Ibou Badji

Badji was born Oct. 13, 2002 in Dakar, Senegal. He trained with NBA Academy Africa in 2017-18. He was measured at 7-foot-1 at age 15 with a 7-foot-6 wingspan, and he was considered one of the best prospects in his age group. In December of 2018, Badji signed a contract with the Spanish club FC Barcelona, where he played for the team's youth sections. Later, in 2019-20, he trained with the first team and spent much of the year playing for FC Barcelona B. During that season, he averaged 5.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in 17.1 minutes. In 2020-21, he averaged 5.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 16.0 minutes. In October of 2021, he signed with Forca Lleida CE of the LEB Oro. During the 2021-22 season, Badji averaged 8.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 19.9 minutes. In his 37 appearances, he had three games with nine rebounds, one 20-point outing and four games with three blocks. He also represented his country in the 2019 FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup, where he averaged 6.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.1 blocks. He also participated in the 2021 U19 World Cup, where he averaged 14.0 points, 10.3 rebounds, 4.3 blocks and 1.0 steals in 27 minutes. At the 2021 Minnesota Workout, he measured 6-foot-11.5 without shoes and 232 pounds with a 7-foot-8.5 wingspan. He also recorded a 28.5-inch maximum vertical leap.