Ibou Badji
No. 41 – Portland Trail Blazers
PositionCenter
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (2002-10-13) 13 October 2002
Dakar, Senegal
Listed height2.13 m (7 ft 0 in)
Listed weight109 kg (240 lb)
Career information
High schoolNBA Academy Africa
(Saly, Senegal)
NBA draft2022: undrafted
Playing career2019–present
Career history
2019–2021FC Barcelona B
2021–2022Força Lleida CE
2022–2023Wisconsin Herd
2023–presentPortland Trail Blazers
2023–present→Rip City Remix
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com

Ibou Dianko Badji (born 13 October 2002) is a Senegalese professional basketball player for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Rip City Remix of the NBA G League.

Early life and career

In 2017–18, Badji trained with NBA Academy Africa in Saly, Senegal, where he emerged as one of the best prospects in his age group.[1] By the time he turned 15 years old, he stood about 2.16 m (7 ft 1 in) with a 2.29 m (7 ft 6 in) wingspan.[2] On 27 December 2018, Badji signed with Spanish basketball club FC Barcelona and began playing for its youth sections.[3] In December 2019, he played for U18 FC Barcelona at ANGT Valencia, where he averaged eight points, 8.8 rebounds and five blocks per game.[4]

Professional career

Barcelona (2019–2021)

To prepare for the 2019–20 season, Badji trained with the first team of Barcelona.[5] He spent much of the season playing for FC Barcelona B, the club's reserve team, in the third-tier LEB Plata. On 26 October 2019, Badji had a season-high 12 points, nine rebounds and five blocks in an 86–77 win over Prat.[6] On 18 January 2020, he recorded eight points and a season-high eight blocks in an 88–80 victory over Prat.[7]

Força Lleida (2021–2022)

On 4 October 2021, Badji signed with Força Lleida CE of the LEB Oro.[8]

Wisconsin Herd (2022–2023)

After going undrafted in the 2022 NBA draft, on 3 November 2022, Badji was named to the opening night roster for the Wisconsin Herd after signing an Exhibition 10 contract.[9]

On 18 November 2022, the Portland Trail Blazers announced that they had signed Badji to a two-way contract.[10] On 7 March 2023, he underwent surgery on his left knee and was ruled out for at least eight weeks, thus missing out on playing the rest of the season.[11]

On 6 July 2023, Badji signed another two-way contract with the Trail Blazers,[12] but was waived on 24 October.[13] Six days later, he returned to the Herd.[14]

Portland Trail Blazers (2023–present)

On 22 November 2023, Badji signed another two-way contract with the Portland Trail Blazers.[15]

On December 26, 2023, Badji made his NBA debut for the Trail Blazers in a 130–113 win over the Sacramento Kings. In his next game two days later, Badji put up 7 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocks in 14 minutes of action in a 118–105 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.

National team career

Badji represented Senegal at the 2019 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup in Heraklion, Greece. He averaged 6.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game, which ranked second in the tournament, as his team finished in 15th place.[16]

References

  1. ↑ "El Barça ficha al 'rey del mate' senegalés de 16 años y 2,18". Sport (in Spanish). 27 December 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  2. ↑ Givony, Jonathan (28 December 2017). "Inside the NBA Academy and what it means for future prospects". ESPN. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  3. ↑ "El Barcelona ata al 'anti-Tavares' del futuro forjado por la NBA: 16 años y 2,16 metros". Marca (in Spanish). 28 December 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  4. ↑ Domínguez, Juan (27 December 2019). "Primera jornada del ANGT de Valencia: Roko Prkacin, Alonso Faure…". Fullbasket (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  5. ↑ "Fc Barcelone : Le jeune Ibou Badji avec l'équipe première". Le Quotidien (in French). 29 August 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  6. ↑ "Espagne – LEB Plata : Brancou Badio et Ibou Badji décisifs avec le Barça". Basketsenegal (in French). 28 October 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  7. ↑ "8 tapones con el filial del Barça para Ibou Badji: te lo presentamos". Gigantes del Basket (in Spanish). 18 January 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  8. ↑ "Ibou Badji joins Lleida". Eurobasket. 5 October 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  9. ↑ "Wisconsin Herd Announces 2022-23 Opening Day Roster". oursportscentral.com. 3 November 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  10. ↑ "Portland Trail Blazers Sign Ibou Badji to Two-Way Contract". NBA.com. 18 November 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  11. ↑ "IBOU BADJI INJURY UPDATE". NBA.com. 7 March 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  12. ↑ "Trail Blazers Re-Sign Ibou Badji And John Butler Jr. To Two-Way Contracts". NBA.com. 6 July 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  13. ↑ "Trail Blazers Sign Duop Reath to Two-Way Contract". NBA.com. 24 October 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  14. ↑ Owczarski, Jim (30 October 2023). "Drew Timme, Alex Antetokounmpo, Glenn Robinson III headline the Wisconsin Herd camp roster". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  15. ↑ "Trail Blazers Re-Sign Ibou Badji To Two-Way Contract". NBA.com. 22 November 2023. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  16. ↑ "Five players who blossomed at U19 World Cup". FIBA. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
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