Gorgui Dieng facts for kids
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Dieng with the Atlanta Hawks in 2021
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| San Antonio Spurs | |||||||||||||||||
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| Basketball Operations Representative | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | January 18, 1990 Kébémer, Senegal |
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| High school |
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| Listed height | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | ||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 248 lb (112 kg) | ||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||
| College | Louisville (2010–2013) | ||||||||||||||||
| NBA Draft | 2013 / Round: 1 / Pick: 21st overall | ||||||||||||||||
| Selected by the Utah Jazz | |||||||||||||||||
| Pro career | 2013–2023 | ||||||||||||||||
| League | NBA | ||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2020 | Minnesota Timberwolves | ||||||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | Memphis Grizzlies | ||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | San Antonio Spurs | ||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | Atlanta Hawks | ||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | San Antonio Spurs | ||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||||
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Gorgui Sy Dieng (born January 18, 1990) is a former professional basketball player from Senegal. He is now a basketball operations representative for the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Before joining the NBA, he played college basketball for the Louisville Cardinals.
Dieng was chosen as the 21st pick in the 2013 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz. On draft night, he was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves. He played for the Timberwolves for seven seasons. In February 2020, he moved to the Memphis Grizzlies. After leaving the Grizzlies in March 2021, he joined the San Antonio Spurs. He then signed with the Atlanta Hawks in August 2021. In July 2022, he returned to the Spurs. Dieng officially retired from playing basketball on December 9, 2023.
Contents
High School Basketball Journey
Dieng went to the Sports for Education and Economic Development (SEEDS) Academy in Thiès, Senegal. While there, he had good grades. He also played in Senegal's top basketball league, Nationale 1, with the team US Rail. He helped his team win the Senegalese Basketball Cup in 2009. In the final game, he scored 19 points and was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP).
In 2009, Dieng was invited to the Basketball Without Borders camp in South Africa. He was one of 60 talented young players from across Africa. He was also named the MVP of this camp.
For the 2009–10 school year, Dieng moved to Huntington Prep School in West Virginia, USA. He played for coach Rob Fulford. During his final year at Huntington Prep, he averaged 15.4 points, 12.6 rebounds, and 7.2 blocks per game.
Choosing a College Team
Many colleges wanted Dieng to play for them, including Marquette, Marshall, Colorado, and Louisville. His high school coach said Dieng was very good at academics. He passed the SAT test just six months after learning English.
Louisville and Marshall showed the most interest. Then, on April 26, 2010, Dieng decided to commit to Louisville. Louisville's assistant coach, Walter McCarty, who had played in the NBA, helped convince Dieng to join the Cardinals. Experts at Rivals.com saw Dieng as a top player. They listed him as the 10th best power forward and the 44th best player in the nation in 2010.
College Basketball Career
When Dieng first arrived at Louisville, the NCAA (the main college sports organization) said he couldn't play. Louisville appealed this decision. On October 26, 2010, the NCAA changed its mind. They said Dieng could play right away.
As a freshman, Dieng played in 29 games. He averaged 5.7 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game. The Cardinals finished the 2010–11 season with a 25–10 record. They lost in the championship game of the 2011 Big East men's basketball tournament. They then played in the 2011 NCAA Tournament but lost in the second round.
In his second year, Dieng became the starting center for the Louisville team. This team made it to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament. During the 2011–12 season, Dieng led the Big East Conference in blocks. He also set a new school record for the most blocks in a single season. On March 22, 2012, Dieng blocked 7 shots in a game. This tied a Louisville tournament record.
Dieng was honored on Senior Day in 2013, even though he was a junior. This was because he planned to leave Louisville early to enter the 2013 NBA draft.
College Awards and Honors
- NCAA champion (2013)
- Big East Defensive Player of the Year (2013)
- First team All-Big East (2013)
- Big East All-Tournament Team (2012)
- 2nd in all-time blocks in Cardinal history (267 blocks)
Professional Basketball Career
Minnesota Timberwolves (2013–2020)
On June 27, 2013, the Utah Jazz picked Dieng as the 21st overall player in the 2013 NBA draft. Later that night, he was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves. On March 20, 2014, Dieng had an amazing game against the Houston Rockets. He scored 22 points and grabbed 21 rebounds. This was the first time a rookie in Timberwolves history had a "20–20" game (20+ points and 20+ rebounds). He was also named to the NBA All-Rookie second team because of his great play.
On January 12, 2015, Dieng scored 22 points again, matching his career high. On August 1, 2015, he played for Team Africa in an exhibition game. On February 6, 2016, he set a new career high with 24 points. He also had 13 rebounds and seven assists in a win against the Chicago Bulls.
On October 31, 2016, Dieng signed a new four-year contract with the Timberwolves. On January 15, 2017, he scored a season-high 21 points.
Memphis Grizzlies (2020–2021)
On February 6, 2020, Dieng was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies. This was part of a three-team trade. On March 26, 2021, Dieng and the Grizzlies agreed to end his contract early.
San Antonio Spurs (2021)
On March 29, 2021, Dieng signed with the San Antonio Spurs. He played 16 games for them, averaging 5.3 points and 2.6 rebounds per game.
Atlanta Hawks (2021–2022)
On August 9, 2021, Dieng signed a one-year contract with the Atlanta Hawks.
Return to San Antonio (2022–2023)
On July 5, 2022, Dieng signed a contract to return to the San Antonio Spurs. He was later waived by the Spurs on January 5, 2023. However, he signed a 10-day contract with them three days later. He signed another 10-day contract on January 20. On February 10, Dieng signed with the Spurs for the rest of the season.
On December 9, 2023, Dieng announced that he had officially retired from playing professional basketball.
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 |
NBA
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013–14 | Minnesota | 60 | 15 | 13.6 | .498 | 1.000 | .634 | 5.0 | .7 | .5 | .8 | 4.8 |
| 2014–15 | Minnesota | 73 | 49 | 30.0 | .506 | .167 | .783 | 8.3 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 9.7 |
| 2015–16 | Minnesota | 82* | 39 | 27.1 | .532 | .300 | .827 | 7.1 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 10.1 |
| 2016–17 | Minnesota | 82* | 82* | 32.4 | .502 | .372 | .814 | 7.9 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 10.0 |
| 2017–18 | Minnesota | 79 | 0 | 16.9 | .479 | .311 | .775 | 4.6 | .9 | .6 | .5 | 5.9 |
| 2018–19 | Minnesota | 76 | 2 | 13.6 | .501 | .339 | .830 | 4.1 | .9 | .6 | .5 | 6.4 |
| 2019–20 | Minnesota | 46 | 17 | 16.9 | .448 | .383 | .797 | 5.6 | 1.3 | .8 | .9 | 7.4 |
| 2019–20 | Memphis | 17 | 0 | 18.7 | .483 | .250 | .738 | 5.8 | .9 | .8 | 1.0 | 7.2 |
| 2020–21 | Memphis | 22 | 1 | 16.9 | .519 | .479 | .884 | 4.5 | 1.3 | .8 | .6 | 7.9 |
| 2020–21 | San Antonio | 16 | 0 | 11.3 | .527 | .318 | .833 | 2.6 | 1.2 | .6 | .1 | 5.3 |
| 2021–22 | Atlanta | 44 | 3 | 8.4 | .473 | .426 | .731 | 2.8 | .8 | .3 | .3 | 3.5 |
| 2022–23 | San Antonio | 31 | 1 | 11.5 | .385 | .280 | .769 | 3.5 | 1.7 | .1 | .5 | 3.9 |
| Career | 628 | 209 | 20.9 | .496 | .355 | .791 | 5.6 | 1.3 | .7 | .9 | 7.3 | |
Play-in
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Memphis | 1 | 0 | 13.9 | .500 | – | – | 4.0 | .0 | .0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| 2021 | San Antonio | 1 | 0 | 13.0 | .667 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 4.0 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | 6.0 |
| 2022 | Atlanta | 2 | 0 | 3.7 | .333 | .333 | – | .0 | .5 | .0 | .5 | 1.5 |
| Career | 4 | 0 | 8.6 | .500 | .500 | 1.000 | 2.0 | .5 | .0 | .8 | 2.8 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Minnesota | 5 | 0 | 14.0 | .333 | .400 | .750 | 3.6 | .8 | .4 | .8 | 3.4 |
| 2022 | Atlanta | 2 | 0 | 5.0 | .500 | .000 | 1.000 | 1.5 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 1.5 |
| Career | 7 | 0 | 11.4 | .350 | .333 | .800 | 3.0 | .6 | .3 | .6 | 2.9 | |
College
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010–11 | Louisville | 29 | 9 | 15.6 | .618 | .000 | .538 | 4.4 | .7 | .4 | 1.9 | 5.7 |
| 2011–12 | Louisville | 40 | 40 | 32.8 | .525 | .500 | .676 | 9.1 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 3.2 | 9.1 |
| 2012–13 | Louisville | 33 | 32 | 31.1 | .534 | — | .652 | 9.4 | 2.0 | 1.3 | 2.5 | 9.8 |
| Career | 102 | 81 | 27.3 | .545 | .333 | .640 | 7.9 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 2.6 | 8.3 | |
International Basketball Career
Dieng also played for the Senegalese national basketball team. He played in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup. In that tournament, he averaged 16.0 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. He also played in the AfroBasket tournaments in 2015, 2017, and 2021. He was named to the All-Tournament Team in all three of those years.
Life After Playing Basketball
On December 9, 2023, Dieng announced that he had retired from professional basketball. He then took on a new role as a Basketball Operations Representative for the San Antonio Spurs.
Personal Life and Philanthropy
Gorgui Dieng is well-known for his charity work. In 2015, he started the Gorgui Dieng Foundation. This foundation helps improve healthcare in his home country of Senegal. It provides medical equipment and supplies. In 2019, he received an award called the Offseason NBA Cares Community Assist Award for his good deeds. Dieng is a practicing Muslim.
The name "Gorgui" means "the old one" in Wolof, which is Dieng's native language.
See also
In Spanish: Gorgui Dieng para niños
