Hamidou Diallo

Hamidou Diallo (born July 31, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats. He was a consensus 5-star prospect, and one of the top rated basketball players in the class of 2017. Diallo is of Guinean descent. His parents, Abdoulaye and Marima, emigrated to New York from Guinea. He won the 2019 Slam Dunk Contest.

Hamidou Diallo
No. 6 – Oklahoma City Thunder
PositionShooting guard
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1998-07-31) July 31, 1998
Queens, New York
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight202 lb (92 kg)
Career information
High school
CollegeKentucky (2017–2018)
NBA draft2018 / Round: 2 / Pick: 45th overall
Selected by the Brooklyn Nets
Playing career2018–present
Career history
2018–presentOklahoma City Thunder
2018–2019→Oklahoma City Blue
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing the  United States
FIBA Americas U18 Championship
2016 Chile National team
2017 Egypt

High school career

Diallo attended John Bowne High School in Flushing, New York during his freshman and sophomore year. As a sophomore, he averaged 17.1 points, 6.6 rebounds per game, and 2.7 assists. During the 2015 summer, Diallo competed on the Under Armour Association Circuit (UAA) for the AAU team, NY Jayhawks. He averaged 22.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game on 2015 Under Armour Association Circuit. Later that summer Diallo was invited to both NBPA Top 100 and Adidas Nations camps. Diallo transferred to Putnam Science Academy in Putnam, Connecticut prior to his Junior Year. As a junior, he averaged 17.0 Points per game, and 4.0 rebounds while leading Putnam to a (35-7) overall record. In the 2016 summer, Diallo then joined the AAU team, New York Rens on the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) Circuit. He averaged 18.6 points, and 2.1 assists while leading the Rens to the season-ending Peach Jam. As a senior in 2016-17, he averaged 19.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists where he led the Mustangs to a (38-3) record. Diallo was considered one of the top players in the 2017 recruiting class by Scout.com, Rivals.com and ESPN.[1][2][3] Diallo was heavily recruited by six schools, the University of Kentucky, The University of Arizona, Indiana University, The University of Kansas, Syracuse University, and the University of Connecticut.[4]

College career

On January 7, 2017, Diallo committed to the University of Kentucky.[5] He would start participating with the team in practices, but would not play a single game that year due to his late entry into the program. Diallo was one of a record-high 182 players to declare for the 2017 NBA Draft, despite not having played a single college game in the process.

On May 24, 2017, Diallo announced that he would return to Kentucky to play in their 2017-2018 season, despite draft scouts saying he could have been taken in the first round of the draft that year.

Diallo had season averages of 10.0 points per game, and 3.6 rebounds per game.

Professional career

2018–19 season

On June 21, 2018, Diallo was selected with the 45th pick in the 2018 NBA draft by the Brooklyn Nets. His draft rights were subsequently traded to the Charlotte Hornets,[6] and then to the Oklahoma City Thunder.[7] On July 28, 2018, the Oklahoma City Thunder announced that they had signed with Diallo.[8] On October 16, 2018, Diallo made his debut in NBA, coming off the bench in a 100–108 loss to the Golden State Warriors with four points, a rebound, an assist and a steal.[9] On November 19, 2018, Diallo scored his career high 18 points with two steals, a rebound, and an assist in a 113–117 loss to the Sacramento Kings.[10]

On February 16, 2019, Diallo won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, becoming the first Oklahoma City Thunder player ever to win it. For one dunk he jumped over Shaquille O'Neal, and did the "honey dip" dunk popularized by Vince Carter, and displayed a Superman undershirt while hanging from the rim. In another dunk, he jumped over Quavo who held the ball above his head and finished it with two hands.[11]

National team career

Diallo competed for the under-18 United States national basketball team that captured gold in the FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship game in 2016.[12] He won bronze at the 2017 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup in Egypt.

Personal life

Hamidou Diallo grew up in Lefrak City, Queens, New York.[13] He attended JHS 157 Stephen A. Halsey.

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2018–19 Oklahoma City 51310.3.455.167.6101.9.3.4.23.7
2019–20 Oklahoma City 46319.5.446.311.6033.6.8.8.26.9
Career 97614.7.449.247.6072.7.5.6.25.2

Playoffs
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2020 Oklahoma City 308.3.364.200.5712.0.3.0.74.3
Career 308.3.364.200.5712.0.3.0.74.3

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2017–18 Kentucky 373724.8.428.338.6163.61.2.8.410.0

References
  1. Daniels, Evan (September 29, 2016). "Hamidou Diallo is eligible for the nba draft, will consider all options". Archived from the original on November 3, 2016. Retrieved November 5, 2016 – via Scout.com.
  2. "Hamidou Diallo, Putnam science Academy SG - Scout". Retrieved January 7, 2017 – via Www.scout.com.
  3. "Hamidou Diallo - Rivals.com". Retrieved January 7, 2017 – via Www.rivals.com.
  4. Borzello, Jeff (November 21, 2016). "Will five-star Hamidou diallo bypass college for NBA". Retrieved November 25, 2016 – via Www.espn.com.
  5. Borzello, Jeff (January 7, 2017). "Hamidou Diallo, No. 11 in ESPN 100, picks Kentucky over UConn". Retrieved January 7, 2017 – via Www.espn.com.
  6. "Hornets Acquire Mozgov, Two Second-Round Draft Picks From Nets". NBA.com. July 6, 2018. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  7. "Thunder Acquires Hamidou Diallo". NBA.com. July 6, 2018. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  8. "Thunder Signs Hamidou Diallo". NBA.com. July 28, 2018. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  9. "Curry, Durant lead Warriors past Thunder in festive opener". ESPN.com. October 18, 2018. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  10. "Buddy Hield helps Kings turn back Russell Westbrook, Thunder". ESPN.com. November 19, 2018. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  11. Newport, Kyle. "Hamidou Diallo Wins 2019 NBA Slam Dunk Contest; Full Scores and Reaction". Bleacher Report. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  12. "Diallo wins gold with usa basketball". July 24, 2016. Retrieved January 7, 2017 – via Www.newenglandrecrutingreport.com.
  13. "Hamidou Diallo's Personal Connection to Egypt". July 2, 2017. Retrieved July 2, 2017 – via Www.kentuckysportsradio.com.
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