Overview
Mohamed Diawara began his basketball training at INSEP before moving to Paris Basketball of the LNB Elite league in 2021. In the summer of 2022, Diawara was named the best player at the Basketball Without Borders camp in Milan by a group of scouts from FIBA and the NBA. After receiving little playing time for Paris Basketball, Diawara was loaned to Poitier Basket 86 during the 2023-24 season and Cholet Basket in 2024-25. With Cholet, Diawara made 27 appearances, averaging 5.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists with 38/31/49 shooting splits. Diawara has earned two medals playing for France, winning bronze in 2022 at the U17 FIBA World Cup and gold during the 2024 U20 FIBA EuroBasket.
Analysis
Diawara is considered a draft-and-stash prospect who still has plenty of developing to do before making his move stateside. However, the potential is evident. While he doesn’t possess elite height, Diawara would immediately have one of the longest wingspans and standing reaches in the NBA. He’s put strong effort and hustle on tape, crashing the offensive glass and moving without the ball to open spaces. Diawara’s shot has yet to provide efficient results, but he’s confident, especially in catch-and-shoot situations. Defensively, Diawara has all the tools to be elite but needs to focus on the fundamentals first.
Projection
Diawara’s physical traits, jumper form and defensive potential are similar to OG Anunoby, Jonathan Kuminga, Dorian Finney-Smith and Bilal Coulibaly. However, Diawara’s path to NBA minutes will likely go through the G League like Wenyen Gabriel.
— Profile by RotoWire.com