DeSagana N’gagne Diop is a Senegalese professional basketball player, who plays as a center. Diop attended the Oak Hill Academy and during his senior high school year, led his team to the number one rank in the country with a 33-0 record. Diop himself had a 14.6 points per game average with 13.2 rebounds per game and 8.1 blocks.
In the 2001 NBA Draft, Diop was picked by the Cleveland Cavaliers and decided to sign on and forego college. He remained a backup in the roster and rarely saw much action with just 10.8 minutes per match in his 4 season long association with the Cavaliers. He averaged 2.6 rebounds, 0.8 blocks and 1.6 points per game before turning free agent at the end of 2004.
In 2005, he signed a 3 year contract with the Dallas Mavericks and soon became one of their key defensive players. He improved his defensive game and became a great shot blocker and rebounder and started most games for the Maverick, helping them reach the NBA Finals.
| Born | 30 Jan 1982 |
| Nationality |
Senegal
|
| Team History | |
Dallas Mavericks
|
2005 - 2008 |
Cleveland Cavaliers
|
2001 - 2005 |
The highlights of his time with the Mavericks included a game-winning tip-in off of a missed shot that Keith Van Horn had taken. He also had 16 rebounds and 6 blocks against the Nuggets in November 2005; one of those blocks was to deny Carmelo Anthony the game-winning field goal attempt. In 2005-06, he was ranked 11th in the total blocks and 14th in the blocks per game category.
In 2008, The Mavericks traded Diop, Keith Van Horn, Devin Harris, Trenton Hassell and Maurice Ager, plus $3 million in exchange for Jason Kidd, Malik Allen and Antoine Wright, from the New Jersey Nets. Later that month, he signed for the Charlotte Bobcats in January after being traded for Matt Carroll and Ryan Hollins.
