Adama Sanogo (born 12 February 2002) is a Malian 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 who last played for the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). In 2023 he won the

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

with the

UConn Huskies The UConn Huskies (or Connecticut Huskies) are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Connecticut, with its main campus located in Storrs, Connecticut. The school is a member of ...

and was named the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player.

Early life and high school career

Sanogo grew up in

Bamako Bamako is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2022 population of 4,227,569. It is located on the Niger River, near the rapids that divide the upper and middle Niger valleys in the southwestern part of the country. Bamak ...

, Mali, and first 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 ...

before switching to basketball in 2014. His uncle, basketball scout Tidiane Dramé, convinced him to start playing basketball. One year later, Sanogo moved to the United States to play for Our Savior New American School in

Centereach, New York Centereach () is a hamlet and census-designated place in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 31,578 at the 2010 census. History The hamlet of Centereach was first called West Middle Island, but primarily became known as ...

. He transferred to The Patrick School in

Hillside, New Jersey Hillside is a township in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 22,456, an increase of 1,052 (+4.9%) from the 2010 census count of 21,404, which in turn reflected a ...

, due to a coaching change at his previous school. In his senior season, he averaged 13.3 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. Sanogo competed for the New York Rens on the

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...

circuit. A consensus four-star recruit, he committed to playing college basketball for

UConn The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

over offers from

Seton Hall Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizab ...

and

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

College career

Sanogo became a starter in the third game of his freshman season at UConn. On 3 March 2021, he recorded a season-high 16 points, nine rebounds and two blocks in a 69–58 win over

. As a freshman, Sanogo averaged 7.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, earning

Big East The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

All-Freshman Team honors. On 24 November 2021, he scored a career-high 30 points in a 115–109 double overtime win against Auburn. On 1 December, Sanogo suffered an abdominal injury during a 72–63 win versus

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks The University of Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (commonly UMES and also known as the Eastern Shore Hawks) are the fifteen sports teams representing the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in Princess Anne, Maryland in intercollegiate athletics. ...

and was ruled out for several weeks. He was named to the First Team All-Big East. On 4 April 2023, Sanogo won the

with UConn and was named the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player. He became the first African-born player since

Hakeem Olajuwon Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon ( ; ; born January 21, 1963), nicknamed "the Dream", is a Nigerian and American former professional basketball player. From 1984 to 2002, he played Center (basketball), center in the National Basketball Association (NB ...

(1983) to win the award.

Professional career

After going undrafted in the

2023 NBA draft The 2023 NBA draft, the 77th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft, was held on June 22, 2023, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The draft consisted of 58 picks instead of the typical 60 for the second ...

, Sanogo signed a

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless o ...

with the

on 10 July 2023. On December 28, 2023, Sanogo made his NBA debut for the Bulls in a 120–104 loss to the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

. In the next game he played with for Chicago, on January 2, 2024, Sanogo put up 8 points, 4 rebounds, and a season-high 6 assists in a 110–97 loss to the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

. In what became only his 9th NBA game played on April 12, Sanogo recorded a 20/20 double-double with 22 points and 20 rebounds (including 10 offensive rebounds) in a 129–127 win over the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

, becoming the first rookie since Earl Williams in 1975 to record a 20-point, 20-rebound game off the bench. On July 6, 2024, Sanogo signed another two-way contract with the Bulls. On February 19, 2025, he was waived by the Bulls.

National team career

Sanogo won a gold medal representing

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

at the

2017 FIBA Under-16 African Championship The 2017 FIBA U16 African Championship, alternatively the 5th Afrobasket U16, was an international basketball competition held in Vacoas-Phoenix, Mauritius from 13–22 July 2017. It served as the qualifier for the 2018 FIBA Under-17 Basketball ...

in Mauritius, averaging 10.5 points and eight rebounds per game. At the 2018 FIBA Under-17 World Cup, he averaged six points and seven rebounds per game.

Career statistics

NBA

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Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

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College

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, 39 , , 39 , , 26.5 , , .606 , , .365 , , .766 , , 7.7 , , 1.3 , , .7 , , .8 , , 17.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 91 , , 87 , , 25.0 , , .560 , , .358 , , .715 , , 7.3 , , 1.0 , , .7 , , 1.2 , , 13.9

Personal life

Sanogo is the son of Cheickne Sanogo and Awa Traore, and has four sisters and one brother. He is a practicing

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

, so, due to the timing of

Ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...

in 2023, he was fasting during the NCAA tournament.

References

External links

UConn Huskies bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanogo, Adama 2002 births Living people Chicago Bulls players Malian expatriate basketball people in the United States Malian men's basketball players Power forwards Basketball players from Bamako The Patrick School alumni UConn Huskies men's basketball players Undrafted NBA players Windy City Bulls players 21st-century Malian sportsmen