Cheick Diallo

Cheick Diallo

Diallo being honored as MVP of the 2015 McDonald's All-American Boys Game
No. 13 – New Orleans Pelicans
Position Power forward / Center
League NBA
Personal information
Born (1996-09-13) September 13, 1996
Kayes, Mali
Nationality Malian
Listed height 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight 220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school Our Savior New American School
(Centereach, New York)
College Kansas (2015–2016)
NBA draft 2016 / Round: 2 / Pick: 33rd overall
Selected by the Los Angeles Clippers
Playing career 2016–present
Career history
2016–present New Orleans Pelicans
2016 →Austin Spurs
2017 →Long Island Nets
2017 →Greensboro Swarm
Career highlights and awards

Cheick Diallo (born September 13, 1996) is a Malian professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Diallo was a five-star recruit and was widely considered one of the top players in the Class of 2015. He was the MVP of the 2015 McDonald's All-American Boys Game. He played one season of college basketball for Kansas before declaring for the 2016 NBA draft, where he was selected with the 33rd overall pick by the Los Angeles Clippers.

Early life

Diallo was born and raised in Kayes, Mali. It took approximately 15 hours to drive from his hometown to Bamako, the country's capital city. He was the youngest in his family and had five brothers. 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. At first, I was thinking, I just want to go back. But one day I said, 'No, not yet. I want to stay and work hard here before I go back to Mali.'"[1] Diallo began playing basketball in 2010.[1]

High school career

Diallo in the 2015 McDonald's All-American Game

Through its international program, Diallo began attending Our Savior New American School in Centereach, New York. He played with Chris Obekpa 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. [Obekpa] blocked me every time."[1] 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.[1][2]

College career

Diallo missed the first five games of his freshman season with Kansas after the NCAA failed to clear him to play due to eligibility concerns.[3] 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.[4][5] 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, forgoing his final three years of college eligibility.[6]

College statistics

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2015–16 Kansas 27 1 7.5 .569 .000 .556 2.5 .0 .3 .9 3.0

Professional career

NBA Draft

In May 2016, at the NBA Draft Combine, Diallo registered a 7-foot, 4½-inch wingspan and an 8-foot-11½ standing reach.[7] On June 23, 2016, he was selected by the Los Angeles Clippers with the 33rd overall pick in 2016 NBA draft.[8]

New Orleans Pelicans (2016–present)

On the evening of the draft, Diallo was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans.[8][9] 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.[10] 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.[11] Diallo played in just two games for a total of seven minutes over the Pelicans' first 23 games of the season.[12] 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 Los Angeles Clippers.[13] He also recorded 10 rebounds and shot 8-of-15 from the field.[12] On April 11, 2017, he scored 19 points in a 108–96 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.[14] The following day, in the Pelicans' season finale, Diallo had 12 points and 16 rebound in a 103–100 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.[15] During his rookie season, he had multiple assignments with the Austin Spurs, Long Island Nets and Greensboro Swarm of the NBA Development League, pursuant to the flexible assignment rule.[16]

NBA career statistics

Legend
  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  Bold  Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17 New Orleans 17 0 11.7 .474 .000 .714 4.3 0.2 .2 .4 5.1
Career 17 0 11.7 .474 .000 .714 4.3 0.2 .2 .4 5.1

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Calle, Franklyn (February 25, 2015). "Mali Music". SlamOnline.com. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  2. ↑ Braziller, Zach (September 6, 2013). "From Mali to L.I., Diallo leaps to top tier of HS hoopers". NYPost.com. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  3. ↑ O'Donnell, Ricky (August 5, 2015). "Star Kansas freshman Cheick Diallo yet to be cleared by the NCAA". SBNation.com. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  4. ↑ "NCAA says Cheick Diallo can suit up for Kansas starting Tuesday". ESPN.com. November 26, 2015. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
  5. ↑ Dodd, Rustin (November 11, 2015). "Cheick Diallo’s eligibility case at Kansas raises questions about NCAA’s mission". KansasCity.com. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
  6. ↑ Borzello, Jeff (April 7, 2016). "Cheick Diallo to declare for NBA draft". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  7. ↑ Goodman, Jeff (May 14, 2016). "Cheick Diallo to keep name in NBA draft pool". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 14, 2016.
  8. 1 2 Reid, John (June 23, 2016). "Pelicans acquire former Kansas power forward Cheick Diallo's draft rights in trade with Clippers". NOLA.com. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  9. ↑ Eichenhofer, Jim (June 24, 2016). "Pelicans land Cheick Diallo in second-round trade with Clippers". NBA.com. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Pelicans Sign 2016 Second Round Draft Pick Cheick Diallo". NBA.com. July 22, 2016. Retrieved July 22, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Pelicans vs. Spurs – Box Score". ESPN.com. October 29, 2016. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  12. 1 2 "Cheick Diallo 2016-17 Game Log". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Clippers score season-high 133 points in win vs. reeling Pelicans". ESPN.com. December 10, 2016. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Metta scores 18 in possible farewell, Lakers top Pels 108-96". ESPN.com. April 11, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  15. ↑ "Pelicans end the season with a 103-100 win over the Blazers". ESPN.com. April 12, 2017. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
  16. ↑ "2016-17 NBA Assignments". NBA.com. Retrieved January 11, 2017.
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