Who is Mamadi Diakite? Evaluating his career trajectory so far in the NBA

Mamadi Diakite is a Guinean native who played in the NBA for the Milwaukee Bucks and Oklahoma City Thunder in recent seasons. Before declaring his entry into the 2020 NBA draft, Diakite played college basketball with the Virginia Cavaliers. He didn't make much impact in his first couple of seasons with Virginia. He was a back-up center who wasn't known for his scoring, but could defend.

Mamadi Diakite recently signed a training camp deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers. and is currently fighting for a roster spot before the regular season begins. He has proven to be a valuable player for the team so far, which means we could see him officially joining the Cavaliers soon.

This article takes a look at how Diakite got to this point:

How did Mamadi Diakite make it into the NBA?

Mamadi Diakite 2021 NBA Champion with the Milwaukee Bucks

In his rookie season in college, Mamadi Diakite averaged 3.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game. While those numbers are not impressive, Diakite was determined to improve and it was like watching a different version of the Guinean big man every year.

In the second season in college, Diakite improved his numbers to 5.4 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. We didn't see him block as many shots compared to the previous season, but he made sure to get back on track in the following seasons.

Mamadi Diakite's last two seasons with Virginia were when everyone saw his growth as a player. He significantly improved his game, especially in his final year in college.

Diakite had the best block average of his collegiate career in his third year. He averaged 7.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks in 2018-2019. This was the year when we finally saw him play more minutes on the court. Diakite played 21.8 minutes per game, which is higher compared to 14.8 minutes in his first two seasons.

In his last college season, Mamadi Diakite became one of Virginia's most trusted role players. He averaged 13.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game and declared his entry in the 2020 NBA draft. Unfortunately, Diakite went undrafted and ended up playing in the G League for the Lakeland Magic.

Although it wasn't an ideal situation for him, Diakite made the most out of his opportunity with Lakeland. He was an efficient cutter, slasher and shooter. During his time with Lakeland, Diakite averaged a double-double in the 12 games he played — 18.5 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game.

Due to the stellar performance he displayed in the G League, Diakite was finally offered an NBA contract in 2021. He signed with the Milwaukee Bucks and played 14 games in the regular season.

His timing couldn't be more perfect as Diakite won the championship in his first season with the Bucks. Who would've thought that a kid who averaged 3.8 points in college would eventually become an NBA champion? Now that he's with the Cleveland Cavaliers, we're excited to see what they can do in the East, especially with Donovan Mitchell in the team.