Sidy Cissoko ( ; born 2 April 2004) 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 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 ...

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), on 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 Rip City Remix 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 ...

. He previously played for the

NBA G League Ignite The NBA G League Ignite was a developmental basketball team in the NBA G League. Originally based in Walnut Creek, California, with home games planned to have been played at the Ultimate Fieldhouse for their first two seasons before moving to Hende ...

Early life

Cissoko's father, Yaya (or Yakia), was a basketball player who represented Senegal at the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. Growing up in France, Sidy played basketball from a young age and looked up to

Kyrie Irving Kyrie Andrew Irving ( ; , ; born March 23, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was named the Rookie of the Year after being selected by the Cleveland Cav ...

, seeing as he was shorter than the rest of his teammates at the time. He reached the under-15 level with CTC Center Essonne. In 2017, at 13 years of age, Cissoko moved to Spain and joined the youth ranks of Baskonia. In 2020–21, Cissoko played with the Baskonia reserves in the fourth-tier

Liga EBA The Tercera FEB, formerly known as Liga EBA (''Liga Española de Baloncesto Aficionado''), is a Spanish basketball championship that is the fourth tier level in the Spanish basketball league system, after the Liga ACB, Primera FEB and Segunda FEB ...

and averaged a team-leading 17.4 points per game. He also led the Baskonia junior (under-18) team to a fourth-place finish in the junior national championship while leading the competition in points and assists.

Professional career

Cissoko was called up to the Baskonia first team ahead of the 2021–22 ACB season. On September 26, 2021, Cissoko made his senior debut for Baskonia at the age of 17, playing 28 seconds in a 72–61 loss to

Joventut Badalona Club Joventut Badalona, S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional basketball club based in Badalona, Catalonia, Spain, playing in the Liga ACB and the EuroCup. Known to their fans as ''La Penya'' (in English, ''The Club''), it is one of only two team ...

. This allowed Baskonia to retain his European rights. A few days after his debut, Cissoko was loaned out to Baskonia's satellite club,

Iraurgi SB Iraurgi Saski Baloia, also known as Sammic Hostelería for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball team based in Azpeitia, Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, Spain. Founded in 1975, the men's team currently plays in L ...

, in the second-tier

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 ...

. He averaged 10.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 32 games played. Cissoko trained with the Baskonia first team as well; he later said he learned a lot from watching Wade Baldwin IV. Cissoko was invited to play in the 2022

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 ...

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, recording three points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals in 23 minutes for the World Team in a 102–80 loss to Team USA.

NBA G League Ignite (2022–2023)

On July 19, 2022, it was announced that Cissoko had signed with the

, a developmental team affiliated with the

. Cissoko became the first European player to sign with the Ignite. He pointed to the success of

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

lottery pick, Dyson Daniels, who played at the NBA Global Academy in Australia before spending the 2021–22 season with the Ignite. At the time of his signing, Cissoko was ranked as the third-best European prospect in his class by Jonathan Givony of

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

, behind countrymen

Victor Wembanyama Victor Wembanyama ( ; ; born 4 January 2004), nicknamed "Wemby" and "The Alien", is a French professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Considered one of the best basketball prospec ...

and Rayan Rupert. Cissoko was one of four Ignite players chosen to compete in the Rising Stars Challenge at the 2023 NBA All-Star Weekend, recording one rebound, one assist and one steal for Team Jason in a 40–32 loss to Team Joakim. He was also one of 24 players named to the G League's inaugural Next Up Game. On January 16, 2023, Cissoko scored a then-season-high 21 points in a 141–119 defeat to the

Fort Wayne Mad Ants The Noblesville Boom are an American professional basketball team based in Noblesville, Indiana that competes in the NBA G League. The Boom are the affiliate team of the NBA's Indiana Pacers and, since 2025, they have played their home games at ...

. In another loss to the Mad Ants the following day, he scored 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting, including 4-of-5 from three. Cissoko had five straight games of 20 or more points in February and March. This included a season-high 24-point performance, along with six rebounds and four assists, in a 123–97 loss to the

Memphis Hustle The Memphis Hustle are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in the Greater Memphis suburb of Southaven, Mississippi, and are affiliated with the Memphis Grizzlies. The team plays their home games at the Landers C ...

on February 24. Cissoko tied his season high with 24 points against 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 ...

on March 15. For the 2022 - 2023 regular season, Cissoko played in 28 games with the G League Ignite and averaged 12.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists while playing 29.3 minutes per game. On March 29, 2023, Cissoko announced he was entering his name 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 ...

San Antonio Spurs (2023–2025)

Cissoko was selected with the 44th overall pick of the draft by 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 ...

. On July 27, 2023, he signed with the Spurs. He was immediately assigned to 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 ...

during his rookie season. He played 4 games with the Austin Spurs during the Tip-Off Tournament and averaged 9.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 27.0 minutes in those 4 games before finally having his NBA debut on November 20, 2023. In his debut, Cissoko played for 4 minutes and recorded no stats other than 1 turnover as the Spurs suffered a 25-point loss to 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 ...

(99 - 124). Cissoko struggled shooting-wise in the NBA, shooting 1 for 7 FGs in his first 8 games. He gracefully turned this around and in the final 4 games of his rookie season, shot 15 for 26 FGs. Most of Cissoko's rookie and sophomore seasons would be spent in the G-League. In his regular season debut with the Austin Spurs on December 28, 2023, Cissoko recorded 22 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in a 118 - 117 victory over the

South Bay Lakers The South Bay Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, that competes in the NBA G League. Founded in 2006 as the Los Angeles D-Fenders, the team is owned by the Los Angeles Lakers, who were the first ...

. He went on to average 15.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 29.3 minutes per game while the Austin Spurs finished with a 20 - 14 record and finished as the 7th seed, thus missing the playoffs.

Portland Trail Blazers (2025–present)

On February 3, 2025, Cissoko, alongside

Zach LaVine Zachary Thomas LaVine ( ; born March 10, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected in the first round of the 2014 NBA draft with the 13th overall p ...

and three first-round picks and two second-round picks, was traded to 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 ...

in exchange for

De'Aaron Fox De'Aaron Martez Fox (born December 20, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats before being selected fift ...

and Jordan McLaughlin, in a deal in which the Spurs also sent Zach Collins,

Tre Jones Tre Isiah Jones ( ; born January 8, 2000) is an American professional basketball point guard for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Like his older brother, fellow NBA player Tyus Jones, he played college basketball f ...

and a 2025-first round pick to 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 5, 2025, Cissoko, along with two second-round draft picks (2028, 2029), was traded 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 ...

in exchange for center

Jonas Valančiūnas Jonas Valančiūnas ( ; ; born 6 May 1992) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Toronto Raptors with the fifth overall pick in the 2011 NBA ...

, but was waived the next day. On February 8, 2025, he signed a two-way contract with the

National team career

Cissoko played for the France national under-18 team at the 2021 FIBA U18 European Challengers. He averaged 7.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.4 steals per game. At the

2022 FIBA U18 European Championship The 2022 FIBA U18 European Championship was the 37th edition of the European basketball championship for national under-18 teams. It was played from 30 July to 7 August 2022 in İzmir, Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye ...

the following year, Cissoko averaged 11.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.4 steals per game.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

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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

Sidy Cissoko
at

RealGM RealGM.com is a sports website created in 2000. The site was originally a basketball site, but has since expanded its scope to provide information about American football, baseball, ice hockey and soccer. According to Alexa, the site ranked in th ...

NBA G League profile

Liga ACB profile

FIBA profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cissoko, Sidy 2004 births Living people 21st-century French sportsmen Austin Spurs players Basketball players from Val-de-Marne French expatriate basketball people in Spain French expatriate basketball people in the United States French men's basketball players French sportspeople of Senegalese descent Iraurgi SB players Liga ACB players NBA G League Ignite players NBA players from France Portland Trail Blazers players Rip City Remix players San Antonio Spurs draft picks San Antonio Spurs players Saski Baskonia players Shooting guards Small forwards Sportspeople from Saint-Maurice, Val-de-Marne