Alright, so, I’ve been digging into this whole “Senegal NBA players” thing, and let me tell you, it’s been a bit of a journey. I started by just wanting to know how many players from Senegal were actually in the NBA. You know, just a simple question, I thought.
First, I hit up the official NBA website. I figured that would be the best place to start, right? Turns out, they had a thing about a record-tying 17 players from Africa being on the opening-night rosters for the 2024-25 season. Apparently, five of those players were from Cameroon. I went to check it out, but the numbers didn’t match up.
I found a stat about Joel Embiid. I think he’s a pretty big deal, and he’s from Cameroon, not Senegal. But they mentioned that he played for the USA. This had me scratching my head and wondering if I was on the right path.
Then, I stumbled upon some information about a guy named Makhtar Vincent N’Diaye. The article said he was the first Senegalese player in the NBA, playing for the Vancouver Grizzlies back in 1999. Okay, that was a solid piece of information. I felt like I was getting somewhere.
Getting into the Weeds
Next, I found this website called “Basketball-Reference.” It seemed to have a list of all the NBA and ABA players born in Senegal. I clicked around, trying to find a complete list, and it seemed like there were about 16 or 17 names that kept popping up. I tried to create a list myself.
- Gorgui Dieng – Played for a few teams, decent career.
- Tacko Fall – Man, this guy is tall! I remember seeing him play. He is from Senegal.
- Mamadou N’Diaye – Another big guy. It seems like Senegal produces a lot of centers.
Then, I found pages, pages, and pages of information about the NBA Academy Africa located in Saly. It sounded like an incubator to get African players, and Senegal players, into the NBA.
I looked up a player called Elhadji Tacko Sereigne Diop Fall, a Senegalese guy, and I tried to verify that he was currently playing in the NBA.
I also checked out a site called “afrobasket,” which had news and stats about African basketball players. I tried to cross-reference the names I had with their database, but honestly, it got a bit confusing. Some players were listed, some weren’t, and the stats were all over the place.
Wrapping My Head Around It
So, after all this digging, what did I actually learn? Well, it seems like there’s a decent number of Senegalese players who’ve made it to the NBA. It’s not a huge number, but it’s significant. It is less than what the official NBA site suggests, but still significant. It also seems like there’s a real effort to develop basketball talent in Senegal, with things like the NBA Academy Africa. I tried to verify all the players that are currently playing.
Honestly, the whole process was a bit messier than I expected. Information was scattered, and it wasn’t always easy to verify. But hey, that’s how it goes sometimes, right? You start with a simple question, and you end up going down a rabbit hole. I definitely learned a lot more about Senegalese basketball than I thought I would.
I am happy I got to the bottom of this and tried to verify everything. The NBA website was not accurate about the numbers. But I guess now I have a much better idea of who is from Senegal in the NBA. I found some really good players and some who are no longer playing, but have had an impact.
