Ibou Badji
Birth date13 October 2002 (age 24)
Birth placeDakar, Senegal
Height7 ft
Height in0
Weight kg106
LeagueNBA G League
TeamWindy City Bulls
PositionCenter
Number41
High schoolNBA Academy Africa
(Saly, Senegal)
Draft year2022
Career start2019
Years 12019–2021
Team 1FC Barcelona B
Years 22021–2022
Team 2Força Lleida CE
Years 32022–2023
Team 3Wisconsin Herd
Team 4Portland Trail Blazers
Years 52023–2024
Team 5→Rip City Remix
Years 62024–2025
Team 6Wisconsin Herd
Years 72025
Team 7La Laguna Tenerife
Years 82025–2026
Team 8Greensboro Swarm
Years 92026–present
Team 9Windy City Bulls
Highlights

Ibou Dianko Badji (born 13 October 2002) is a Senegalese professional basketball player for the Windy City Bulls of the NBA G League.

Early life and career

In 2017–18, Badji trained with NBA Academy Africa in Saly, Senegal, where he emerged as one of the best prospects in his age group.[1] By the time he turned 15 years old, he stood about 2.16 m (7 ft 1 in) with a 2.29 m (7 ft 6 in) wingspan.[2] On 27 December 2018, Badji signed with Spanish basketball club FC Barcelona and began playing for its youth sections.[3] In December 2019, he played for U18 FC Barcelona at ANGT Valencia, where he averaged eight points, 8.8 rebounds and five blocks per game.[4]

Professional career

Barcelona (2019–2021)

To prepare for the 2019–20 season, Badji trained with the first team of Barcelona.[5] He spent much of the season playing for FC Barcelona B, the club's reserve team, in the third-tier LEB Plata. On 26 October 2019, Badji had a season-high 12 points, nine rebounds and five blocks in an 86–77 win over Prat.[6] On 18 January 2020, he recorded eight points and a season-high eight blocks in an 88–80 victory over Prat.[7]

Força Lleida (2021–2022)

On 4 October 2021, Badji signed with Força Lleida CE of the LEB Oro.[8]

Wisconsin Herd (2022–2023)

After going undrafted in the 2022 NBA draft, on 3 November 2022, Badji was named to the opening night roster for the Wisconsin Herd after signing an Exhibition 10 contract.[9]

On 18 November 2022, the Portland Trail Blazers announced that they had signed Badji to a two-way contract.[10] On 7 March 2023, he underwent surgery on his left knee and was ruled out for at least eight weeks, thus missing out on playing the rest of the season.[11]

On 6 July 2023, Badji signed another two-way contract with the Trail Blazers,[12] but was waived on 24 October.[13] Six days later, he returned to the Herd.[14][15]

Portland Trail Blazers (2023–2024)

On 22 November 2023, Badji signed another two-way contract with the Portland Trail Blazers.[16] On 26 December 2023, Badji made his NBA debut for the Trail Blazers in a 130–113 win over the Sacramento Kings[17] and two days later, he put up 7 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocks in 14 minutes of action in a 118–105 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.[18]

Return to Wisconsin (2024–2025)

On 12 September 2024, Badji signed with the Milwaukee Bucks, but was waived the same day.[19] On 28 October, he rejoined the Wisconsin Herd.[20]

La Laguna Tenerife (2025)

On April 3, 2025, Badji signed with La Laguna Tenerife of the Spanish Liga ACB.[21]

Greensboro Swarm (2025–present)

On September 30, 2025, Badji signed a training camp contract with the Charlotte Hornets.[22] He appeared in one preseason game, recording two points and three rebounds in 11 minutes during a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, before being waived by the Hornets on October 14, prior to the start of the regular season.[23] On November 6, 2025, Badji was named to the Greensboro Swarm opening night roster.[24]

National team career

Badji represented Senegal at the 2019 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup in Heraklion, Greece. He averaged 6.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game, which ranked second in the tournament, as his team finished in 15th place.[25]

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Portland | 22 || 1 || 10.3 || .636 || — || .500 || 2.3 || .6 || .1 || .9 || 1.5 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 22 || 1 || 10.3 || .636 || — || .500 || 2.3 || .6 || .1 || .9 || 1.5

References

  1. ^ "El Barça ficha al 'rey del mate' senegalés de 16 años y 2,18" (in Spanish). Sport. 27 December 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  2. ^ Givony, Jonathan (28 December 2017). "Inside the NBA Academy and what it means for future prospects". ESPN. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  3. ^ "El Barcelona ata al 'anti-Tavares' del futuro forjado por la NBA: 16 años y 2,16 metros" (in Spanish). Marca. 28 December 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  4. ^ Domínguez, Juan (27 December 2019). "Primera jornada del ANGT de Valencia: Roko Prkacin, Alonso Faure…" (in Spanish). Fullbasket. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  5. ^ "Fc Barcelone : Le jeune Ibou Badji avec l'équipe première" (in French). Le Quotidien. 29 August 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  6. ^ "Espagne – LEB Plata : Brancou Badio et Ibou Badji décisifs avec le Barça" (in French). Basketsenegal. 28 October 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  7. ^ "8 tapones con el filial del Barça para Ibou Badji: te lo presentamos" (in Spanish). Gigantes del Basket. 18 January 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  8. ^ "Ibou Badji joins Lleida". Eurobasket. October 5, 2021. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  9. ^ "Wisconsin Herd Announces 2022-23 Opening Day Roster". oursportscentral.com. November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  10. ^ "Portland Trail Blazers Sign Ibou Badji to Two-Way Contract". NBA.com. November 18, 2022. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  11. ^ "IBOU BADJI INJURY UPDATE". NBA.com. 7 March 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  12. ^ "Trail Blazers Re-Sign Ibou Badji And John Butler Jr. To Two-Way Contracts". NBA.com. 6 July 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  13. ^ "Trail Blazers Sign Duop Reath to Two-Way Contract". NBA.com. 24 October 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  14. ^ "WISCONSIN HERD ANNOUNCE 2023 TRAINING CAMP ROSTER". NBA.com. 30 October 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  15. ^ Owczarski, Jim (30 October 2023). "Drew Timme, Alex Antetokounmpo, Glenn Robinson III headline the Wisconsin Herd camp roster". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  16. ^ "Trail Blazers Re-Sign Ibou Badji To Two-Way Contract". NBA.com. 22 November 2023. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  17. ^ "Sacramento Kings vs Portland Trail Blazers - Box Score". ESPN.com. 26 December 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  18. ^ "San Antonio Spurs vs Portland Trail Blazers - Box Score". ESPN.com. 28 December 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  19. ^ Adams, Luke (13 September 2024). "Bucks Sign, Waive Ibou Badji". HoopsRumors.com. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  20. ^ "WISCONSIN HERD ANNOUNCES 2024-25 TRAINING CAMP ROSTER". NBA.com. 28 October 2024. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
  21. ^ "Ibou Badji, nuevo jugador de La Laguna Tenerife". cbcanarias.net. April 3, 2025. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  22. ^ "Hornets' Ibou Badji: Signs with Charlotte". CBS Sports. RotoWire via CBS Sports. September 30, 2025. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
  23. ^ "Hornets Waive Center Ibou Badji". HoopsRumors. October 14, 2025. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
  24. ^ "GREENSBORO SWARM FINALIZE OPENING NIGHT ROSTER". gleague.nba.com. November 6, 2025. Retrieved November 6, 2025.
  25. ^ "Five players who blossomed at U19 World Cup". FIBA. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2020.