Mouhammadou Einstein Jaiteh (born 27 November 1994), commonly known as Mam Jaiteh, is a French 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

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 le ...

(LBA) and the EuroLeague. He is of Senegalese and Gambian descent.

Early life and career

In his youth, Jaiteh originally played

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

with friends, before beginning his basketball career at 13. After playing for

INSEP INSEP, the National Institute of Sport, Expertise, and Performance (Institut national du sport, de l'expertise et de la performance), is a French training institute and center for excellence in sports that trains elite athletes. It is located on th ...

for a few years, Jaiteh would participate at the 2010 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship, and then the

FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship The FIBA U18 European Championship, originally known as the European Championship for Juniors, is a youth men's basketball competition that was inaugurated with the 1964 edition. It was held biennially through the 2002 edition. From the 2004 e ...

s in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

and

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

. The 2012 championship had Jaiteh leading all competitors in rebounds per game.

Professional career

After being recruited by the

Connecticut Huskies The UConn Huskies (or Connecticut Huskies) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Connecticut, located in Storrs. The school is a member of the NCAA's Division I and the Big East Conference. The university's fo ...

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac- ...

Gonzaga Bulldogs The Gonzaga Bulldogs () (also known unofficially as the Zags) are the intercollegiate athletic teams representing Gonzaga University, located in Spokane, Washington, United States. Gonzaga competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association ...

, and

Virginia Tech Hokies The Virginia Tech Hokies are the athletic teams representing the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in intercollegiate athletics. The Hokies participate in the NCAA's Division I Atlantic Coast Conference in 22 va ...

, Jaiteh decided to sign a two year contract to play with the

Stade Olympique Maritime Boulonnais Stade Olympique Maritime Boulonnais, commonly known as SOMB, is a French professional basketball club based in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France. The team currently plays in the French third division, the Nationale Masculine 1. History SOMB was founded on ...

of the

LNB Pro B The LNB Pro B, commonly known as Pro B, is the French basketball league system, 2nd-tier level men's professional basketball league in France. It is the second division of the Ligue Nationale de Basket (LNB), which has organized the league since t ...

(French 2nd Division), where he would get more playing time. During that period, Jaiteh was considered as a finalist for France's Pro B MVP award, due to his performance of averaging 16.2 points and 9.9 rebounds per game, in 27.6 minutes of play per game. On May 3, 2013, Jaiteh ended up being declared the winner of the 2013 LNB Pro B French Player's MVP award, as well as the winner of the LNB Pro B Most Improved Player award. In 2013, Jaiteh was selected to participate in the

Nike Hoop Summit The Nike Hoop Summit is an international men's basketball all-star game sponsored by Nike, held once a year since 1995, except from 2001–2003, which features the USA Basketball Men's Junior Select Team against a World Select Team of internationa ...

. During the competition, he would score 6 points and grab 9 rebounds, to help the World Team win the competition. Two days after performing in the competition on April 20, Jaiteh decided to officially declare for the 2013 NBA draft. He was projected to go between the late first round and the second round of the draft, but Jaiteh wanted to be convinced that he would be drafted in the first round by somebody. Ultimately, Jaiteh ended up withdrawing from the draft, because of that issue, and he ended up withdrawing alongside fellow Frenchmen

Louis Labeyrie Louis Labeyrie (born 11 February 1992) is a French professional basketball player for UNICS Kazan of the VTB United League. Professional career From 2008 to 2011, Labeyrie played for Fos Provence Basket. In 2011, he signed with Hyeres-Toulon for ...

and

Axel Toupane Axel Toupane (born July 23, 1992) is French professional basketball player for Paris Basketball of the LNB Pro A. Toupane also represents the senior French national team in international events. At 2.01 m (6'7") tall and 101 kg (223 lb ...

. On July 28, 2013, Jaiteh signed a contract with the French team

JSF Nanterre Nanterre 92 is a professional basketball club from the city of Nanterre (a western suburb of Paris), France. The club plays in French basketball league system, the top-tier level basketball league in France, the LNB Pro A, Pro A, since 2011. Found ...

. Jaiteh would officially declare for the 2015 NBA draft, in April 2015, after trying to gain earlier recognition as a prospect in the

2014 NBA draft The 2014 NBA draft was held on June 26, 2014, at the Barclays Center, Brooklyn National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. ...

. A few weeks before the 2015 NBA draft took place, Nanterre would win the

2014–15 EuroChallenge The 2014–15 EuroChallenge was the 12th and last edition of Europe's third-tier level transnational competition for men's professional basketball clubs. The winner and the runner-up of this competition earned a place at the group stage of next ...

championship, with Jaiteh helping the team by grabbing 7 timely rebounds in a close, buzzer-beating 64–63 victory over

Trabzonspor Medical Park Trabzonspor Basketbol Kulübü ( en, Trabzonspor Basketball Club), also known as Trabzonspor Basket or Trabzonspor, was a professional basketball club that is based in the city of Trabzon, Turkey. It was a department of the sports club, multi-sp ...

. As an early entrant in the 2015 NBA draft, he went

undrafted In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. On July 28, 2016, Jaiteh signed with

SIG Strasbourg Strasbourg Illkirch-Graffenstaden Basket, most commonly known as SIG Basket or SIG Strasbourg, is a French professional basketball club that is based in Strasbourg. The club, founded in 1929, competes domestically in the French Pro A League, and i ...

. On November 8, 2018, Jaiteh signed a deal with

Auxilium Torino Auxilium Pallacanestro Torino was an Italian professional basketball club that was based in Turin, Piedmont. It competed in the first division of Italian basketball, the LBA for the last time in the 2018–19 season. The club won one trophy, wh ...

. On July 29, 2019, he has signed with

Avtodor Saratov BC Avtodor (russian: БК «Автодор» Саратов), commonly known as simply Avtodor and internationally as Avtodor Saratov, is a Russian professional basketball club based in Saratov. It plays in the FIBA Europe Cup and in the VTB Unit ...

of the

VTB United League VTB United League (russian: Единая Лига ВТБ) is an international professional men's club basketball list of basketball leagues, league that was founded in 2008. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus an ...

. On June 30, 2020, he has signed with

Gaziantep Basketbol Gaziantep Basketbol is a professional basketball team based in the city of Gaziantep in Turkey that plays in the Turkish Basketball Super League. Their home arena is the Karataş Şahinbey Sport Hall with a capacity of 6,400 seats. History The ...

of the Turkish

Basketbol Süper Ligi The Basketball Super League ( tr, Basketbol Süper Ligi; BSL), also known as the Türkiye Sigorta Basketbol Süper Ligi for sponsorship reasons, is the top men's professional basketball division of the Turkish basketball league system. It replac ...

(BSL).

Virtus Bologna (2021–present)

On July 20, 2021, he signed a two-year deal with

of the Italian

(LBA). On September 21, the team won its second Supercup, defeating

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 ...

90–84. Moreover, after having ousted Lietkabelis,

Ulm Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...

and

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

in the first three rounds of the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

, on 11 May 2022, Virtus defeated Frutti Extra Bursaspor by 80–67 at the Segafredo Arena, winning its first EuroCup and qualifying for the EuroLeague after 14 years. However, despite having ended the regular season at the first place and having ousted 3–0 both

Pesaro Pesaro () is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Marche, capital of the Province of Pesaro e Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the Marche, ...

and

Tortona Tortona (; pms, Torton-a , ; lat, Dhertona) is a ''comune'' of Piemonte, in the Province of Alessandria, Italy. Tortona is sited on the right bank of the Scrivia between the plain of Marengo and the foothills of the Ligurian Apennines. History ...

in the first two rounds of playoffs, Virtus was defeated 4–2 in the national finals by

. On 29 September 2022, after having ousted Milano in the semifinals, Virtus won its third Supercup, defeating 72–69

Banco di Sardegna Sassari Polisportiva Dinamo, commonly known as Dinamo Sassari and currently known as Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari for sponsorship reasons, is an Italian professional basketball club that is based in Sassari, Sardinia. They are the current European Cu ...

and achieving a back-to-back, following the 2021 trophy. However, Jaiteh did not play due to an injury.

Personal life

Jaiteh's father descended from

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

, while his mother descended from

the Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

. Although he is of both Senegalese and Gambian descent, he does not officially hold any Senegalese or Gambian nationality.

Career statistics

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , style="text-align:left;",

Nanterre Nanterre (, ) is the prefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department in the western suburbs of Paris. It is located some northwest of the centre of Paris. In 2018, the commune had a population of 96,807. The eastern part of Nanterre, bordering t ...

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Honours

* French 2nd Division French Player's MVP (1): 2013 * French 2nd Division Most Improved Player (1): 2013 * French LNB All-Star Game (3): 2013 ( Pro B), 2015 ( Pro A), 2016 ( Pro A) *

FIBA EuroChallenge FIBA EuroChallenge (called the FIBA Europe League in 2003–05, and FIBA EuroCup in 2005–08) was the 3rd-tier level transnational men's professional continental club basketball competition in Europe, from 2003 to 2015. It was organized and run ...

Champion (1): 2015