Keita Bates-Diop

Keita Bates-Diop (born January 23, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Austin Spurs of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Keita Bates-Diop
No. 31 – San Antonio Spurs
PositionSmall forward
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1996-01-23) January 23, 1996
Sacramento, California
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight229 lb (104 kg)
Career information
High schoolUniversity (Normal, Illinois)
CollegeOhio State (2014–2018)
NBA draft2018 / Round: 2 / Pick: 48th overall
Selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves
Playing career2018–present
Career history
2018–2020Minnesota Timberwolves
2018–2019→Iowa Wolves
2020Denver Nuggets
2020→Windy City Bulls
2020–presentSan Antonio Spurs
2020–present→Austin Spurs
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Early life and high school career

Keita Bates-Diop was born on January 23, 1996 in Sacramento, California[1] to Richard and Wilma Bates. His parents added Diop to his surname. His father Richard studied under Cheikh Anta Diop, a scientist and anthropologist.[2] The small forward played for University High School in Normal, Illinois. He averaged 18.4 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks as a junior. He was considered one of the top 5 candidates for Illinois Mr. Basketball by the Chicago Tribune.[3] Bates-Diop was ranked no. 24 nationally in his class by Rivals.com.[4]

College career

Bates-Diop was a bench player as a freshman at OSU in the 2014-15 season. As a sophomore, he expanded his role on the team and averaged 11.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.[5] But as a junior, he suffered a stress fracture in his left leg, sitting out all but the first nine games, while the Buckeyes limped to a 17-15 record without him. In those nine games, Bates-Diop averaged 9.7 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.[6] He was granted a medical redshirt and came into his redshirt junior campaign one of the top options for new coach Chris Holtmann.[5]

Bates-Diop earned his first Big Ten player of the week honors on December 11, 2017, after notching a career-high 27 points in a 97-62 win over William & Mary.[7] On January 9, 2018, Bates-Diop was recognized as the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week by the United States Basketball Writers Association after strong performances against Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball and Michigan State. Bates-Diop tied a then-career high with 27 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in a victory against Iowa. Against top-ranked Michigan State, he scored a career-high 32 points in an 80-64 win.[8] He also received his second Big Ten player of the week recognition.[9] Bates-Diop received his second consecutive player of the week nod on January 15, with a 26-point, eight rebound outing in a 91-69 win over Maryland and 20 points, nine rebounds in a victory versus Rutgers.[10]

On February 26, 2018, Bates-Diop was named the Big Ten Player of the Year.[11] He averaged 19.8 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. Following Ohio State's loss in the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, Bates-Diop announced his intention to forgo his final season of collegiate eligibility and declared for the 2018 NBA Draft.[12]

Professional career

Minnesota Timberwolves (2018–2020)

On June 21, 2018, Bates-Diop was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the 48th pick in the 2018 NBA draft.[13] On July 7, 2018, Bates-Diop signed with the Timberwolves.[14] He participated in the NBA Summer League in 2018 and 2019.

Denver Nuggets (2020)

On February 5, 2020, the Timberwolves traded Bates-Diop to the Denver Nuggets in a four-team trade.[15] He was assigned to the Windy City Bulls on March 1.[16] Bates-Diop was waived by the Nuggets on November 22, 2020[17]

San Antonio Spurs (2020-present)

On November 29, 2020, the San Antonio Spurs announced that they had signed Bates-Diop to a two-way contract.[18]

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 Minnesota 30316.8.423.250.6432.8.6.6.55.0
2019–20 Minnesota 37017.5.422.330.7083.0.8.5.56.8
2019–20 Denver 7014.0.464.333.8002.4.0.3.65.4
Career 74316.9.426.303.6992.8.6.5.55.9

Playoffs
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2020 Denver 504.8.200.000.5001.2.2.0.0.6

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2014–15 Ohio State 3309.9.473.462.6792.1.5.3.63.8
2015–16 Ohio State 333331.5.453.324.7876.41.1.71.211.8
2016–17 Ohio State 9323.3.500.200.7145.21.3.21.39.7
2017–18 Ohio State 343433.1.480.359.7948.71.6.91.619.8
Career 1097024.8.472.352.7765.71.1.61.211.7

References
  1. Downing, Andy (March 7, 2018). "Keita Bates-Diop leads a rising Ohio State basketball team". columbusalive.com. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  2. Kindred, Randy (January 26, 2012). "U High's Bates-Diop drawing D-I attention". Pantagraph.com. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
  3. Helfgot, Mike (November 27, 2013). "Boys hoops - Top 5 Mr. Basketball candidates". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
  4. Baumgardner, Nick (March 10, 2014). "Michigan's Nik Stauskas gets All-America honor; recruit Kameron Chatman a prep All-American". MLive.com. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
  5. Markus, Don (January 11, 2018). "In order to beat Ohio State, Maryland has to stop Keita Bates-Diop". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  6. Birdsong, Nick (November 22, 2017). "Ohio State's Keita Bates-Diop is the difference maker the Buckeyes needed all along". Sporting News. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  7. "Michigan State, Ohio State Earn Weekly Men's Basketball Honors: Buckeyes' Keita Bates-Diop earns Player of the Week award; Spartans' Jaren Jackson Jr. named Freshman of the Week". BigTen.org. CBS Interactive. December 11, 2017. Archived from the original on December 12, 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  8. "Ohio State's Bates-Diop Is Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week". The United States Basketball Writers Association. January 9, 2018. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  9. "Maryland, Ohio State Earn Weekly Men's Basketball Honors: Buckeyes' Keita Bates-Diop earns Player of the Week award; Terrapins' Bruno Fernando named Freshman of the Week". www.bigten.org. CBS Interactive. January 8, 2018. Archived from the original on January 9, 2018. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  10. "Michigan State, Ohio State Earn Weekly Men's Basketball Honors: Buckeyes' Keita Bates-Diop earns second-consecutive Player of the Week award; Spartans' Jaren Jackson Jr. named Freshman of the Week for third time". www.bigten.org. CBS Interactive. January 15, 2018. Archived from the original on January 16, 2018. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  11. "Big Ten Unveils Men's Basketball Postseason Honors on BTN" (Press release). February 26, 2018. Archived from the original on February 27, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  12. Wojnarowski, Adrian (March 26, 2018). "Buckeyes forward Keita Bates-Diop to enter NBA draft". ESPN. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  13. Landis, Bill (June 21, 2018). "Keita Bates-Diop selected in second round, No. 48 overall by Minnesota Timberwolves in 2018 NBA Draft". Cleveland.com. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  14. "TIMBERWOLVES SIGN KEITA BATES-DIOP". NBA.com. July 7, 2018. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
  15. "Denver Nuggets Acquire Bates-Diop, Napier, Vonleh, Green and First-Round Pick in Four-Team Trade". NBA.com. February 5, 2020. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  16. "Nuggets' Keita Bates-Diop: Sent to G League". CBS Sports. March 1, 2020. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  17. "NBA Player Transactions". NBA.com. February 26, 2020. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  18. "Spurs sign Keita Bates-Diop to two-way contract". nba.com. November 29, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
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