Cheick Diallo (born September 13, 1996) 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 for the Osos de Manatí of the

Baloncesto Superior Nacional The Baloncesto Superior Nacional, abbreviated as BSN, is the first-tier-level professional men's basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1929 and is organized by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation. T ...

(BSN). Diallo was a five-star recruit and the MVP (Most Valuable Player) of the

2015 McDonald's All-American Boys Game The 2015 McDonald's All-American Boys Game was an All-star basketball game that was played on April 1, 2015, at the United Center in Chicago, home of the Chicago Bulls. It was the 38th annual McDonald's All-American Game for high school boys. The ...

. He played one season of

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Kansas Jayhawks The Kansas Jayhawks, commonly referred to as simply KU or Kansas, are the athletic teams that represent the University of Kansas. KU is one of three schools List of college athletic programs in Kansas, in the state of Kansas that participate in ...

before declaring for the

2016 NBA draft The 2016 NBA draft was held on June 23, 2016, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. It was televised nationally in the U.S. by ESPN, and was live streamed for the first time in NBA draft history by The Vertical. National Basketball Association (NBA) ...

, where he was selected with the 33rd overall pick by the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The ...

Early life

Diallo was born and raised in

Kayes Kayes ( Bambara: ߞߊߦߌ tr. ''Kayi'', Soninké: ''Xaayi'') is a city in western Mali on the Sénégal River with a population of 127,368 at the 2009 census. Kayes is the capital of the administrative region of the same name. The city is loc ...

, Mali. It took approximately 15 hours to drive from his hometown to

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 ...

, the country's capital city. He was the youngest in his family and had five brothers. He often played basketball with his older friends and family which brought out his skills. Diallo moved to the United States in February 2012 in pursuit of a basketball career. He was not fluent in the English language at the time. He recalled the time, "It was so tough. I left my parents, my friends, my brothers, everything, just to come here.'" Diallo began playing basketball in 2010.

High school career

Through its international program, Diallo began attending Our Savior New American School in Centereach, New York. He played with

Chris Obekpa Christopher Ewaoche Obekpa (born 14 November 1993) is a Nigerian 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, com ...

in his freshman season and, at first, was dominated by the fellow African big man. Diallo said, "I didn't know what I was doing. I couldn't make a point. bekpablocked me every time." In later seasons, he became more effective for his team and attracted attention through his shot-blocking, rebounding, and versatility. Diallo was invited to the NBPA Top 100 camp in 2013 and went on to become its first MVP from Africa. As a junior in 2014, he averaged 18.5 points, 11.2 rebounds, and 4.0 blocks per game while leading his team to a 28–3 record and a division championship. As a senior, Diallo averaged 17.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game. Diallo was named MVP of the

after scoring 18 points and 10 rebounds leading the East team to a 111–91 win over the West. Diallo was also named MVP of the 2015

Jordan Brand Classic The Jordan Brand Classic is a high school all star basketball game played annually in April. The game's rosters feature the best and most highly recruited high school boys and girls in the senior class. In 2015, a girl's game was introduced. Th ...

, tallied 26 points and 11 rebounds. Diallo was rated as a five-star recruit and ranked as the No. 7 overall recruit and No. 3 power forward in the 2015 high school class. On April 28, 2015, Diallo committed to

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

College career

Diallo missed the first five games of his freshman season with

after the NCAA failed to clear him to play due to eligibility concerns. On November 25, 2015, he was cleared to play for the Jayhawks in their game against Loyola on December 1, after the NCAA ultimately ruled Diallo had received a limited amount of impermissible benefits. In his lone season at Kansas, Diallo averaged 3.0 points and 2.5 rebounds in 7.5 minutes per game. In April 2016, Diallo declared for the

NBA draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...

, forgoing his final three years of college eligibility. In May 2016, at the NBA Draft Combine, Diallo registered a 7-foot-4½-inch wingspan and an 8-foot-11½-inch standing reach.

Professional career

New Orleans Pelicans (2016–2019)

On June 23, 2016, Diallo was selected by the

with the 33rd overall pick in

. Diallo was traded to the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Confere ...

later that night. On July 22, 2016, he signed with the Pelicans after averaging 10.2 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in five Summer League games. He made his NBA debut on October 29, 2016, recording one rebound and one block in six minutes off the bench in the Pelicans' 98–79 loss to the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

. Diallo played in just two games for a total of seven minutes over the Pelicans' first 23 games of the season. On December 10, 2016, he played in just under 31 minutes off the bench and scored 19 points in the Pelicans' 133–105 loss to the

. He also recorded 10 rebounds and shot 8-of-15 from the field. On April 11, 2017, he scored 19 points in a 108–96 loss to the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

. The following day, in the Pelicans' season finale, Diallo had 12 points and 16 rebounds in a 103–100 win over the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

. During his rookie season, he had multiple assignments with the

Austin Spurs The Austin Spurs are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Cedar Park, Texas, and are affiliated with the San Antonio Spurs. The team plays their home games at H-E-B Center at Cedar Park. The team has made the po ...

Long Island Nets The Long Island Nets are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Uniondale, New York, and are affiliated with the Brooklyn Nets. The team plays its home games at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Nassau County ...

and

Greensboro Swarm The Greensboro Swarm are an American basketball team of the NBA G League based in Greensboro, North Carolina, and are affiliated with the Charlotte Hornets. The Swarm play their home games at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex. The team became the ...

of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

, pursuant to the flexible assignment rule. On March 9, 2018, Diallo scored a season-high 14 points in a 116–97 loss to 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 ...

. On March 18, 2018, he set a new season high with 17 points in a 108–89 win over the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

. On February 6, 2019, Diallo scored a season-high 18 points in a 125–120 win over 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 ...

. On February 22, he had 16 points and a career-high 18 rebounds in a 126–111 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 ...

. Diallo matched his season high of 18 points with perfect shooting in a 128–115 win over the

on February 23.

Phoenix Suns (2019–2020)

On July 23, 2019, the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

signed Diallo to a two-year contract. On November 24, Diallo scored a career-high 22 points in a 114–102 loss to the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

Avtodor Saratov (2021)

On February 2, 2021, Diallo 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 ...

Fuenlabrada (2021)

On April 14, 2021, Diallo signed with

Fuenlabrada Fuenlabrada () is a city and municipality of Spain located in the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 193,586, making it the region's fourth most populated municipality. Placename The etymology of ''Fuenlabrada'' comes from the contra ...

of the Spanish

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administered by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, w ...

Motor City Cruise / Detroit Pistons (2021–2022)

On November 8, 2021, Diallo signed with the

Motor City Cruise The Motor City Cruise are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Detroit, and are affiliated with the Detroit Pistons. The Cruise play their home games at Wayne State Fieldhouse. The franchise began play as the Lon ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

. In 13 games, he averaged 14.4 points on 71.4% shooting and 8.5 rebounds in 21.7 minutes per game. On December 23, 2021, Diallo signed a 10-day contract with the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

via the hardship exemption and after his expired, he was re-acquirerd by Motor City.

Cangrejeros de Santurce (2022)

On May 1, 2022, Diallo signed with the Cangrejeros de Santurce of the BSN.

Kyoto Hannaryz (2022–2023)

On July 26, 2022, Diallo signed with Kyoto Hannaryz of the Japanese B.League.

Return to Cangrejeros de Santurce (2023)

On May 26, 2023, Diallo re-signed with the Cangrejeros de Santurce of the BSN.

Sioux Falls Skyforce (2023)

On September 27, 2023, Diallo signed with the

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

, but was waived on October 21, prior to the start of the 2023–24 season. On October 30, he joined the

Sioux Falls Skyforce The Sioux Falls Skyforce are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and are affiliated with the Miami Heat. The team has played its home games in the Sanford Pentagon since the 2013–14 ...

, but left the team on November 16.

Return to Kyoto (2023–2024)

On November 30, 2023, Diallo returned to Kyoto Hannaryz.

Osos de Manatí (2024)

On May 25, 2024, Diallo signed with the Osos de Manatí of the

. He had a great season individually, often leading the team in scoring, and the Osos reached the BSN finals for the first time in their history. They would lose 3–4 however, against the Criollos de Caguas.

Converge FiberXers (2024–2025)

On October 30, 2024, Diallo signed with the Converge FiberXers of the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines, composed of twelve company-branded Franchising, franchise teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia ...

(PBA) as the team's import for the 2024–25 PBA Commissioner's Cup.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, 17 , , 0 , , 11.7 , , .474 , , – , , .714 , , 4.3 , , .2 , , .2 , , .4 , , 5.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 52 , , 0 , , 11.2 , , .580 , , – , , .758 , , 4.1 , , .4 , , .2 , , .4 , , 4.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 64 , , 1 , , 14.0 , , .620 , , .250 , , .746 , , 5.2 , , .5 , , .5 , , .5 , , 6.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 47 , , 2 , , 10.2 , , .648 , , .333 , , .872 , , 2.8 , , .5 , , .2 , , .3 , , 4.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, 3 , , 0 , , 10.2 , , .375 , , – , , .833 , , 4.0 , , .0 , , .3 , , .0 , , 3.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 183 , , 3 , , 11.9 , , .596 , , .286 , , .774 , , 4.1 , , .4 , , .3 , , .4 , , 5.2

Playoffs

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2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

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, 7 , , 0 , , 6.9 , , .417 , , – , , – , , 1.3 , , .0 , , .1 , , .1 , , 1.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 7 , , 0 , , 6.9 , , .417 , , – , , – , , 1.3 , , .0 , , .1 , , .1 , , 1.4

College

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, 27 , , 1 , , 7.5 , , .569 , , – , , .556 , , 2.5 , , .0 , , .3 , , .9 , , 3.0

References

External links

Kansas Jayhawks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diallo, Cheick 1996 births Living people 21st-century Malian sportsmen Austin Spurs players Basketball players from Suffolk County, New York Baloncesto Fuenlabrada players BC Avtodor players Cangrejeros de Santurce basketball players Centers (basketball) Converge FiberXers players Detroit Pistons players Greensboro Swarm players Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball players Kyoto Hannaryz players Liga ACB players Long Island Nets players Los Angeles Clippers draft picks Malian expatriate basketball people in Japan Malian expatriate basketball people in the Philippines Malian expatriate basketball people in Russia Malian expatriate basketball people in Spain Malian expatriate basketball people in the United States Malian men's basketball players McDonald's High School All-Americans Motor City Cruise players New Orleans Pelicans players Osos de Manatí players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) People from Centereach, New York People from Kayes Sportspeople from Kayes Region Phoenix Suns players Philippine Basketball Association imports Power forwards Sioux Falls Skyforce players Sportspeople from Brookhaven, New York