Khalifa Diop

Diop was born Jan. 15, 2002 in Guereo, Senegal. Diop trained with the junior teams of CB Gran Canaria and CB TerrAlfas. In 2018, he was named the MVP of the national junior club championship. When he was 15, Diop debuted with Gran Canaria B in the Liga EBA, the Spanish fourth-level league. On March 28, 2019, Diop made his senior debut for Gran Canaria, recording three points and four rebounds in a 90-55 loss to Maccabi Tel Aviv in the EuroLeague. On Nov. 24, 2019, he made his Liga ACB debut, playing three minutes in a loss to Real Madrid. Diop was named EuroCup Rising Star and made the ACB All-Young Players Team for the 2021-22 season. On the national stage, Diop would put up his best numbers as he finally got the chance to showcase his full arsenal. He represented Senegal at the 2019 FIBA Under-19 World Cup in Heraklion, averaging 13.1 points, seven rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. Diop helped Senegal win the silver medal at the 2020 FIBA U18 African Championship in Egypt, where he averaged 12.6 points, 11.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 3.4 steals per game. At the 2021 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup in Latvia, he averaged 14 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. In February 2022, Diop was selected for the Senegal senior national team for the qualifiers of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. Eventually, the Cleveland Cavaliers selected him in the second round with the 39th overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. Cavaliers GM Koby Altman announced a few days later that Diop would not join the Cavaliers roster in the 2022-23 season, but will stay in Spain to develop further.