Ibou Dianko Badji (born 13 October 2002) is a Senegalese 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

Lenovo Tenerife Club Cantera Base 1939 Canarias S.A.D., commonly known as CB Canarias and known as La Laguna Tenerife for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball team that is based in La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain. Domestically, the team plays in the top- ...

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 ...

Early life and career

In 2017–18, Badji trained with

NBA Academy Africa The NBA Academy Africa is a basketball team and academy operated by the National Basketball Association (NBA), located in Saly, Senegal. Opened in 2017, the academy offers both education and basketball training. Several alumni of the program have p ...

Saly Saly (also called Sali or Saly Portudal) is a seaside resort and urban commune in Thiès Region on the Petite Côte of Senegal, south of Dakar. It is a major tourist destination in Senegal. History Saly was originally a Portuguese trading post kn ...

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 ...

, where he emerged as one of the best prospects in his age group. By the time he turned 15 years old, he stood about with a

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...

. On 27 December 2018, Badji signed with Spanish basketball club

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...

and began playing for its youth sections. In December 2019, he played for U18 FC Barcelona at ANGT Valencia, where he averaged eight points, 8.8 rebounds and five blocks per game.

Professional career

Barcelona (2019–2021)

To prepare for the 2019–20 season, Badji trained with the

first team First team may refer to: Sports * First team (association football), the colloquial name given to the most senior team fielded by a football club * The First Team, the first players known to have played the sport of basketball * First Team All-A ...

of Barcelona. He spent much of the season playing for

FC Barcelona B FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Paki ...

, the club's

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

, in the third-tier

LEB Plata The Segunda FEB, formerly known as LEB 2 and LEB Plata, is the third basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system and the second basketball division organized by the Spanish Basketball Federation. Since 2019, three teams are promote ...

. On 26 October 2019, Badji had a season-high 12 points, nine rebounds and five blocks in an 86–77 win over

Prat Prat may refer to: People * Alfonso Prat-Gay (born 1965), Argentine economist and politician *Arturo Prat (1848–1879), Chilean naval officer * Domingo Prat (1886–1944), Spanish-born Argentinean guitarist *Jean Prat (1923–2005), French rugby ...

. On 18 January 2020, he recorded eight points and a season-high eight blocks in an 88–80 victory over Prat.

Força Lleida (2021–2022)

On 4 October 2021, Badji signed with

Força Lleida CE Força Lleida Club Esportiu, also known as Hiopos Lleida for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in Lleida, Spain. It plays in the Liga ACB with it home games played at the Espai Fruita Barris Nord. History The club bor ...

of the

LEB Oro The Primera FEB, formerly known as LEB or LEB Oro, is the second basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system after the Liga ACB. It is run by the Spanish Basketball Federation, FEB. The FEB leagues are divided into three categorie ...

Wisconsin Herd (2022–2023)

After going undrafted in the

2022 NBA draft The 2022 NBA draft (branded as the 2022 NBA Draft presented by State Farm for sponsorship reasons), the 76th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft, was held on June 23, 2022, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New ...

, on 3 November 2022, Badji was named to the opening night roster for the

Wisconsin Herd The Wisconsin Herd are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and are affiliated with the Milwaukee Bucks. The Herd play their home games at Oshkosh Arena. History On June 29, 2016, it was anno ...

after signing an Exhibition 10 contract. On 18 November 2022, 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 ...

announced that they had signed Badji to 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 ...

. On 7 March 2023, he underwent surgery on his left knee and was ruled out for at least eight weeks, thus missing out on playing the rest of the season. On 6 July 2023, Badji signed another two-way contract with the Trail Blazers, but was waived on 24 October. Six days later, he returned to the Herd.

Portland Trail Blazers (2023–2024)

On 22 November 2023, Badji signed another

with the

. On 26 December 2023, Badji made his NBA debut for the Trail Blazers in a 130–113 win over the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

and two days later, he put up 7 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocks in 14 minutes of action in a 118–105 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 ...

Return to Wisconsin (2024–2025)

On 12 September 2024, Badji signed with the

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

, but was waived the same day. On 28 October, he rejoined the

La Laguna Tenerife (2025–present)

On April 3, 2025, Badji signed with La Laguna Tenerife of the Spanish

National team career

Badji represented

at the

2019 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup The 2019 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup (Greek: Παγκόσμιο Κύπελλο Μπάσκετ FIBA Under-19 2019) was the 14th edition of the FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup, the biennial international men's youth basketball championshi ...

Heraklion Heraklion or Herakleion ( ; , , ), sometimes Iraklion, is the largest city and the administrative capital city, capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion (regional unit), Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in G ...

, Greece. He averaged 6.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game, which ranked second in the tournament, as his team finished in 15th place.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

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References

External links

RealGM.com profile
2002 births Living people 21st-century Senegalese sportsmen Basketball players from Dakar Centers (basketball) Força Lleida CE players FC Barcelona Bàsquet B players NBA Academy Africa players Portland Trail Blazers players Rip City Remix players Senegalese expatriate basketball people in Spain Senegalese expatriate basketball people in the United States Senegalese men's basketball players Undrafted NBA players Wisconsin Herd players {{Senegal-basketball-bio-stub