Ismaël Bako (born 10 October 1995) is a Belgian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for

Virtus Bologna Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, known for sponsorship reasons as Virtus Segafredo Bologna, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. The club was founded in 1929, which makes it the oldest club in Italy and one ...

of the Italian

Lega Basket Serie A The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club basketball league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP). It is the highest-tier ...

(LBA) and the EuroLeague. Standing at , he plays at the

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

position. He started his career in 2012 with

Leuven Bears Leuven Bears, for sponsorship reasons also called Stella Artois Leuven Bears, is a Belgian professional basketball club from Leuven. The club competes in the BNXT League, the highest tier in Belgian basketball. History The team has played in the ...

and transferred to

Antwerp Giants Antwerp Giants, named Telenet Giants Antwerp for sponsorship reasons, are a Belgians, Belgian professional basketball club based in Antwerp. Their home arena is Lotto Arena. The club plays in the BNXT League, the highest tier of Belgian basketbal ...

in April 2017.

Professional career

Leuven

Bako started his career with

in the

Pro Basketball League The Pro Basketball League (PBL), was the highest tier level professional basketball league in Belgium for sports clubs, clubs. In 2021, the league was succeeded by the Belgian-Dutch BNXT League. Through 2014, for sponsorship reasons, the league ...

, making his debut in 2012. He was named the BLB Young Player of the Year of the 2016–17 season, after averaging 8.0 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.

Antwerp

In April 2017, he signed with

. In the 2018–19 season, Bako won the

Belgian Basketball Cup The Belgian Basketball Cup (Dutch: Beker van België), for sponsorship reasons the EuroMillions Cup, is the top tier national basketball cup competition in Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom o ...

with the Giants. He was named the Belgian Cup Most Valuable Player. In the same season, the team reached the Final Four of the

Basketball Champions League The Basketball Champions League (BCL) is an annual professional basketball competition for European clubs, organised by FIBA. It is the top-level competition organised by FIBA Europe, therefore the champion participates in the FIBA Intercont ...

. Antwerp finished in third place after defeating

Brose Bamberg Brose Bamberg is a German professional basketball team from Bamberg, Franconia / North Bavaria. The club has won the German Championship title nine times and the German Cup five times. The club currently plays in the German top tier Basketbal ...

in the third place game. Bako was named to the Basketball Champions League Star Lineup.

ASVEL

On 3 July 2019, Bako signed a two-year contract with LDLC ASVEL of the French LNB Pro A and the EuroLeague. He averaged 3.8 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. On June 12, 2020, he re-signed with the team for an additional season. During the 2020-21 season Bako averaged 5.6 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. He parted ways with the team on 11 July 2021.

Baxi Manresa

On July 24, 2021, Bako signed a two-year deal with Baxi Manresa of the Spanish Liga ACB. On September 5, 2021, won the Catalan League and won the MVP of the competition.

Virtus Bologna

On July 13, 2022, Bako signed with

of the

and the EuroLeague. On 29 September 2022, after having ousted

Olimpia Milano Pallacanestro Olimpia Milano, commonly known as Olimpia Milano or as EA7 Emporio Armani Milan after its title sponsor, is an LBA Italian professional basketball team, based in Milan, Italy. Its colors are white and red, and the team is sometimes ...

in the semifinals, Virtus won its third Supercup, defeating 72–69 Banco di Sardegna Sassari and achieving a back-to-back, following the 2021 trophy.

National team career

Bako has been a member of the

Belgian national basketball team The Belgium men's national basketball team nl, Belgisch nationaal basketbalteamgerman: Belgische Basketballnationalmannschaft has represented Belgium in international basketball since 1928. The supervising body for the national team is Basketb ...

since 2016. At 21, Bako was the youngest member of the squad that played at

EuroBasket 2017 EuroBasket 2017 was the 40th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe and held between 31 August and 17 September 2017. Beginning from 2017, the continental championships take place every four years with a similar ...

Awards and accomplishments

Club

;Manresa *

Lliga Catalana de Bàsquet The Catalan Basketball League, more commonly known as ''Lliga Catalana'', is the regional preseason professional basketball competition that has been organized by the Catalan Basketball Federation since 1980, in Catalonia, Spain. Nowadays, only tea ...

: (2021) ;ASVEL * LNB Pro A: (

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

) *

French Cup The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and professiona ...

: (2021) ;Antwerp Giants *

Belgian Cup The Belgian Cup (french: link=no, Coupe de Belgique; nl, Beker van België []; german: link=no, Belgischer Fußballpokal) is the main Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in Belgium, run by the Belgia ...

: (2018–19 Belgian Basketball Cup, 2019)

Individual

Final MVP: (2021) * Basketball Champions League Star Lineup, All-Champions League First Team: (

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

) * Belgian Cup MVP: (2019) * Belgian League Young Player of the Year (

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bako, Ismaël 1995 births Antwerp Giants players ASVEL Basket players Bàsquet Manresa players Belgian expatriate basketball people in France Belgian men's basketball players Belgium national basketball players Centers (basketball) Leuven Bears players Liga ACB players Living people Sportspeople from Leuven