Ibou Dianko Badji (born 13 October 2002) is a Senegalese professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for the

Wisconsin Herd The Wisconsin Herd are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and are affiliated with the Milwaukee Bucks. The Herd play their home games at Oshkosh Arena. History On June 29, 2016, it was anno ...

of the

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Early life and career

In 2017–18, Badji trained with

NBA Academy Africa The NBA Academy Africa is a basketball team and academy operated by the National Basketball Association (NBA), located in Saly, Senegal. Opened in 2017, the academy offers both education and basketball trainings. Several alumni of the program have ...

Saly Saly (also called Sali or Saly Portudal) is a seaside resort area in Thiès Region on the Petite Côte of Senegal, south of Dakar. It is the top tourist destination in all of West Africa and has the status of a commune. History Saly was original ...

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

, where he emerged as one of the best prospects in his age group. By the time he turned 15 years old, he stood about with a

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. On 27 December 2018, Badji signed with Spanish basketball club

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded ...

and began playing for its youth sections. In December 2019, he played for U18 FC Barcelona at ANGT Valencia, where he averaged eight points, 8.8 rebounds and five blocks per game.

Professional career

Barcelona (2019–2021)

To prepare for the 2019–20 season, Badji trained with the

first team First team may refer to: Sports * First team (association football), the colloquial name given to the most senior team fielded by a football club * The First Team, the first players known to have played the sport of basketball * First Team All-A ...

of Barcelona. He spent much of the season playing for FC Barcelona B, the club's

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

, in the third-tier

LEB Plata The LEB Plata is the third basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system and the second basketball division organized by the Spanish Basketball Federation. Since 2019, three teams are promoted to LEB Oro and six teams are relegated t ...

. On 26 October 2019, Badji had a season-high 12 points, nine rebounds and five blocks in an 86–77 win over Prat. On 18 January 2020, he recorded eight points and a season-high eight blocks in an 88–80 victory over Prat.

Força Lleida (2021–2022)

On 4 October 2021, Badji signed with Força Lleida CE of the LEB Oro.

Wisconsin Herd (2022–present)

After going undrafted in the

2022 NBA draft The 2022 NBA draft (branded as the 2022 NBA Draft presented by State Farm for sponsorship reasons), the 76th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual draft, was held on June 23, 2022, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The ...

, on 3 November 2022, Badji was named to the opening night roster for the

after signing an Exhibition 10 contract. On 18 November 2022, the Portland Trail Blazers announced that they had signed Badji to a two-way contract. On 7 March 2023, he underwent surgery on his left knee and was ruled out for at least eight weeks. On 6 July 2023, Badji signed another two-way contract with the Trail Blazers, but was waived on 24 October. On 30 October 2023, it was announced that Badji was added to the training camp roster of the

. On November 10, 2023, Badji was named to the opening night roster for the

National team career

Badji represented

at the

2019 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup The 2019 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup (Greek: Παγκόσμιο Κύπελλο Μπάσκετ FIBA Under-19 2019) was the 14th edition of the FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup, the biennial international men's youth basketball championshi ...

Heraklion Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Greece with a population of 211,370 (Urban A ...

, Greece. He averaged 6.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game, which ranked second in the tournament, as his team finished in 15th place.

References

2002 births Living people Basketball players from Dakar Centers (basketball) Força Lleida CE players FC Barcelona Bàsquet B players NBA Academy Africa players Senegalese expatriate basketball people in Spain Senegalese expatriate basketball people in the United States Senegalese men's basketball players Wisconsin Herd players {{Senegal-basketball-bio-stub