Issuf Vladlen Sanon ( uk, Іссуф Санон; born October 30, 1999), also spelled Yusuf Sanon, is a Ukrainian 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
Prometey of the
Latvian-Estonian Basketball League
The Latvian-Estonian Basketball League is the highest professional men's club basketball league in Latvia and Estonia; it has been organised since 2018, run by the Latvian Basketball Association and the Estonian Basketball Association.
History ...
. Standing , the
combo guard
A combo guard is a basketball player who combines the attributes of a point guard (1) and shooting guard (2), but does not necessarily fit the standard description of either position. In men's basketball, such guards are usually within the 6' 3" ...
has experience with the Ukraine under-18 national team. He began his career with the Ukrainian club Dnipro, and was one of the top players on its
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 ...
.
Early life
Sanon was born and raised in
Donetsk
Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: Names of European cities in different languages (C–D), cities' alternat ...
, Ukraine.
His father, a native of
Ouagadougou
Ouagadougou ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Burkina Faso and the administrative, communications, cultural, and economic centre of the nation. It is also the country's largest city, with a population of 2,415,266 in 2019. The city's n ...
,
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...
, met Issuf's mother while the two were studying in Ukraine. Sanon began playing basketball at age 7, following his older brother into the sport.
In 2014, he competed with the Falcons in the Donetsk School Basketball League, under head coach Anna Kapralova.
Professional career
Dnipro (2016–2018)
Sanon made his professional debut for
Dnipro
Dnipro, previously called Dnipropetrovsk from 1926 until May 2016, is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper Rive ...
on October 2, 2016, scoring two points in two minutes against
BIPA Odesa, in the top-tier level league in Ukraine, the
Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague
The Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague (USL) ( uk, Українська баскетбольна суперліга) is the first-tier level of professional basketball league in Ukraine. Established in 1992, the league is currently contested by 10 c ...
. In his first season with the team, he primarily competed for 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 ...
, Dnipro-2 in the Ukrainian Higher League, the second-tier level professional league in the country. On January 17, 2017, he earned Player of the Week honors from the website
Eurobasket.com
Eurobasket.com also commonly referred to as "Eurobasket News", is a basketball-centered website that provide coverages of every professional and semi-professional leagues around the world. Although primarily focusing on European basketball, th ...
, after recording a
double-double
In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...
of 22 points and 11 rebounds, in a January 14 game, for Dnipro-2 to defeat Kremen-2. He completed the season for Dnipro-2 averaging 16.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 3.3 steals per game, in the second division Higher League.
In the
2017–18 season, Sanon saw more playing time for the Dnipro senior team and increased success on the reserve team.
His season debut came on September 27, 2017, against
Demir İnşaat Büyükçekmece in
FIBA Europe Cup
The FIBA Europe Cup (FEC) is an annual professional club basketball competition organised by FIBA for eligible European clubs. It is FIBA's European-wide second level. Clubs mainly qualify for the competition based on their performance in nation ...
's
2017–18 qualification rounds, playing 56 seconds and recording no statistics. On October 15, 2017, with second division Dnipro-2, Sanon recorded 33 points, four rebounds, and eight assists, en route to Eurobasket.com Higher League Player of the Week accolades.
He scored a career-high 11 points off the bench, on December 1, 2017, to help defeat
Cherkaski Mavpy
BC Cherkaski Mavpy ( uk, баскетбольний клуб "Черкаські Мавпи", which means "Cherkasy Apes") is a Ukrainian professional basketball club that plays its home games in Cherkasy.
In the 2007 NBA Draft, Cherkaski Mavpy ...
, in the first division SuperLeague. In his 2017–18 stint with Dnipro, he averaged 2.4 points, 1.2 assists, and 0.8 steals in 9.6 minutes per game, in 13 games played in the Ukrainian top division Super League.
[ In addition, in 5 games played, he averaged a team-best 24.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 3.4 steals per game, in the Ukrainian second division Higher League.]
Olimpija (2018–2019)
On January 13, 2018, Sanon signed a four-year contract with Petrol Olimpija of the Premier A Slovenian Basketball League
The Premier A Slovenian Basketball League ( sl, 1. slovenska košarkarska liga), abbreviated as 1. SKL and known as the Liga Nova KBM due to sponsorship reasons, is the top-level professional men's basketball league in Slovenia. The league, opera ...
(SKL). He debuted for his new team on January 21, 2018, recording only one steal in eight minutes in an ABA League
The ABA League, renamed to the ABA League First Division in 2017, is the 1st-tier regional men's professional basketball league that originally featured clubs from the former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Mace ...
loss to Budućnost Voli Podgorica. On January 28, Sanon scored 11 points and grabbed five rebounds against Šenčur GGD, in a Slovenian SKL game. He notched a career-high 23 points vs. Helios Suns Domžale, in a Slovenian SKL game on February 13, shooting 4-of-7 from the three-point line. On July 27, 2020, he parted ways with Olimpija.
Return to Dnipro (2019–2022)
On August 22, 2019, Dnipro announced it had signed Sanon for the 2019–20 season. On July, 2020 he re-signed with the team.
Prometey (2022–present)
On June 24, 2022, he has signed with Prometey of the Latvian-Estonian Basketball League
The Latvian-Estonian Basketball League is the highest professional men's club basketball league in Latvia and Estonia; it has been organised since 2018, run by the Latvian Basketball Association and the Estonian Basketball Association.
History ...
.
NBA draft rights
On April 4, 2018, Sanon announced his intentions to enter the 2018 NBA draft
The 2018 NBA Draft was held on June 21, 2018, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, including inte ...
, where ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
projected him to be a "strong draft-and-stash candidate."[ By the June 11 international deadline, Sanon was one of 11 truly international prospects to remain in the 2018 NBA draft. He was eventually picked by the ]Washington Wizards
The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast D ...
(second round, 44th overall). Sanon played for the Wizards during the NBA Summer League
The NBA Summer League, also known as the Las Vegas Summer League, is an off-season competition organized by the National Basketball Association. NBA teams come together to try out different summer rosters instead of their regular season line-ups ...
, but then returned to Slovenia to develop and gain more experience.
On February 6, 2020, Sanon's draft rights were traded to the New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...
. On November 27, 2020, Sanon's draft rights were traded to the Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...
.
National team career
Sanon was unable to compete for the Ukraine under-16 basketball team in 2015, due to an appendix
Appendix, or its plural form appendices, may refer to:
__NOTOC__ In documents
* Addendum, an addition made to a document by its author after its initial printing or publication
* Bibliography, a systematic list of books and other works
* Index (pub ...
injury. An ankle injury, as well as a lack of official documentation, also prevented him from joining.[ He made his junior national team debut for Ukraine, at the 2017 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship, in ]Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
. In seven games played, in a span of just over a week, he averaged 19.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 3.4 steals per game, leading his team to a 12th place finish at the tournament.[ Sanon was named All-European Championships U18 Honorable Mention by the basketball website ]Eurobasket.com
Eurobasket.com also commonly referred to as "Eurobasket News", is a basketball-centered website that provide coverages of every professional and semi-professional leagues around the world. Although primarily focusing on European basketball, th ...
.[ Entering the event as a little-known prospect, even in his home country, his unexpected success in Slovenia catapulted him into NBA draft consideration.] He was subsequently considered a top-10 prospect at the event, according to ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
.[
]
Personal life
Sanon is a fan of the Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...
of the National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
(NBA) and admired Emmanuel Mudiay
Emmanuel Kabeya Mudiay (born March 5, 1996) is a Congolese-American professional basketball player for the Iowa Wolves of the NBA G League. He played high school basketball for Grace Preparatory Academy and Prime Prep Academy in Texas, where he ...
during his stint with the team.[ With Olimpija, he takes ]English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
classes up to four times each week, watching the show ''Prison Break
''Prison Break'' is an American serial (radio and television), serial drama television show, television series created by Paul Scheuring for Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox. The series revolves around two brothers, Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purce ...
'' to better pick up the language.[
]
References
External links
Issuf Sanon
at Eurobasket.com
at fiba.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanon, Issuf
1999 births
Living people
ABA League players
BC Dnipro players
BC Prometey players
Ukrainian expatriate basketball people in Lithuania
KK Olimpija players
Point guards
Shooting guards
Sportspeople from Donetsk
Sportspeople of Burkinabé descent
Ukrainian expatriate basketball people in Slovenia
Ukrainian men's basketball players
Ukrainian people of Burkinabé descent
Washington Wizards draft picks