Desagana Diop

At 42 years old, Desagana Diop has this physical status:

DeSagana N'gagne Diop ( s?-GAH-n?

JOP (born January 30, 1982) is a Senegalese former professional basketball player who now works as a training assistant for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Early life

When growing up in Senegal, Diop played soccer. He began playing basketball at the age of 15 and moved to the United States to play for Oak Hill Academy, where he gained 14.6 points, 13.2 rebounds, and 8.1 blocks during his senior season. He received the USA Today Virginia Player of the Year award and led Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, to a No. 1 country ranking (33 wins, 0 losses).

Diop can speak five languages: Arabic, English, French, Wolof, and a few Spanish.

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Professional career

The Cleveland Cavaliers' 8th overall pick of the 2001 NBA draft made Diop straight out of Oak Hill Academy. After Kwame Brown, Tyson Chandler, Eddy Curry, and Ousmane Cisse decided to apply for the draft, he was the fifth high school athlete to play. He appeared in 193 games with the Cavaliers, averaging 1.6 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks in 10.8 minutes per game.

In a 97-84 loss to the New Orleans Hornets on November 23, 2002, Diop dropped his career high ten points in a 97-84 loss.

In Diop's first two years with the Cavaliers, the Cavaliers suffered a lot. With the addition of an 18-year old LeBron James in the 2003 NBA draft, the franchise started to improve. The Cavaliers had their best record since the 1997-1998 season in 2004, going 42-39. However, they did not qualify for the playoffs, and Diop's last year with the club was also a disappointment.

On August 19, 2005, Diop agreed to a three-year deal with the Dallas Mavericks as a free agent. Diop, a defensive player who specialized in shot blocking and rebounding, partnered with Erick Dampier in the center position. He had been with a winning team on 2005–2006, and this season was Diop's most successful season in playoffs, as the Mavericks went 60-22, made a strong playoff push and advanced to the 2006 finals. In six games to the Miami Heat, the Mavericks lost the finals.

Diop scored the game-winning tip-in against the New York Knicks in a pre-season game due to Keith Van Horn's missed shot.

In an 83–80 victory over the Denver Nuggets on November 15, 2005, Diop recorded a career-high 16 rebounds. Diop also scored a career high 6 blocks in the same game, including a denial of Carmelo Anthony's potentially game-winning field goal attempt.

He became a full-time starter for the Mavericks for the remainder of the season and into the playoffs, as well as being a representative of the Western Conference in the 2006 NBA Finals.

Two Mavericks fans produced a copy of Kris Kross' hip-hop song "Jump."

In their version, the refrain "Jump!

Jump!"

was turned into "Diop!

Diop!

"The video praises Diop's shotblocking skills." The Mavs started to play the game at their home games, and it became so popular that it was in use. "I remember the first time they played the game during a time out and I was trying to figure out what [Johnson] was trying to say, but I was sneaking peeks at the footage," Diop said.

He finished 11th in total blocks, 14th in blocks per game, and 4th in blocks per 48 minutes for the 2005-06 season. San Antonio and Dallas, Diop, played with a broken nose, grabbed three offensive rebounds (four total), and blocked two of Tim Duncan's shots in Game 7 of the 2006 Western Conference Semifinals.

In the Mavs' franchise-high 30th road victory, a 105-88 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on April 11, 2007, Diop recorded his first double-double with season highs of ten points and 15 rebounds.

The Mavericks made the 2006–2007 season even more profitable than the previous season, posting a franchise record of 67–15. They were extremely consistent throughout the season, and unlike last year, they were expected to return to the finals for the second time. They secured the 1st seed in the Western Conference and met up with the Golden State Warriors in the first round. The Warriors were defeated by the Mavericks 42–40 and were barely a winning team that season. The Warriors defeated the Mavericks in 6 games and advanced to the second round of the greatest playoff upset of all time. The Warriors shocked the Mavericks and outplayed them in the series, led by Baron Davis. The Mavericks had their best record in the league, but they lost because the Warriors had matched them so well against them. Don Nelson was one of the main reasons for his decision. As he coached the Mavericks the previous season, Nelson, the Warriors' head coach and former head coach, knew how to protect them well. The Warriors won the season series 3–1 against them in the 2006–2007 season. Despite Diop's and the Mavericks' best efforts, the Warriors played well against them and defeated the best team in the first round of the league.

Diop, signed-and-traded Keith Van Horn, Devin Harris, Trenton Hassell, Maurice Ager, and roughly $3 million cash and 2010 first-round draft picks for Jason Kidd, Malik Allen, and Antoine Wright were traded to the New Jersey Nets on February 19, 2008.

Diop never enjoyed the same team as he did in 2005–2006 and 2007–2007 as the Nets embarked on a season of rebuilding and ended the 2007–2008 season with a disappointing 34–48 record and missed the playoffs.

Diop signed a six-year, $32 million contract with the Dallas Mavericks on July 9, 2008.

Diop's return to Dallas was short because he didn't complete the 2008-2009 season with the team.

Diop was traded to the Charlotte Bobcats for guard Matt Carroll and center Ryan Hollins on January 16, 2009.

Diop spent the remainder of his playing career with the Charlotte Bobcats. The Bobcats had been a struggling team for the first few years, but they had been steadily improving and finished the 2008-2009 season 35-47, missing the playoffs by four games. The Bobcats, coached by all star Gerald Wallace and leader Stephen Jackson, went 44-38 and finished as the 7th seed in the Eastern Conference in the 2009-2010 season. They met a formidable foe in the Orlando Magic, and although the Bobcats had a solid defense and kept each game close, they eventually lost to the Magic in a 4-game sweep. Diop continued to play well for the team in the following seasons, but the roster had drastically changed in the upcoming seasons, and unfortunately, he missed the playoffs for the remainder of his career. The Bobcats only went 34-48 in the first season, and the team's roster had changed as Charlotte began a new rebuild. The Bobcats made history by posting their lowest record in NBA history in 2011, defeating the season with a stunning 7–59 record. The team had acquired young talent and was expected to make the playoffs, but Diop's had only spent one season with the Bobcats, and they missed out on the playoffs in 2012. Diop played his last NBA game, a 105-122 loss hosted by the Portland Trail Blazers; where he scored two points, two rebounds, one block, and one foul in less than 15 minutes of playing time in over 15 minutes.

Diop signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers on September 30, 2013. However, he did not play for the team because he was suspended before the season began on October 25.

At 31 years old, Diop resigned from the NBA shortly after.

Coaching career

Diop joined the Texas Legends of the NBA Development League as a player development coach on November 11, 2014. He was promoted to assistant coach on October 19, 2015.

Diop was hired by the Utah Jazz as a coaching associate on October 3, 2016.

The Houston Rockets called Diop as an assistant coach on November 30, 2020.

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