Former Virginia basketball star Mamadi Diakite can now add NBA Champion to his résumé, as the Milwaukee Bucks won their first NBA Title in fifty years, Tuesday night.
Winning has come easy to the big man from Guinea so far in his young career. At the age of 24, he has already won a state championship in high school, a NCAA Championship, a G-League Championship, and now the Larry O’Brien Trophy for the NBA Championship.
After four years in Charlottesville, Diakite went undrafted but was quickly signed as an undrafted free agent by the Milwaukee Bucks. Diakite was assigned to play in the G-League as a member of the Lakeland Magic. In his time in the G-League, the former Cavalier filled up the stat sheet, averaging 18.5 points and 10.3 rebounds per game, en route to the G-League Championship. For his effort, Diakite was called up to the Buck’s NBA roster on March 3. In limited minutes with the Bucks, Mamadi totaled 44 points and 34 rebounds during the regular season.
This postseason, Mamadi became the first Guinean basketball player to make it to the NBA Finals. Last night, Guinean basketball players became one for one in the NBA Finals as the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Phoenix Suns in six games to win the 2nd title in team history.
While this is the first title for the former national championship, Mamadi and the Bucks will look to compete for their second straight title next season.
