olimpia Milano, commonly known as Olimpia Milano or as EA7 Emporio Armani Milan after its title sponsor, is an LBA Italian professional basketball team, based in Milan, Italy. Its colors are white and red, and the team is sometimes ...

90–84. Moreover, after having ousted

Lietkabelis BC Lietkabelis (), commonly known as Lietkabelis Panevėžys, also known as 7bet-Lietkabelis for sponsorship reasons, is a Lithuanian professional basketball club based in Panevėžys, Lithuania, participating in the Lietuvos krepšinio lyga, Lit ...

Ulm Ulm () is the sixth-largest city of the southwestern German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with around 129,000 inhabitants, it is Germany's 60th-largest city. Ulm is located on the eastern edges of the Swabian Jura mountain range, on the up ...

and

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

in the first three rounds of the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

, on 11 May 2022, Virtus defeated Frutti Extra Bursaspor by 80–67 at the Segafredo Arena, winning its first EuroCup and qualifying for the

after 14 years. However, despite having ended the regular season at the first place and having ousted 3–0 both

Pesaro Pesaro (; ) is a (municipality) in the Italy, Italian region of Marche, capital of the province of Pesaro and Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the ...

and

Tortona Tortona (; , ; ) is a ''comune'' of Piemonte, in the Province of Alessandria, Italy. Tortona is sited on the right bank of the Scrivia between the plain of Spinetta Marengo, Marengo and the foothills of the Ligurian Apennines. Its ''frazione'' of ...

in the first two rounds of playoffs, Virtus was defeated 4–2 in the national finals by

. On 29 September 2022, after having ousted Milano in the semifinals, Virtus won its third Supercup, defeating 72–69

Banco di Sardegna Sassari Polisportiva Dinamo, commonly known as Dinamo Sassari and currently known as Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari for sponsorship reasons, is an Italian professional basketball club that is based in Sassari, Sardinia. They are the 2018–19 FIBA Euro ...

and achieving a back-to-back, following the 2021 trophy. However, Jaiteh did not play in that game due to an injury. However, despite good premises Virtus ended the EuroLeague season at the 14th place, thus it did not qualify for the playoffs. Moreover, the team was defeated in the

Italian Basketball Cup The Italian Basketball Cup (Italian: Coppa Italiana di Pallacanestro), or Coppa Italia, is an annual professional basketball competition between pro clubs from the Italian Basketball League (LBA). It is Italy's first-tier cup competition, and is ...

final by

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

. In June, after having ousted 3–0 both Brindisi and Tortona, Virtus was defeated 4–3 by Olimpia Milan in the national finals, following a series which was widely regarded among the best in the latest years of Italian basketball.Basket, Milano batte Bologna 67-55 nella finalissima e si conferma campione per la trentesima volta
Rai News

Personal life

Jaiteh's father descended from

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

, while his mother descended from

the Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

. Although he is of both Senegalese and Gambian descent, he does not officially hold any Senegalese or Gambian nationality.

Career statistics

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , style="text-align:left;",

Nanterre Nanterre (; ) is the prefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located some northwest of the centre of Paris. In 2018, the commune had a population of 96,807. The eastern part of Nanterre, b ...

, 10 , , 0 , , 12.6 , , .559 , , .000 , , .727 , , 3.7 , , .3 , , .4 , , .4 , , 4.6 , , 6.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2022–23 , style="text-align:left;",

, 33 , , 32 , , 18.6 , , .591 , , , , .565 , , 4.7 , , .7 , , .6 , , .2 , , 8.4 , , 9.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2023–24 , style="text-align:left;",

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

, 25 , , 7 , , 8.2 , , .587 , , , , .450 , , 2.2 , , .2 , , .2 , , .1 , , 3.3 , , 3.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 68 , , 39 , , 13.9 , , .586 , , .000 , , .560 , , 3.6 , , .5 , , .4 , , .2 , , 6.0 , , 7.0

EuroCup

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2",

, 8 , , 0 , , 17.0 , , .455 , , , , .667 , , 3.8 , , .4 , , .6 , , 1.0 , , 3.5 , , 4.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , 10 , , 9 , , 26.9 , , .619 , , , , .621 , , 6.8 , , 1.1 , , .7 , , 1.1 , , 12.2 , , 15.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2",

Limoges CSP Limoges Cercle Saint-Pierre, commonly referred to as Limoges CSP or CSP, is a French professional basketball club based in the city of Limoges. History The club was founded in 1929, but its peak was during the 1980s and 1990s, when they became t ...

, 14 , , 11 , , 23.2 , , .548 , , , , .587 , , 6.0 , , 1.3 , , .6 , , .9 , , 9.2 , , 11.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , 4 , , 2 , , 15.3 , , .600 , , , , .833 , , 4.8 , , 1.5 , , .3 , , .3 , , 4.3 , , 6.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , style="text-align:left;",

, 21 , , 17 , , 22.0 , , .691 , , , , .569 , , 7.6 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , .7 , , 12.8 , , 17.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 57 , , 39 , , 22.0 , , .623 , , , , .600 , , 6.3 , , 1.0 , , .6 , , .8 , , 9.9 , , 13.2

Basketball Champions League

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

, 16 , , 13 , , 21.7 , , .516 , , , , .643 , , 5.7 , , 1.4 , , .7 , , .6 , , 7.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 16 , , 13 , , 21.7 , , .516 , , , , .643 , , 5.7 , , 1.4 , , .7 , , .6 , , 7.6

FIBA EuroChallenge

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;",

, 16 , , 16 , , 18.9 , , .612 , , , , .577 , , 5.5 , , .5 , , .4 , , .5 , , 8.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 16 , , 16 , , 18.9 , , .612 , , , , .577 , , 5.5 , , .5 , , .4 , , .5 , , 8.8

Domestic leagues

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:100%; text-align:right;" ! Year ! Team ! League ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! , - , style="text-align:left;",

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, , style="text-align:left;", INSEP , , style="text-align:center;", NM1 , , 30 , , 17.3 , , .382 , , .500 , , .523 , , 5.6 , , .3 , , .4 , , .3 , , 4.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2011–12 , , style="text-align:left;", INSEP , , style="text-align:center;", NM1 , , 28 , , 30.1 , , .549 , , .250 , , .695 , , 10.3 , , 1.1 , , 1.0 , , .9 , , 14.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2012–13 , , style="text-align:left;",

SOMB Somb (in Serer, also ''Som'' or ''Sombe'') is a town in Senegal situated in the west of the country. History Somb figured prominently in Serer religious affairs for a long part of its history. It takes its name from the ''Somb'' tree (Latin ...

, , style="text-align:center;", Pro B , , 30 , , 27.8 , , .635 , , .000 , , .676 , , 9.7 , , .9 , , .9 , , .9 , , 16.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , , style="text-align:left;", JSF Nanterre , , style="text-align:center;", Pro A , , 30 , , 16.7 , , .500 , , .500 , , .638 , , 4.3 , , .6 , , .5 , , .6 , , 6.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , , style="text-align:left;", JSF Nanterre , , style="text-align:center;", Pro A , , 34 , , 22.5 , , .599 , , , , .586 , , 6.5 , , .7 , , .6 , , .5 , , 11.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , , style="text-align:left;", JSF Nanterre , , style="text-align:center;", Pro A , , 36 , , 25.6 , , .550 , , .000 , , .667 , , 8.0 , , 1.0 , , .8 , , .8 , , 12.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:center;", Pro A , , 47 , , 19.4 , , .527 , , .000 , , .595 , , 5.1 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , .6 , , 8.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:center;", Pro A , , 38 , , 22.2 , , .523 , , .000 , , .585 , , 6.1 , , 1.3 , , .7 , , .6 , , 9.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:center;",

, , 6 , , 17.5 , , .515 , , .000 , , .833 , , 4.5 , , .7 , , .5 , , , , 6.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , , style="text-align:left;", Auxilium Torino , , style="text-align:center;", LBA , , 25 , , 20.2 , , .678 , , .000 , , .500 , , 7.0 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , .4 , , 10.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:center;", VTBUL , , 18 , , 29.1 , , .660 , , , , .560 , , 9.9 , , 1.2 , , .8 , , .9 , , 13.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2020–21 , , style="text-align:left;",

Gaziantep Gaziantep, historically Aintab and still informally called Antep, is a major city in south-central Turkey. It is the capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Medi ...

, , style="text-align:center;", TBSL , , 30 , , 30.8 , , .638 , , .667 , , .514 , , 10.8 , , 2.1 , , .7 , , .9 , , 16.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:center;", LBA , , 38 , , 21.4 , , .662 , , .000 , , .571 , , 7.2 , , .6 , , .4 , , .4 , , 11.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2022–23 , , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:center;", LBA , , 35 , , 18.2 , , .633 , , , , .484 , , 6.0 , , .6 , , .3 , , .6 , , 7.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2023–24 , , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:center;",

, , 31 , , 14.9 , , .592 , , , , .553 , , 4.0 , , .5 , , .4 , , .5 , , 6.8

Honours

* French 2nd Division French Player's MVP (1): 2013 * French 2nd Division Most Improved Player (1): 2013 * French LNB All-Star Game (3): 2013 ( Pro B), 2015 ( Pro A), 2016 ( Pro A) *

FIBA EuroChallenge FIBA EuroChallenge (called the FIBA Europe League in 2003–05, and FIBA EuroCup in 2005–08) was the 3rd-tier continental club basketball competition in Europe, from 2003 to 2015. It was organized and run by FIBA Europe. It is not to be confus ...

Champion (1): 2015