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DeSagana Diop

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DeSagana Diop
Diop during a Cavaliers preseason game in October 2013
Texas Legends
PositionAssistant coach
LeagueNBA Development League
Personal information
Born (1982-01-30) January 30, 1982 (age 42)
Dakar, Senegal
NationalitySenegalese
Listed height7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight280 lb (127 kg)
Career information
High schoolOak Hill Academy
(Mouth of Wilson, Virginia)
NBA draft2001: 1st round, 8th overall pick
Selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers
Playing career2001–2013
PositionCenter
Number52, 7, 14, 2
Coaching career2014–present
Career history
As player:
2001–2005Cleveland Cavaliers
2005–2008Dallas Mavericks
2008New Jersey Nets
2008–2009Dallas Mavericks
2009–2013Charlotte Bobcats
As coach:
2014–presentTexas Legends (assistant)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference

DeSagana N'gagne Diop (/səˈɡɑːnə ˈdʒɒp/ sə-GAH-nə JOP; born January 30, 1982) is a Senegalese former professional basketball player who is currently an assistant coach for the Texas Legends of the NBA Development League.

Early life

After he began practicing basketball at the age of 15, Diop succeeded in averaging 14.6 points, 13.2 rebounds, and 8.1 blocks during his senior high school season,[1] earning the USA Today Virginia Player of the Year title and leading Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, to a #1 nation ranking (33 wins, 0 losses).

Diop speaks five languages:[2] Arabic, English, French, Wolof and some Spanish.

Professional career

Diop was drafted directly out of Oak Hill Academy by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the 8th overall pick of the 2001 NBA draft.[3] He was the fifth high school player, after Kwame Brown, Tyson Chandler, Eddy Curry and Ousmane Cisse to declare for the draft.[1] He played 193 games in four seasons with the Cavaliers, as a rarely looked at backup, averaging 1.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in 10.8 minutes per contest. Diop signed a three-year contract with the Dallas Mavericks as a free agent on August 19, 2005.[4] Diop quickly established himself as a defensive stalwart and potent shot blocker and rebounder, providing relief for Erick Dampier as a center. After December 31, 2005, he started most of the games for the Mavericks, assisting in their improvement and strong drive that resulted in the team qualifying to play in the NBA finals as representatives of the Western Conference.

Against the New York Knicks in a pre-season game, Diop hit the game-winning tip-in off of a missed shot by Keith Van Horn. Against the Denver Nuggets in November 2005, he registered 16 rebounds with a career-high 6 blocks—including a denial of Carmelo Anthony's potentially game-winning field goal attempt.[5]

Diop's defense was applauded around the league; for the 05–06 season, he ranked 11th in total blocks, 14th in blocks per game, and 4th in blocks per 48 minutes.[6][7][8]

In March 2006, two Mavericks fans produced a version of the hip-hop song "Jump" by Kris Kross. In their version, the refrain "Jump! Jump!" was turned into "Diop! Diop!", and the video praises Diop's shotblocking ability. It became so popular that the Mavs started to play the video at their home games. Diop said, "I remember the first time they played the video during a timeout and I was trying to pay attention to what coach [Johnson] was trying to say but I was sneaking looks at the video."[9]

On February 19, 2008, Diop was traded to the New Jersey Nets along with signed and traded Keith Van Horn, Devin Harris, Trenton Hassell, Maurice Ager, and roughly $3 million cash and 2008 and 2010 first round draft picks in exchange for Jason Kidd, Malik Allen and Antoine Wright.[10]

On July 9, 2008, Diop signed a six-year, $32 million contract with the Dallas Mavericks.[11]

On January 16, 2009, he was traded to the Charlotte Bobcats for guard Matt Carroll and center Ryan Hollins.[12]

On September 30, 2013, he signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers.[13] However, he was waived on October 25.[14]

Coaching career

On November 11, 2014, Diop joined the coaching staff of the Texas Legends of the NBA Development League as a player development coach.[15] On October 19, 2015, he was promoted to assistant coach.[16]

Player profile

In Game 7 of the 2006 western conference semifinals playoff matchup between San Antonio and Dallas, Diop was called the "unsung hero" of the game after grabbing two crucial offensive rebounds, disrupting a number of opponents' shots and playing very solid defense on Tim Duncan in the 4th quarter and overtime with a broken nose.[17]

On April 11, 2007, Diop recorded his first double-double with season-highs of 10 points and 15 rebounds in the Mavs' franchise-high 30th road victory, a 105–88 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.[18]

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
2001–02 Cleveland 18 1 6.1 .414 .000 .200 .9 .3 .1 .6 1.4
2002–03 Cleveland 80 1 11.8 .351 .000 .367 2.7 .5 .4 1.0 1.5
2003–04 Cleveland 56 3 13.0 .388 .000 .600 3.6 .6 .5 .9 2.3
2004–05 Cleveland 39 0 7.8 .290 .000 .000 1.8 .4 .2 .7 1.0
2005–06 Dallas 81 45 18.6 .487 .500 .542 4.6 .3 .5 1.8 2.3
2006–07 Dallas 81 9 18.3 .470 .000 .558 5.4 .4 .5 1.4 2.3
2007–08 Dallas 52 18 17.2 .583 .000 .600 5.2 .5 .4 1.2 3.0
2007–08 New Jersey 27 5 14.9 .415 .000 .467 4.5 .5 .2 .9 2.5
2008–09 Dallas 34 0 13.3 .379 .000 .414 3.5 .4 .4 .7 1.6
2008–09 Charlotte 41 1 14.2 .460 .000 .270 3.8 .5 .4 .8 2.8
2009–10 Charlotte 27 0 9.7 .517 .000 .222 2.4 .2 .2 .5 1.2
2010–11 Charlotte 16 0 11.3 .333 .000 .364 2.5 .4 .3 .9 1.3
2011–12 Charlotte 27 9 12.0 .357 .000 .167 3.1 .9 .2 .5 1.1
2012–13 Charlotte 22 1 10.3 .296 .000 .000 2.3 .6 .2 .7 .7
Career 601 93 14.0 .427 .167 .467 3.7 .4 .4 1.0 2.0

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2006 Dallas 22 18 18.5 .615 .000 .611 5.0 .1 .6 1.3 2.7
2007 Dallas 6 3 23.3 .600 .000 .429 6.8 .3 .5 1.7 3.5
Career 28 21 19.5 .611 .000 .560 5.4 .1 .6 1.4 2.9

References

  1. ^ a b Diop declares for NBA draft
  2. ^ Cavaliers: Cavalier DeSagana Diop Holds a Special Reading Timeout in French with St. Ignatius High School Students
  3. ^ "2001 NBA draft board". USA Today. July 2, 2001. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
  4. ^ "Mavs Sign Diop". NBA.com. 2009-08-19. Retrieved 2009-02-28.
  5. ^ ESPN – Denver vs. Dallas Recap, November 15, 2005
  6. ^ ESPN – NBA Statistics and League Leaders – National Basketball Association
  7. ^ ESPN – NBA Statistics and League Leaders – National Basketball Association
  8. ^ ESPN – NBA Statistics and League Leaders – National Basketball Association
  9. ^ [1] Archived 2006-05-13 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ "Nets Acquire Harris". NBA.com. 2008-02-19. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
  11. ^ "Diop back in the fold". NBA.com. 2008-07-09. Retrieved 2009-02-28.
  12. ^ "Bobcats Acquire DeSagana Diop from Dallas Mavericks". NBA.com. 2009-01-16. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
  13. ^ Cavaliers Announce 2013-14 Training Camp Roster
  14. ^ Cavs waive DeSagana Diop, Kenny Kadji, Jermaine Taylor, Elliot Williams
  15. ^ "Nick Van Exel, DeSagana Diop Join Legends' Coaching Staff". CBSLocal.com. November 11, 2014. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
  16. ^ "Legends Round out Coaches' Bench". OurSportsCentral.com. October 19, 2015. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  17. ^ Mavs blow 20-point lead before eliminating Spurs in OT
  18. ^ Mavericks set franchise record with 30th road victory
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