DeSagana Diop

DeSagana Diop

Pro career	2001–present
League	NBA
Career history
2001–2005	Cleveland Cavaliers
2005–2008	Dallas Mavericks
2008	New Jersey Nets
2008–2009	Dallas Mavericks
2009–present	Charlotte Bobcats
DeSagana Diop at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

DeSagana N'gagne Diop (English pronunciation: /səˈɡɑːnə ˈdʒɒp/ sə-GAH-nə JOP) (born January 30, 1982 in Dakar) is a Senegalese professional basketball player who currently plays for the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats. Standing seven feet tall (213 cm) and weighing 280 lbs. (127 kg), Diop's natural position is center.

Early life

After he began practicing basketball at the age of 15, Diop succeeded in averaging 14.6 points, 13.2 rebounds, and 8.1 blocks during his senior high school season,^[1] earning the USA Today Virginia Player of the Year title and leading Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, to a #1 nation ranking (33 wins, 0 losses).

Diop speaks five languages^[2]: Arabic, English, French, Wolof and some Spanish.

NBA career

Diop was drafted directly out of Oak Hill Academy by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the 8th overall pick of the 2001 NBA Draft.^[3] He was the fifth high school player, after Kwame Brown, Tyson Chandler, Eddy Curry and Ousmane Cisse to declare for the draft.^[1] He played 193 games in four seasons with the Cavaliers, as a rarely looked at backup, averaging 1.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in 10.8 minutes per contest. Diop signed a three-year contract with the Dallas Mavericks as a free agent on August 19, 2005.^[4] Diop quickly established himself as a defensive stalwart and potent shot blocker and rebounder, providing relief for Erick Dampier as a center. After December 31, 2005, he started most of the games for the Mavericks, assisting in their improvement and strong drive that resulted in the team qualifying to play in the NBA finals as representatives of the western conference.

Against the New York Knicks in a pre-season game, Diop hit the game-winning tip-in of a missed shot by Keith Van Horn. Against the Denver Nuggets in November 2005, he registered 16 rebounds with a career-high 6 blocks—including a denial of Carmelo Anthony's potentially game-winning field goal attempt.^[5]

Although the 2005–2006 season was a breakthrough for Diop, he continues to work hard. In an interview with a Dallas paper he said that his main focus for the summer will be "post moves and conditioning."^{[citation needed]}

Diop's defense is applauded around the league; for the 05–06 season, he ranked 11th in total blocks, 14th in blocks per game, and 4th in blocks per 48 minutes.^[6][7][8]

In March 2006, two Mavericks fans produced a version of the hip-hop song "Jump" by Kris Kross. In their version, the refrain "Jump! Jump!" was turned into "Diop! Diop!", and the video praises Diop's shotblocking ability. It became so popular that the Mavs started to play the video at their home games. Diop said, "I remember the first time they played the video during a timeout and I was trying to pay attention to what coach [Johnson] was trying to say but I was sneaking looks at the video."^[9]

On February 19, 2008, Diop was traded to the New Jersey Nets along with signed and traded Keith Van Horn, Devin Harris, Trenton Hassell, Maurice Ager, $3 million cash and 2008 and 2010 first round draft picks in exchange for Jason Kidd, Malik Allen and Antoine Wright.^[10]

On July 9, 2008, Diop has signed a six-year, $32 million contract with the Dallas Mavericks.^[11]

On January 16, 2009, he was traded to the Charlotte Bobcats for guard Matt Carroll and center Ryan Hollins.^[12]

Player profile

Diop is primarily a shot blocking, rebounding and rim defending defensive specialist. He is considered an excellent shot blocker (among the top 3 in blocks per-48 minutes) because of his large wingspan, and is athletic and mobile enough to cover quicker big men. While he has little offensive game, he has a good 15-foot jumpshot which he rarely uses and is known to throw a dunk or two. In addition, he tries hard and is rarely seen tired while on the floor, his proneness to fouls are attributed to his aggressive posture to block and contest shots and at times limits his playing time. One criticism of Diop is his inferior foul-shooting which is a rather common trait among defensive big men.

In Game 7 of the 2006 playoff matchup between San Antonio and Dallas, Diop was called the "unsung hero" of the game after grabbing two crucial offensive rebounds, disrupting a number of opponents' shots and playing very solid defense on Tim Duncan in the 4th quarter and overtime with a broken nose.^[13]

On April 11, 2007, Diop recorded his first double-double with season-highs of 10 points and 15 rebounds in the Mavs' franchise-high 30th road victory, a 105–88 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.^[14]

NBA career statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2001–02	Cleveland	18	1	6.1	.414	.000	.200	.9	.3	.1	.6	1.4
2002–03	Cleveland	80	1	11.8	.351	.000	.367	2.7	.5	.4	1.0	1.5
2003–04	Cleveland	56	3	13.0	.388	.000	.600	3.6	.6	.5	.9	2.3
2004–05	Cleveland	39	0	7.8	.290	.000	.000	1.8	.4	.2	.7	1.0
2005–06	Dallas	81	45	18.6	.487	.500	.542	4.6	.3	.5	1.8	2.3
2006–07	Dallas	81	9	18.3	.470	.000	.558	5.4	.4	.5	1.4	2.3
2007–08	Dallas	52	18	17.2	.583	.000	.600	5.2	.5	.4	1.2	3.0
2007–08	New Jersey	27	5	14.9	.415	.000	.467	4.5	.5	.2	.9	2.5
2008–09	Dallas	34	0	13.3	.379	.000	.414	3.5	.4	.3	.7	1.6
2008–09	Charlotte	41	1	14.2	.460	.000	.270	3.8	.5	.4	.8	2.8
2009–10	Charlotte	27	0	9.7	.517	.000	.222	2.4	.2	.2	.5	1.2
2010–11	Charlotte	16	0	11.3	.333	.000	.364	2.5	.4	.2	.9	1.3
Career		552	83	14.2	.433	.200	.473	3.8	.4	.4	1.1	2.1

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2005–06	Dallas	22	18	18.5	.615	.000	.611	5.0	.1	.6	1.3	2.7
2006–07	Dallas	6	3	23.3	.600	.000	.429	6.8	.3	.5	1.7	3.5
Career		28	21	19.5	.611	.000	.560	5.4	.1	.6	1.4	2.9

Career highs

• Points: 10 4 times
• Rebounds: 16 vs. Denver 11/15/05
• Assists: 4 2 times
• Steals: 5 vs. L.A. Clippers 04/19/06
• Blocks: 6 3 times

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Diop declares for NBA draft
2. ^ Cavaliers: Cavalier DeSagana Diop Holds a Special Reading Timeout in French with St. Ignatius High School Students
3. ^ "2001 NBA draft board". USA Today. July 2, 2001. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/nba/01draft/draft-board.htm. Retrieved May 1, 2010. 
4. ^ "Mavs Sign Diop". NBA.com. 2009-08-19. http://www.nba.com/mavericks/news/mavs_sign_diop_081905.html. Retrieved 2009-02-28. 
5. ^ ESPN – Denver vs. Dallas Recap, November 15, 2005
6. ^ ESPN – NBA Statistics and League Leaders – National Basketball Association
7. ^ ESPN – NBA Statistics and League Leaders – National Basketball Association
8. ^ ESPN – NBA Statistics and League Leaders – National Basketball Association
9. ^ [1] Archived May 13, 2006 at the Wayback Machine
10. ^ "Nets Acquire Harris". NBA.com. 2008-02-19. http://www.nba.com/nets/news/Harris_trade_release_2_19_08.html. Retrieved 2009-07-20. 
11. ^ "Diop back in the fold". NBA.com. 2008-07-09. http://www.nba.com/mavericks/news/Diop_and_Barea_sign070908.html. Retrieved 2009-02-28. 
12. ^ "Bobcats Acquire DeSagana Diop from Dallas Mavericks". NBA.com. 2009-01-16. http://www.nba.com/bobcats/release_diop_090116.html. Retrieved 2009-01-16. 
13. ^ Mavs blow 20-point lead before eliminating Spurs in OT
14. ^ Mavericks set franchise record with 30th road victory

External links

• NBA.com Profile – DeSagana Diop
• ESPN.com – DeSagana Diop

Persondata
Name	Diop, Desagana
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	January 30, 1982
Place of birth	Dakar, Senegal
Date of death
Place of death