Tidjane Abdoul Salaün (; born 10 August 2005) 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 (appro ...

player for the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA).

Professional career

Cholet Basket

Salaün began playing for

Cholet Basket Cholet Basket is a professional basketball club that is based in Cholet, France. The club plays in the LNB Pro A. Their home arena is La Meilleraie. Established in 1975, Cholet won its first French championship in the 2009–10 season. In 1998 and ...

's youth team in LNB Espoirs, the French under-21 league, in 2021. In February 2023, he was invited to take part in the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

Basketball Without Borders Basketball Without Borders is a basketball instructional camp organized by the NBA in conjunction with FIBA. It presents itself as a “basketball development and community outreach program that unites young basketball players to promote the sport ...

camp during the All-Star Game weekend. In May of the same year, Salaün was named the MVP of the 2023 Trophée du Futur tournament, having averaged 17.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. He signed his first professional contract with Cholet's senior team on 10 July 2023. During the 2023–24 season, Salaün featured for Cholet Basket's senior team both in the

LNB Élite The LNB Élite, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Betclic Élite, is a professional basketball league in France and is the highest level of the French basketball system. The competition has existed since 1921. Since 1987, the Ligue Nat ...

and the

FIBA Champions League The Basketball Champions League (BCL), also commonly known as the FIBA Champions League, is an annual professional basketball competition for European clubs, organised by FIBA. It is the top-level competition organised by FIBA Europe, therefor ...

, and finished the campaign by averaging 9.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, and one steal per game.

NBA

On 25 April 2024, Salaün announced that he had declared for the

2024 NBA draft The 2024 NBA draft was the 78th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft. Unlike recent years, the 2024 draft took place over two nights. This was the first NBA draft to be held on multiple nights since the draft ...

; his entry was confirmed by the

on 2 May.

Charlotte Hornets / Greensboro Swarm (2024–present)

On 26 June 2024, Salaün was selected with the sixth overall pick by the

in the 2024 NBA draft. He was picked alongside fellow Frenchmen Zaccharie Risacher (drafted by the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

with the first overall pick) and

Alex Sarr Alexandre Dam Sarr ( , ; born 26 April 2005) is a French professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He plays the power forward and Center (basketball), center positions. Sarr played fo ...

(drafted by the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

with the second pick), making France the first foreign nation to have at least three native players picked in the top 10 spots of any NBA draft. He was the second youngest player from his draft class. On 3 July 2024, he signed with the Hornets. He made his summer league debut on July 13 against 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 ...

with the

winning 94–90. He scored 8 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, and dished out an assist in 14 minutes of play. On 18 January 2025, he was assigned to the

Greensboro Swarm The Greensboro Swarm are an American basketball team of the NBA G League based in Greensboro, North Carolina, and are affiliated with the Charlotte Hornets. The Swarm play their home games at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex. The team became the ...

National team career

Salaün played for the France national under-18 team in the 2023 FIBA U18 European Championship.

Career statistics

NBA

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Charlotte , 60 , , 10 , , 20.7 , , .330 , , .283 , , .713 , , 4.7 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , .2 , , 5.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 60 , , 10 , , 20.7 , , .330 , , .283 , , .713 , , 4.7 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , .2 , , 5.9

Personal life

Salaün's parents both played basketball. His sister, Janelle Salaün, played in the EuroLeague Women and for the France women's national team. She now plays for the Golden State Valkyries expansion team. He is of

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...

an descent.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Salaun, Tidjane 2005 births Living people 21st-century French sportsmen Basketball players from Paris Charlotte Hornets draft picks Charlotte Hornets players Cholet Basket players French expatriate basketball people in the United States French men's basketball players French people of Guadeloupean descent Greensboro Swarm players NBA players from France Power forwards Small forwards