Thierry Serge Darlan (born 3 February 2004) is a Central African 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

Delaware Blue Coats The Delaware Blue Coats are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Wilmington, Delaware. They are the G-League affiliates of the Philadelphia 76ers. The Blue Coats play their home games at Chase Fieldhouse. The Bl ...

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 ...

. A graduate of the

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 ...

in Senegal, Darlan also plays for the Central African Republic national team.

Early career

Born in

Bangui Bangui (; or Bangî in Sango language, Sango, formerly written Bangi in English) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in the Central African Republic, largest city of the Central African Republic. It was established as a Fren ...

, Darlan joined the

in Senegal at age 16. Darlan was invited to 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 ...

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in 2022, but was forced to miss the game due to an injury. In September 2022, he played at the

Basketball Without Borders Basketball Without Borders is a basketball instructional camp organized by the NBA in conjunction with FIBA. It presents itself as a “basketball development and community outreach program that unites young basketball players to promote the sport ...

event in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

where was named the camp's MVP.

Professional career

First experiences in the BAL (2022)

Darlan made his professional debut in 2022 with Angolan club Petro de Luanda in the

Basketball Africa League The Basketball Africa League (BAL) is the premier men's basketball league in Africa. Founded in 2019, the league was established and is co-organized by NBA Africa and the FIBA, International Basketball Federation (FIBA). Each season typically r ...

(BAL). Under the BAL Elevate program, he was assigned to Petro. He was on the roster that made it to the

2022 BAL Finals The 2022 BAL Finals was the championship game of the 2022 BAL season, the second season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). The final was played in the BK Arena in Kigali on 28 May 2022, between Angolan club Petro de Luanda and Tunisian club ...

, where they lost to US Monastir. He averaged 4.3 points and 2 rebounds in the

2022 BAL season The 2022 BAL season, also known as BAL Season 2, was the second season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). The season began on 2 March 2022 and ended with the Finals on 28 May 2022. The group phase was played in the Dakar Arena in Dakar and ...

. In the same year, in November 2022, Darlan and the NBA Academy played in the Road to BAL 2023 where they faced professional teams from across the continent. He averaged a team-high 23 points per game, as well as 5.7 assists per game, helping the academy win two out of three games.

NBA G League Ignite (2023–2024)

On 2 March 2023, Darlan committed to 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 ...

, choosing to become a professional player instead of playing in

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

. He had drawn offers from

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

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 ...

and Santa Clara, among others. On 25 May, he officially signed with the Ignite. Dealing with an ankle injury for the majority of the season and facing heavy competition for playing time, Darlan averaged 4.7 points, 4.3 rebounds in 18.1 minutes of play in the 2023–24 season.

Bangui Sporting Club (2024)

On 4 April 2024,

Bangui Sporting Club Bangui Sporting Club, also known as Bangui SC, is a Central African basketball team based in Bangui. The team plays in the Bangui Basketball League (LBBB) and has won the championship in 2022 and 2023. In the 2024 season, Bangui played in the ...

from the Central African Republic revealed Darlan was on the team's roster for the

2024 BAL season The 2024 BAL season, also known as BAL Season 4, was the 4th season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). The season began on 9 March 2024 and ended with the final on 1 June 2024, which was played in the BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda for a fourth c ...

. Darlan scored 7 points on 3-11 shooting in his Bangui debut against Al-Ahly Ly. He had career-highs of 23 points and 14 rebounds in a loss against defending champions

Al Ahly Al-Ahly Sporting Club (), commonly known as Al-Ahly, is an Egyptian professional sports club based in Cairo, Egypt. The club is mainly known for its professional football team which currently plays in the Egyptian Premier League, the highest ...

. On 25 April 2024, Darlan declared for the

2024 NBA draft The 2024 NBA draft was the 78th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft. Unlike recent years, the 2024 draft took place over two nights. This was the first NBA draft to be held on multiple nights since the draft ...

, before withdrawing later.

Rip City Remix (2024)

On 26 October 2024, Darlan joined the

Rip City Remix The Rip City Remix are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in North Portland, Oregon, and are affiliated with the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association. The team plays home games at the Chile ...

after being selected in the 2024 NBA G League draft.

Delaware Blue Coats (2025–present)

On 4 January 2025, Darlan was traded to the

National team career

Darlan made his debut for the Central African Republic senior national team in 2022 during the 2023 World Cup qualifiers, in which he averaged 12.7 points in three games. He made his debut at age 18 in July 2022 during the third round of the qualifiers, scoring 12 points in the game against

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

Player profile

Darlan is a tall

combo guard A combo guard is a basketball player who combines the attributes of a point guard (1) and shooting guard (2), but does not necessarily fit the standard description of either position. In men's basketball, such guards are usually within the 6' 3" ...

with a wingspan and is known for his playmaking abilities and defensive versatility because of his large frame.

Personal life

Darlan is the grandson of Jean Pascal Darlan and the cousin of Bruno Darlan (b. 1961), who both were basketball players. Bruno was the head coach of the Central African Republic men's national basketball team when Thierry played with them. Darlan is a fan of

association football 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 ...

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

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Major League Soccer ...

References

External links

RealGM profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Darlan, Thierry 2004 births Living people Atlético Petróleos de Luanda basketball players Bangui Sporting Club players Central African Republic men's basketball players Delaware Blue Coats players NBA Academy Africa players NBA G League Ignite players People from Bangui Point guards Rip City Remix players Basketball players from Bangui