Yakhouba Diawara (born August 29, 1982) is a French former 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. He played college basketball at Southern Idaho and

Pepperdine Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and ...

Early career

Diawara started his career with French team

JDA Dijon Jeanne d'Arc Dijon Basket, commonly known as JDA Dijon Basket or simply Dijon, is a professional basketball club from the city of Dijon, France. The club currently plays in the LNB Pro A, the French first tier division. The club has won the Frenc ...

, and after his first season in the European League, Diawara decided to attend college in the United States. He first attended junior college at Southern Idaho, playing 63 games and averaging 12.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 24.1 minutes while shooting 54.2 percent from the floor, 31.8 percent from three-point range and 58.6 percent from the free throw line. After two years, he transferred to

where he averaged 15.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 32.5 minutes while shooting 45.6 percent from the floor, 34.3 percent from three-point range and 65 percent from the free throw line earning First Team All- West Coast Conference honors as a junior.

Professional career

Diawara went undrafted after graduating from Pepperdine and signed with

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...

again. In February 2006, he moved to Italian team Climamio Bologna. He was signed by the Denver Nuggets on July 26, 2006. He signed with the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...

on August 7, 2008. On July 24, 2010, Diawara signed with Enel Brindisi in Italy. For the 2011–12 season, he signed a one-year deal with Pallacanestro Varese. On July 21, 2012, he signed with another Italian team,

Umana Reyer Venezia S.S.P. Reyer Venezia Mestre, commonly known as Reyer Venezia or simply Reyer, is an Italian professional basketball club that is based in Venice, Veneto. The club currently plays in the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA), the highest tier of basketball in ...

. He left Venezia on July 16, 2013. In September 2013, he signed a one-year deal with BCM Gravelines, however, he parted ways with them on March 10, 2014. On August 21, 2014, he returned to Cimberio Varese for the 2014–15 season. On September 28, 2015, Diawara signed with the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

, returning to the NBA for the first time since 2010. However, he was waived on October 24 after appearing in six preseason games. On November 2, he signed with Limoges for the rest of the 2015–16 season. On January 16, 2017, Diawara signed with Italian club

Juvecaserta Basket Sporting Club JuveCaserta (sometimes spelled Juve Caserta), also known as Decò Caserta after its title sponsor, is an Italian professional basketball team based in Caserta, Campania. The team currently plays in the Serie A2, the second tier of Ita ...

for the rest of the

2016–17 LBA season The 2016–17 LBA season, was the 95th season of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA), known for sponsorship reasons as the Serie A PosteMobile, the highest-tier level professional basketball league in Italy. The regular season started on 2 October 201 ...

. On December 17, 2017, Diawara signed a one-week tryout contract with Italian club

Pistoia Basket 2000 A.S. Pistoia Basket 2000, known for sponsorship reasons as OriOra Pistoia, is an Italian professional basketball team based in Pistoia, Tuscany. History The city of Pistoia was formerly represented in the first division LBA by Olimpia Basket Pis ...

. Four days later Pistoia announced that Diawara has passed the tryout period with the team and signed a deal for the rest of the 2017–18 LBA season.

Personal life

Diawara is the youngest of Bintou and Ansoumane Diawara’s four children, having two sisters (Kankou and Fatoumata) and one brother (Sourakhata). He is fluent in French,

Wolof Wolof or Wollof may refer to: * Wolof people, an ethnic group found in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania * Wolof language, a language spoken in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania * The Wolof or Jolof Empire, a medieval West African successor of the Mal ...

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 ...

, and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

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, 54 , , 14 , , 10.0 , , .410 , , .318 , , .710 , , 1.1 , , .7 , , .1 , , .1 , , 2.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

, 63 , , 21 , , 13.5 , , .350 , , .313 , , .526 , , 1.3 , , .4 , , .2 , , .1 , , 3.4 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 6 , , 2 , , 7.3 , , .200 , , .167 , , .000 , , .7 , , .5 , , .2 , , .0 , , .8 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , , 187 , , 56 , , 14.0 , , .357 , , .301 , , .650 , , 1.4 , , .7 , , .3 , , .1 , , 3.5

Playoffs

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2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

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, 3 , , 0 , , 2.7 , , .400 , , .000 , , .000 , , .3 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.3 , - , align="left" , 2009 , align="left" ,

, 5 , , 0 , , 4.2 , , .333 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .2 , , .0 , , .4 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , , 9 , , 0 , , 3.3 , , .375 , , .000 , , .000 , , .7 , , .0 , , .1 , , .0 , , .7

References

External links

Miami Heat bioEuroleague.net profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diawara, Yakhouba 1982 births Living people Basketball players at the 2012 Summer Olympics BCM Gravelines players Black French sportspeople Big3 players Denver Nuggets players ESSM Le Portel players Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna players French expatriate basketball people in Italy French expatriate basketball people in the United States French men's basketball players French sportspeople of Senegalese descent JDA Dijon Basket players Juvecaserta Basket players Lega Basket Serie A players Limoges CSP players Miami Heat players National Basketball Association players from France New Basket Brindisi players Olympic basketball players of France Pallacanestro Varese players Pepperdine Waves men's basketball players Pistoia Basket 2000 players Reyer Venezia players Shooting guards Small forwards Southern Idaho Golden Eagles men's basketball players Basketball players from Paris Undrafted National Basketball Association players French men's 3x3 basketball players