Ibou Badji Explained

Ibou Badji
Position:Center
Height M:2.13
Weight Kg:109
Team:Free agent
Birth Date:13 October 2002
Birth Place:Dakar, Senegal
High School:NBA Academy Africa
(Saly, Senegal)
Draft Year:2022
Career Start:2019
Years1:2019–2021
Team1:FC Barcelona B
Years2:2021–2022
Team2:Força Lleida CE
Years3:20222023
Team3:Wisconsin Herd
Team4:Portland Trail Blazers
Years5:2023–2024
Team5:Rip City Remix

Ibou Dianko Badji (born 13 October 2002) is a Senegalese professional basketball player who last played 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 with a 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] [15]

Portland Trail Blazers (2023–2024)

On 22 November 2023, Badji signed another two-way contract with the Portland Trail Blazers.[16] On 26 December 2023, Badji made his NBA debut for the Trail Blazers in a 130–113 win over the Sacramento Kings[17] and two days later, he put up 7 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocks in 14 minutes of action in a 118–105 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.[18]

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.[19]

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

|-| style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Portland| 22 || 1 || 10.3 || .636 || || .500 || 2.3 || .6 || .1 || .9 || 1.5|- class="sortbottom"| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career| 22 || 1 || 10.3 || .636 || — || .500 || 2.3 || .6 || .1 || .9 || 1.5

Notes and References

  1. Web site: El Barça ficha al 'rey del mate' senegalés de 16 años y 2,18 . . 29 March 2020 . Spanish . 27 December 2018.
  2. Web site: Givony . Jonathan . Inside the NBA Academy and what it means for future prospects . . 29 March 2020 . 28 December 2017.
  3. Web site: El Barcelona ata al 'anti-Tavares' del futuro forjado por la NBA: 16 años y 2,16 metros . . 29 March 2020 . Spanish . 28 December 2018.
  4. Web site: Domínguez . Juan . Primera jornada del ANGT de Valencia: Roko Prkacin, Alonso Faure… . Fullbasket . 29 March 2020 . Spanish . 27 December 2019.
  5. Web site: Fc Barcelone : Le jeune Ibou Badji avec l'équipe première . . 29 March 2020 . French . 29 August 2019.
  6. Web site: Espagne – LEB Plata : Brancou Badio et Ibou Badji décisifs avec le Barça . Basketsenegal . 29 March 2020 . French . 28 October 2019.
  7. Web site: 8 tapones con el filial del Barça para Ibou Badji: te lo presentamos . Gigantes del Basket . 29 March 2020 . Spanish . 18 January 2020.
  8. Web site: Ibou Badji joins Lleida . Eurobasket . October 5, 2021 . October 5, 2021.
  9. Web site: Wisconsin Herd Announces 2022-23 Opening Day Roster. oursportscentral.com. November 3, 2022. November 3, 2022.
  10. Web site: Portland Trail Blazers Sign Ibou Badji to Two-Way Contract. NBA.com. November 18, 2022. November 18, 2022.
  11. Web site: IBOU BADJI INJURY UPDATE. NBA.com. 7 March 2023. 16 March 2023.
  12. Web site: Trail Blazers Re-Sign Ibou Badji And John Butler Jr. To Two-Way Contracts. NBA.com. 6 July 2023. 6 July 2023.
  13. Web site: Trail Blazers Sign Duop Reath to Two-Way Contract. NBA.com. 24 October 2023. 29 October 2023.
  14. Web site: WISCONSIN HERD ANNOUNCE 2023 TRAINING CAMP ROSTER. NBA.com. 30 October 2023. 23 January 2024.
  15. Web site: Jim. Owczarski. Drew Timme, Alex Antetokounmpo, Glenn Robinson III headline the Wisconsin Herd camp roster. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 30 October 2023. 1 November 2023.
  16. Web site: Trail Blazers Re-Sign Ibou Badji To Two-Way Contract. NBA.com. 22 November 2023. 23 November 2023.
  17. Web site: Sacramento Kings vs Portland Trail Blazers - Box Score. ESPN.com. 26 December 2023. 23 January 2024.
  18. Web site: San Antonio Spurs vs Portland Trail Blazers - Box Score. ESPN.com. 28 December 2023. 23 January 2024.
  19. Web site: Five players who blossomed at U19 World Cup . . 29 March 2020 . 12 July 2019.