Kinidinnin Stéphane Konaté Sornan (born 23 August 1980) is an Ivorian retired
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 the majority of his career for the
ABC Fighters and for the
Ivory Coast national team. He is nicknamed "El Jefe" ("The Chef").
[
Primarily playing as ]shooting guard
The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game ...
, Konaté is a 18-time Ivorian championship winner and was the FIBA Africa Club Champions Cup MVP, following ABC's championship in 2005.
Konaté has represented the Ivory Coast national team in several AfroBasket
The AfroBasket (alternatively known as the FIBA Africa Championship, FIBA African Championship, or FIBA AfroBasket) is the men's basketball continental championship contested by the senior national teams of Africa
Africa is the world's s ...
tournaments, and helped the Elephants finish as runners-ups in 2009 and 2021.
Early life
Konaté was born in Bouaké
Bouaké (or Bwake, N'Ko script, N’ko: ߓߐ߰ߞߍ߫ ''Bɔ̀ɔkɛ́'') is the second-largest list of cities in Ivory Coast, city in Ivory Coast, with a population of 740,000 (2021 census). It is the seat of three levels of subdivisions of Ivory ...
, a city in the north of Ivory Coast, and started out playing football.
Professional career
Konaté started his professional career with Africa Sports in 2002, while still attending high school. He played with the team for three seasons. In 2005, he signed with Abidjan Basket Club (abbreviated as ABC).
Konaté won the 2015 FIBA Africa Clubs Champions Cup
The 2015 FIBA Africa Clubs Champions Cup, FIBA Africa Basketball Club Championship (30th edition), was an international basketball tournament held in Luanda, Angola from December 10 to 19, 2015. The tournament, organized by FIBA Africa and host ...
with ABC. He was also named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
In 2008, Konaté signed in Morocco with ASE Essaouira of the Division Excellence.
In the 2011–12 season, Konaté signed with Spanish side Palencia
Palencia () is a city of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Palencia.
Located in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, in the northern half of ...
in the LEB Gold. He averaged 2.6 points in five games, playing 10.4 minutes per game.
In the 2013–14 season, Konaté played with Egyptian side Gezira of the Egyptian Basketball Super League.
In 2014, he returned to ABC, later re-named ABC Fighters.
In October 2021, Konaté was on the roster of Malian club AS Police. He had previously received offers from AS Police, but administrative issues prevented making the move. Konaté helped ABC qualify for the 2023 season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL), and played a decisive role in the team's run to the league quarter-finals.
In autumn 2023, Konaté played in another Road to BAL tournament with ABC. After failing to qualify for the semi-finals, he announced his retirement from basketball at age 43. He cited: ""I am satisfied with the achievements I made playing the game and it gladdens me that people refer to me as an African legend."
National team career
Konaté competed as a member of the Côte d'Ivoire national basketball team for the first time at the FIBA Africa Championship 2003. He has since gone on to compete for the team at the FIBA Africa Championship 2005, FIBA Africa Championship 2007, and FIBA Africa Championship 2009.[Profile](_blank)
at FIBA.com In his most recent tournament, he averaged 8.7 points per game for the Côte d'Ivoire team that won the silver medal at the 2009 African Championship to qualify for the 2010 FIBA World Championship.
Honours
;ABC FightersAfroBasket 2009
AfroBasket 2009 was the 25th FIBA Africa Championship, played under the auspices of the Fédération Internationale de Basketball, the basketball sport governing body, and the African zone thereof. At stake were the three berths allocated to Afric ...
* Runners-up AfroBasket 2021
Individual awards
* FIBA Africa Club Champions Cup MVP
MVP most commonly refers to:
* Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition
* Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering
MVP may also refer to:
...
: (2015)
* All-FIBA Africa Club Champions Cup Team: (2005)
* Ivorian National Championship Regular Season MVP: (2021)
Personal
Konaté is married to his wife Marine and has two sons with her.
BAL career statistics
, -
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Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...
, style="text-align:left;", ABC Fighters
, 6 , , 6 , , 28.8 , , .385 , , .394 , , .852 , , 5.7 , , 2.3 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , 12.7
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Konaté, Stéphane
1980 births
Living people
Ivorian men's basketball players
Sportspeople from Bouaké
Gezira basketball players
Point guards
2010 FIBA World Championship players
Abidjan Basket Club players
Palencia Baloncesto players
AS Police basketball players
ABC Fighters players
21st-century Ivorian sportsmen