DAKAR (Senegal) - What really defines an opportunity? Context is always the key.
Unfortunately, the context surrounding a young Gorgui Dieng growing up in Senegal during the ‘90s is pretty much similar to the one bordering the next generation of Senegalese men and women.
While borders can be tough to climb or overcome in any way, sport often finds a way to make sure an opportunity arises to get over those borders.
Literally, basketball is without borders. It is nowadays, and it has always been. And “Basketball Without Borders” was the opportunity to draw new promising lines to Gorgui Dieng’s context. It was 2009. It was the beginning of something unexplored.
"When I went to Basketball Without Borders, I saw all these NBA stars there, like Dirk Nowitzki and Dwight Howard," Gorgui Dieng opens to FIBA.
I was like, “Why not me? Why can't I be an NBA player?”
It should never have been a question for him. He dreamed of making it to the brightest spotlights of football: playing in the Champions League, representing Senegal in the African Cup of Nations, playing alongside icons like Aliou Cissé.
Suddenly, he hit a growth spurt, and he decided to put football on the side. Basketball had to be the opportunity to emerge, and he took that chance among the 60 best young African basketball players.
"I was the MVP in that camp, and that gave me a different mindset," he adds. The young Gorgui would have never thought he could have been in that position, but here he was.
More particularly, he couldn’t have done it without his best reference, who wasn’t a sporting icon - in fact, they shared the same last name. "My dad was a teacher, a mayor, and a legislator in my hometown," he comments.
"We looked up to him a lot and he always wanted us to do the right things; be good at school, be disciplined and respectful. I think he put all the fundamentals on us. That's why I think I'm in the situation where I'm at today."
The long journey, starting with the initiative promoted by the NBA and FIBA to help African kids emerge from lands without opportunities, was characterized by huge highs.
Senegal has always been in his heart
One of Senegal’s all-time great basketball players shaped his craft at the renowned University of Louisville, winning the NCAA Championship in 2013 with Rick Pitino. From then on, a 10-year career in the NBA followed.
Minnesota, Memphis, Atlanta, and San Antonio, where he now continues working alongside the Spurs, even though his playing career is over. With one franchise or the other, his heart was always painted with the same colors: green, yellow, and red.
I've always had time for the national team
"I’ve always had time for the national team. While I was playing in the NBA, I always went to play in every window I could participate in. I think I’ve always had the national team as one of my top priorities, because there is nothing bigger than my country," he explains.
"I wish we had won FIBA AfroBasket while I was playing, but I tried to give my best in all three editions I played in. Senegal is everything to me, and the national team is everything to me."
Over the course of his national team career, which extended from 2014 to 2023, the dominant center couldn’t bring his country to the top of the continent. Senegal did win two bronze medals at FIBA AfroBasket, though, in 2017 and 2021.
In the latest one, played in Rwanda, he witnessed a clash with another giant like Walter Tavares for the third-place game, as Cape Verde chased history, too.
"We were playing for the third place and I was three points behind to be the best scorer in the whole competition," he remembers about that game.
"Coming to the game, I told everyone, “Look, I'm gonna score 30.” I just got in, starting the game hot. I hit a lot of trees, and coming to the game, I had to play outside, so the paint would be open, because Tavares is always there to block shots."
"I was capable of knocking down some threes. I spaced out, so we could get the paint open. I went crazy, but Tavares is a hell of a player. He's a great player, and he keeps doing it. It's always great to have a good match-up," Dieng gives his flowers to the Cape Verdean giant.
Numbers speak louder than stories, sometimes. With 20.0 points and 10.5 rebounds per game, Gorgui Dieng emerged as one of the best players at FIBA AfroBasket 2021.
He naturally did even better six years earlier, collecting 22.9 points and 14.9 boards over seven appearances at FIBA AfroBasket 2015. However, they couldn’t count on bringing a medal home as they lost to Tunisia in the third-place game.
Medals or not, his most memorable moment with the Lions happened at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2014, in Spain. In a matter of two days, they overcame the odds not only against Puerto Rico but also against Croatia, as Gorgui had 27 points with 8 rebounds.
"We never had a win against a European team in the World Cup before. That day, while I was playing, my wife was giving birth to my first child. After the game, I found out that my son was born. I’ll never forget it".
Passing the torch to Senegalese basketball's next generation
After some tough years, missing out on the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 and failing to return to the golden stage at FIBA AfroBasket, the future looks bright for Senegal.
"I think Senegal’s in a good spot. We are one or two players away from having a very good basketball team. We are working hard, and it's just gonna get harder," the Senegalese basketball federation’s Vice-President adds.
At the end of the day, it’s pretty natural to be optimistic about the near and remote future, as Senegal qualified for FIBA AfroBasket 2025 with an unbeaten 6-0 run.
"The hope is so high with our new leaders. I remember the first time Brancou [Badio] got called up for the national team. Looking back at it, it's amazing to see what he's doing right now. I’ve always believed that he would be the best player on our team."
Brancou Badio had 17.7 points, 5.0 assists, and 4.0 assists per game throughout the qualifying stage, and inherited the role of the country’s basketball leader.
Things, as he says, won’t be easy. “You can see South Sudan right now, we have to be ready with our best team when it's time to win. If you're not ready, you can be beaten by everybody on any night,” Gorgui Dieng adds on Senegal’s fiercest rivals.
“The way things are spread will tell us how much our continent will grow when it comes to basketball. FIBA AfroBasket is going to be so competitive going forward because we have so many small countries that you barely see on the map that are winning and are on the stage.”
Sixteen years have passed since Gorgui Dieng made the best out of his opportunity and was named MVP of Basketball Without Borders Africa in 2009. He has gone through the college route, the NBA journey, and wins and losses with the national team.
But he has never forgotten where he came from. The proof to it belongs to the initiatives taken thanks to the Gorgui Dieng Foundation, raising awareness and opportunities.
"When I got to the NBA and I saw the way people were taking care of me, I thought that my community needed to have the same recognition, and get better help. That’s when I started building hospitals and schools, helping with food and medical bills," Dieng recalls.
"Looking at what the community needs. You have to provide stuff that is going to get them out of the swamp: let the kids go to school, be educated, so that the poverty can change. I just want to help them make their life a lot easier."
"I can’t help everybody, I can’t go to every house and give someone money. But I can build something with my team, my foundation, and the people who believe in our project. I can build something there that everybody can use."
"That was my mindset when I went through this project, trying to help my community," he explains.
Mindset: it changed when he was about to chase the dream of making it to the NBA, and stayed the same once he returned the favor to his people.
"People helped me to get where I'm at today, so I had to return the favor. That’s why when I go home, I'm trying to help so we can have more guys coming here and play," he says.
"Not everybody is going to make it to the NBA, but the fact that they just go to school and get free education might be life-changing today. When I go home, I always preach to go to school and play sports. The ball is very small, but it can open a lot of doors for you."
Once again, we come back to what really defines having an opportunity and cherishing it. It meant the world to Gorgui, so why can’t it open doors for the upcoming generations, too?
The hope is so high with our new leaders. I remember the first time Brancou [Badio] got called up for the national team. Looking back at it, it's amazing to see what he's doing right now. I’ve always believed that he would be the best player on our team.
"I just want them to be successful, that's all I care about. That’s why I'm organizing basketball clinics there. They don't have space for anything, nor transportation. Everything is on me," the former Minnesota Timberwolves veteran says.
"I’m there every night after the games to talk to them, answering questions about life. Every night we have a two-hour session when everybody can ask me whatever they want. This matters, it's very important. These are small things, but they can change a lot."
"When those kids go back to their hometown, each of them is an ambassador. So they can convey your message to the other kids. That’s huge," it affirms. It’s a virtuous cycle.
Getting worlwide's attention on Africa
While the current Vice-President of the Senegalese basketball federation is trying to help his young countrymen and countrywomen as best as possible, for the past few years, praiseworthy initiatives have been blossoming from other parties.
Among them, having the Basketball Africa League as a point of reference for the sport within the continent is huge. It helps raise the level and brings basketball everywhere.
"It’s very important to the continent. Africa had their kids, and they never saw them play in front of them. I think anytime we have a chance to play in front of our communities, that is great. That motivates the young players to try to escalate and get to the next level," Dieng adds.
At the same time, with years passing by, the eyes and years of NBA players have watched and earned what was happening with talented guys being shaped by tons of different countries in Africa. That’s why having cornerstones can’t be anything but helpful.
"I'm excited that guys are coming to Africa and want to help these kids. African players are athletic, can run, but I think the skillset is always behind."
"If you have a chance to have the NBA Academy there, or have different academies that are going to help these kids to get to play structured basketball, sharpening their skill set, that will take the continent to the next level," the 1990-born Senegalese center is sure.
Gorgui Dieng wasn’t only capable of drawing attention in Senegal and the rest of Africa. Raising his voice for people who can’t speak out loud, he attracted his teammates’ interest.
Among them, Derrick Rose was one of the most curious about the opportunity of passing the torch directly in Africa, and followed his former Minnesota Timberwolves teammate to Gorgui Dieng’s home country, offering his wisdom. A former NBA MVP’s wisdom.
"Derrick Rose was the most committed to it. He went back home with me with 40-50 people, I think. He brought the whole high school team to Senegal," Dieng opens.
"They visit the country. He wants to know everything about Senegal. He sponsored the national team for a couple of years with his brand."
"It was amazing that he got a chance to go home, explore it, and see what's going on there. He always texts me; he wants to go back. That's pretty amazing," he also says about D-Rose.
Both set the tone, being extremely professional during their different careers, certainly not conditioned by the same spotlights pointing at them, but still bringing the same attitude on a daily basis on and off the court. Whether it was in the NBA or for their national teams.
So what kind of lesson would Gorgui Dieng teach to his younger self–or potentially to the next Gorgui Dieng coming out of Senegal, or African basketball’s next big thing?
Be disciplined.
"You have to be disciplined to be successful in anything you do in life. Being disciplined means being on time for practice, which means working when people are not watching you."
"It means listening, accepting that when you make a mistake, people get on you, and taking that in the right approach. Often, people yelling at you do it because they care for you, they want to help you because they see your potential and what’s behind your struggle."
"I'm here working with the Spurs right now. If I weren't disciplined or respected, I wouldn't have this position. While I was playing, I went back to college to get my bachelor's, and during COVID, I got my master's. You have to be disciplined to complete your studies."
"What basketball taught me the most is to be disciplined. Be on time, do all the right things, be a good listener, execute the right way," Senegal’s rim-rocking icon concludes.
Gorgui Dieng took the opportunity of his lifetime and created a career out of it.
With discipline, commitment, and deep love for his country.
With leadership, consciousness, and deep love for others.
Where “others” are his people, back in Senegal. Back where everything started.
FIBA