Khalifa Ababacar Diop (born 15 January 2002) is a Senegalese professional basketball player for Baskonia of the Spanish Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. He also plays for the Senegalese national team. Diop was drafted 39th overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2022 NBA draft.
 Diop with Gran Canaria in 2022 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 18 – Saski Baskonia | |||||||||||||||
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| Position | Center | ||||||||||||||
| League | Liga ACB EuroLeague | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | 15 January 2002 Guereo, Senegal | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 105 kg (231 lb) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| NBA draft | 2022: 2nd round, 39th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers | |||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 2017–present | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| 2017–2023 | Gran Canaria | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2021 | → Gran Canaria B | ||||||||||||||
| 2023–present | Baskonia | ||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |||||||||||||||
Medals
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Early career
Diop trained with the junior teams of CB Gran Canaria and CB TerrAlfas.[1] In 2018, he was named the MVP of the national junior club championship. He debuted with Gran Canaria B in the Liga EBA, the Spanish fourth level league, at age 15. On 3 November 2019, Diop recorded 25 points and a league record 28 rebounds in a Liga EBA game against Novum Energy Lyceum.[1]
Professional career
Gran Canaria (2017–2023)
On 28 March 2019, Diop made his senior debut for Gran Canaria, recording three points and four rebounds in a 90–55 loss to Maccabi Tel Aviv in the EuroLeague.[2] On 24 November 2019, he made his Liga ACB debut, playing three minutes in a loss to Real Madrid.[3] Diop was named EuroCup Rising Star and made the ACB All-Young Players Team for the 2021–22 season.[4][5]
After declaring for the 2022 NBA draft, Diop was drafted 39th overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Cavaliers GM Koby Altman announced a few days later that Diop would not join the Cavaliers roster in the 2022-23 NBA season, and would stay in the Spanish League.[6] Diop later signed a contract extension with Gran Canaria.[7]
Baskonia (2023–present)
On July 14, 2023, Diop signed a multi-year contract with EuroLeague mainstays Baskonia.
National team career
Diop represented Senegal at the 2019 FIBA Under-19 World Cup in Heraklion. He averaged 13.1 points, seven rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.[8] Diop helped Senegal win the silver medal at the 2020 FIBA U18 African Championship in Egypt, where he averaged 12.6 points, 11.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 3.4 steals per game.[9] At the 2021 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup in Latvia, he averaged 14 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.[10]
In February 2022, Diop was selected for the Senegal senior national team for the qualifiers of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.[11]
Career statistics
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | PIR | Performance Index Rating |
| Bold | Career high |
EuroLeague
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018–19 | Gran Canaria | 1 | 0 | 7.0 | .500 | — | .500 | 4.0 | — | 1.0 | — | 3.0 | 7.0 |
| 2023–24 | Baskonia | 13 | 1 | 9.4 | .520 | — | .625 | 1.9 | .3 | .2 | .2 | 2.8 | 2.6 |
| Career | 14 | 1 | 9.3 | .519 | — | .611 | 2.1 | .3 | .3 | .1 | 2.8 | 2.9 | |
References
External links
- Khalifa Diop international stats at Basketball-Reference.com