For 90 days get to know more about the international faces of the NBA. Day 25 brings...
Gorgui Dieng (C, Minnesota Timberwolves), Senegal
Height: 2.11m, 6-foot-11 | Weight: 108kg, 238 pounds | Born: 18 January 1990
For months, Gorgui Dieng dropped hints.
The Senegal-born center came to the Timberwolves with as much pedigree as mystery. He'd been selected in the first round of the NBA Draft (then traded from Utah to Minnesota in a swap that also involved Trey Burke). He'd been MVP of the Basketball Without Borders Africa Camp in 2009. He'd won a national championship in college with the University of Louisville, and earned Defensive Player of the Year honors in arguably the NCAA's toughest conference.
But for the first four months of his NBA career, he sat. And watched. But, behind the scenes, he worked.
By the time he was called to start for an injured Nikola Pekovic in mid-March, Dieng had only once played more than 14 minutes in a game. He responded with back-to-back double-doubles in his first two starts. And exploded in his third.
In a loss to the Houston Rockets, Dieng went for 22 points and 21 rebounds – the first time a Timberwolves rookie had ever put up a 20-20 game and just the sixth time in recorded history an NBA player had done so inside his first three starts. The 21 boards were a season-high for any Minnesota player.
On April 11, he nearly did it again. This time in a win over the Rockets, Dieng rattled off 20 rebounds and 12 points, adding two blocks and two steals to one of his nine double-doubles in the season's final 18 games. To cap it off? He also dropped in the game-winning bucket, hitting a shot in the lane with four seconds left to give the Wolves to the win.
Key Stats
2013-14 Season: GP: 60 | MIN: 13.6 | PTS: 4.8 | REB: 5.0 | FG%: 49.8
Season Highlight
His string of five double-doubles in his first six games as a starter included his 22-21 rampage against the Rockets on 20 March, 2014.
Awards
NBA All-Rookie Second Team
Rookie of the Month – March
Nominated for Rookie of the Month in April
Five Things to Know
1. The name Gorgui means 'The Old One' in Wolof, the most widely spoken language in Senegal
2. Dieng holds the University of Louisville record for blocks in a season, which he set in his sophomore season of 2011-12, swatting a total of 128 (3.2 per game).
3. At Louisville, Dieng played for Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Coach Rick Pitino, a college coaching legend who also spent a combined six years at the helm of the Knicks (two years) and Celtics (four).
4. He's one of eight children born to his parents, Momar Dieng and Seynabou Diagne.
5. His favorite athlete outside of basketball is Lionel Messi (courtesy of Louisville Athletics).
Check out Dieng's photos and video in the LEAGUE section of NBA Game Time.
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