Mamadi Diakite is set to start his professional career with the Milwaukee Bucks this season, but how did he get here? Let’s dive into his basketball journey that spans the globe.
After enjoying quite the run at the University of Virginia, Mamadi Diakite is looking to experience similar success now that he’s joined the Milwaukee Bucks.
Diakite signed a two-way contract with the Bucks late last month during free agency, making him one of the team’s two new two-way players for the 2020-21 season, along with Wisconsin Herd standout guard Jaylen Adams.
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Diakite may not have heard his name called on draft night, but he undoubtedly ended up in a nice landing spot that could give him the foundation of becoming an NBA rotation player down the line.
Before he gets to work in potentially seeing meaningful minutes going into the 2020-21 season, let’s learn more about two-way player Mamadi Diakite and his journey that now takes him to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Growing up in Guinea and coming to America
Mamadi Diakite’s story coming to America, much less to the NBA, is something that could only have happened in this day and age.
Born in Conakry, Guinea, the nation’s capital, Diakite had originally taken to playing soccer in his native country whiole growing up in a household that was focused on academics. As he shot up in height as he grew up, though, Diakite was brought to the game of basketball and came to embrace the sport.
The problem facing Diakite as he grew more dedicated to basketball were the lack of opportunities to play organized basketball in Guinea. It was then when Diakite turned to social media by making a Facebook page to show off his basketball skills and land somewhere in the United States to continue building on his basketball journey.
That ploy paid off as Diakite’s videos led him to the attention of Hassani Fofana, a fellow Guinean and former college basketball player, who eventually helped Diakite to come to the United States and enroll at a boarding school in Virginia. Having only arrived to America speaking French, the culture shock could have been too significant to overcome for Diakite had it not been through the help of others as he remarked to Caroline Newman of UVA Today back in March of 2018:
"“At first it was really hard. … I only spoke basic English. I could tell people I was hungry,” Diakite said, chuckling. “I’m hungry” was a pretty important phrase for a high school athlete. “But I found my way, and hung around some good people who really eased the process for me,” he said.”"
Diakite immediately showcased his mix of size, speed and athleticism upon playing at Blue Ridge High School and it didn’t take long for him to attract the attention of top college programs across the country.
In the end, Diakite chose to stay nearby and attend the University of Virginia and that sense of community that has been built in Charlottesville played a factor in Diakite’s decision as he told Zach Zamoff of The Cavalier Daily in January 2019:
"“I think U.Va. is different from other teams,” Diakite said. “We accept people. The staff, the coaches, the fans –– they don’t discriminate. That’s a big part of us feeling like home when we’re here.”"