Cheick Diallo
Diallo being honored as MVP of the 2015 McDonald's All-American Boys Game
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| No. 13 – New Orleans Pelicans | |
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| Position | Power forward / Center |
| League | NBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born |
September 13, 1996 Kayes, Mali |
| Nationality | Malian |
| Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
| Listed weight | 220 lb (100 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Our Savior New American School (Centereach, New York) |
| College | Kansas (2015–2016) |
| NBA draft | 2016 / Round: 2 / Pick: 33rd overall |
| Selected by the Los Angeles Clippers | |
| Playing career | 2016–present |
| Career history | |
| 2016–present | New Orleans Pelicans |
| 2016 | →Austin Spurs |
| 2017 | →Long Island Nets |
| 2017 | →Greensboro Swarm |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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Cheick Diallo (born September 13, 1996) is a Malian professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Diallo was a five-star recruit and was widely considered one of the top players in the Class of 2015. He was the MVP of the 2015 McDonald's All-American Boys Game. He played one season of college basketball for Kansas before declaring for the 2016 NBA draft, where he was selected with the 33rd overall pick by the Los Angeles Clippers.
Diallo was born and raised in Kayes, Mali. It took approximately 15 hours to drive from his hometown to Bamako, the country's capital city. He was the youngest in his family and had five brothers. Diallo moved to the United States in February 2012 in pursuit of a basketball career. He was not fluent in the English language at the time. He recalled the time, "It was so tough. I left my parents, my friends, my brothers, everything, just to come here. At first, I was thinking, I just want to go back. But one day I said, 'No, not yet. I want to stay and work hard here before I go back to Mali.'" Diallo began playing basketball in 2010.
Through its international program, Diallo began attending Our Savior New American School in Centereach, New York. He played with Chris Obekpa in his freshman season and, at first, was dominated by the fellow African big man. Diallo said, "I didn't know what I was doing. I couldn't make a point. [Obekpa] blocked me every time." In later seasons, he became more effective for his team and attracted attention through his shot-blocking, rebounding, and versatility. Diallo was invited to the NBPA Top 100 camp in 2013 and went on to become its first MVP from Africa.
Diallo missed the first five games of his freshman season with Kansas after the NCAA failed to clear him to play due to eligibility concerns. On November 25, 2015, he was cleared to play for the Jayhawks in their game against Loyola on December 1, after the NCAA ultimately ruled Diallo had received a limited amount of impermissible benefits. In his lone season at Kansas, Diallo averaged 3.0 points and 2.5 rebounds in 7.5 minutes per game.
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