Samb Cheikh Tidiane (born October 22, 1984) is a Senegalese former 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 (appro ...

player. He played at the center position.

Basketball career

In the 2005–06 season, Samb played for WTC Cornellá in the Spanish second division, averaging 9.6 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.1 blocks, shooting 51.4% from the field and 76.1% from the free-throw line, playing an average of 26 minutes per game in 29 games. He led the league in blocked shots, registering more blocks than the totals of all but one team in the league. Samb was drafted by the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

in the second round (51st pick overall) of the 2006 NBA draft, but was traded that day to the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

for

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Maurice Evans. After being drafted, he played for the Pistons in the NBA Summer League, averaging 7.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks, while shooting 65.2% from the field and 60.0% from the free-throw line. He would be loaned back to the same Spanish outfit for 2006–07. In his second season with Cornellá, Samb averaged 10.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.9 blocks, while shooting 52% from the field, and 61% from the free-throw line, playing 24 minutes per game in only 19 games, in an injury-plagued season. Joining the Pistons for another Summer League, Samb posted slightly better numbers than in the previous edition, starting in four and playing in all five games. Subsequently, he signed a contract with the Pistons on July 17, 2007. On November 16, 2007, Samb played his first NBA

regular season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of S ...

game: against the

, he had four rebounds, two points and two blocks in 15 minutes, before being allocated to the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

, with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the first NBA player assigned to the team in their history. On December 14, in his second D-League game, against the Dakota Wizards, Samb took an

elbow The elbow is the region between the upper arm and the forearm that surrounds the elbow joint. The elbow includes prominent landmarks such as the olecranon, the cubital fossa (also called the chelidon, or the elbow pit), and the lateral and t ...

to his mouth and lost two front teeth.Ants lose game, center's front teeth
. Posted December 15, 2007 The teeth, knocked out at the root, were subsequently put in a saline solution and he was taken to a dentist to have them reset. He also suffered a probable upper jawbone fracture. Samb was recalled to the NBA on December 21, switching to the Mad Ants again on January 29, 2008. On February 3, he recorded a triple double with the Ants, with 12 points, 12 rebounds and 11 blocks. On March 22, he was once again recalled to the Pistons. On November 3, 2008, Samb was traded along with Antonio McDyess and Chauncey Billups to 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 Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

, in exchange for

Allen Iverson Allen Ezail Iverson ( ; born June 7, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "The Answer", he played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as both a shooting guard and point guard. As an NBA rook ...

. He (along with

Sonny Weems Clarence "Sonny" Weems (born July 8, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for the Shenzhen Leopards of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for the University of Arkansas and the University of Ar ...

) was later assigned to the Colorado 14ers, a team associated with the Nuggets in the

. On January 5, 2009, the Nuggets traded Samb, along with cash considerations, to the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The ...

for a conditional second-round draft pick. On February 16, 2009, Samb was waived by the Clippers. On March 2, he signed a 10-day contract with 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 Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

. After this expired on March 12, 2009, the Knicks signed him to a second 10-day contract and, on March 23, released the player, who made appeared in 2 games with them. On October 1, 2009, he signed a one-month contract with Spanish giants

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

. He only appeared in one game and was released in November. He was on the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...

' roster for the 2010 NBA Summer League. In the final game of Summer League, Samb scored 11 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and 7 blocked shots. On November 1, 2010, Samb was drafted by the Sioux Falls Skyforce with the 11th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Development League Draft. He did not make the final 10 man roster, however. Samb signed with defending Iranian Super League champions Mahram Tehran in December 2010.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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Personal life

Samb is the older brother of basketball player Mamadou Samb.

References

External links

*
2006 NBA Draft ProfileBasketpedya.com ProfileDetroitbadboys.com On Cheikh Samb's Development And PotentialESPN.com NBA Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samb, Cheikh 1984 births Living people Basketball players from Dakar Centers (basketball) Colorado 14ers players Denver Nuggets players Detroit Pistons players Fort Wayne Mad Ants players Los Angeles Lakers draft picks Los Angeles Clippers players Mahram Tehran BC players NBA players from Senegal New York Knicks players Real Madrid Baloncesto players Senegalese expatriate basketball people in Spain Senegalese expatriate basketball people in the United States Senegalese expatriate basketball people in Iran Senegalese expatriate basketball people in the United Arab Emirates Senegalese men's basketball players Iranian Basketball Super League players 21st-century Senegalese sportsmen