Keita Bates-Diop (born January 23, 1996) is an American 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 the Phoenix Suns 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 St ...

(NBA). He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tre ...

Early life and high school career

Keita Bates-Diop was born on January 23, 1996, in

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

to Richard and Wilma Bates. His parents added Diop to his surname. His father Richard studied under

Cheikh Anta Diop Cheikh Anta Diop (29 December 1923 – 7 February 1986) was a Senegalese historian, anthropologist, physicist, and politician who studied the human race's origins and pre-colonial African culture. Diop's work is considered foundational to the th ...

, a Senegalese scientist and anthropologist. The

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronger ...

played for University High School in

Normal, Illinois Normal is a town in McLean County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town's population was 52,736. Normal is the smaller of two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area, and Illinois' seventh most ...

. He averaged 18.4 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks as a junior. He was considered one of the top 5 candidates for Illinois Mr. Basketball by the

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

. Bates-Diop was ranked no. 24 nationally in his class by

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

College career

Bates-Diop was a bench player as a freshman at OSU in the 2014–15 season. As a sophomore, he expanded his role on the team and averaged 11.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. But as a junior, he suffered a stress fracture in his left leg, sitting out all but the first nine games, while the Buckeyes limped to a 17–15 record without him. In those nine games, Bates-Diop averaged 9.7 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. He was granted a medical redshirt and came into his redshirt junior campaign one of the top options for new coach

Chris Holtmann Christopher Adam Holtmann (born November 11, 1971) is an American college basketball coach who is currently the head coach at Ohio State University. Holtmann grew up in Nicholasville, Kentucky, and started his college playing career in-state at ...

. Bates-Diop earned his first Big Ten player of the week honors on December 11, 2017, after notching a career-high 27 points in a 97–62 win over William & Mary. On January 9, 2018, Bates-Diop was recognized as the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week by the United States Basketball Writers Association after strong performances against

Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball The Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team is part of the University of Iowa athletics department. The Hawkeyes have played in 28 NCAA Tournaments, eight NIT Tournaments, won eight Big Ten regular-season conference championships and won the Big Ten ...

and

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

. Bates-Diop tied a then-career high with 27 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in a victory against Iowa. Against top-ranked Michigan State, he scored a career-high 32 points in an 80–64 win. He also received his second Big Ten player of the week recognition. Bates-Diop received his second consecutive player of the week nod on January 15, with a 26-point, eight rebound outing in a 91–69 win over

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

and 20 points, nine rebounds in a victory versus

Rutgers Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and w ...

. On February 26, 2018, Bates-Diop was named the Big Ten Player of the Year. He averaged 19.8 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. Following Ohio State's loss in the 2018 NCAA men's basketball tournament, Bates-Diop announced his intention to forgo his final season of collegiate eligibility and declared for the 2018 NBA draft.

Professional career

Minnesota Timberwolves (2018–2020)

On June 21, 2018, Bates-Diop was drafted by the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

with the 48th pick in the 2018 NBA draft. On July 7, 2018, Bates-Diop signed with the Timberwolves. He participated in the NBA Summer League in 2018 and 2019.

Denver Nuggets (2020)

On February 5, 2020, the Timberwolves traded Bates-Diop to the Denver Nuggets in a four-team trade. He was assigned to the

Windy City Bulls The Windy City Bulls are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, and are affiliated with the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls play their home games at Now Arena, from Chicago. It became the thir ...

on March 1. Bates-Diop was waived by the Nuggets on November 22, 2020

San Antonio Spurs (2020–2023)

On November 29, 2020, the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

announced that they had signed Bates-Diop to a

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...

. On September 7, 2021, the Spurs re-signed him. On December 23, 2021, Bates-Diop scored a career-high 30 points on eleven-of-eleven shooting with seven rebounds and a steal in a 138–110 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Phoenix Suns (2023–present)

On July 4, 2023, Bates-Diop signed with the Phoenix Suns.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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, 37 , , 0 , , 17.5 , , .422 , , .330 , , .708 , , 3.0 , , .8 , , .5 , , .5 , , 6.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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, 30 , , 0 , , 8.2 , , .448 , , .294 , , .667 , , 1.6 , , .4 , , .4 , , .2 , , 2.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 59 , , 14 , , 16.2 , , .517 , , .309 , , .754 , , 3.9 , , .7 , , .5 , , .2 , , 5.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 67 , , 42 , , 21.7 , , .508 , , .394 , , .793 , , 3.7 , , 1.5 , , .7 , , .3 , , 9.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 230 , , 59 , , 17.0 , , .480 , , .339 , , .749 , , 3.2 , , .9 , , .5 , , .3 , , 6.5

Play-in

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Playoffs

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College

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Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

, 33 , , 0 , , 9.9 , , .473 , , .462 , , .679 , , 2.1 , , .5 , , .3 , , .6 , , 3.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

, 33 , , 33 , , 31.5 , , .453 , , .324 , , .787 , , 6.4 , , 1.1 , , .7 , , 1.2 , , 11.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

, 9 , , 3 , , 23.3 , , .500 , , .200 , , .714 , , 5.2 , , 1.3 , , .2 , , 1.3 , , 9.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

, 34 , , 34 , , 33.1 , , .480 , , .359 , , .794 , , 8.7 , , 1.6 , , .9 , , 1.6 , , 19.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 109 , , 70 , , 24.8 , , .472 , , .352 , , .776 , , 5.7 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , 1.2 , , 11.7

References

External links

Ohio State Buckeyes bio

NBADraft.net profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bates-Diop, Keita 1996 births Living people African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Sacramento, California Basketball players from Illinois Denver Nuggets players Iowa Wolves players Minnesota Timberwolves draft picks Minnesota Timberwolves players Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball players Sportspeople from Normal, Illinois San Antonio Spurs players Small forwards Windy City Bulls players 21st-century African-American sportspeople