Not only James Nnaji with the Charlotte Hornets, but another powerful and intimidating center with the quality seal of Barça wants to make a call to the NBA these days in the Summer League. In his case, with the Portland Trail Blazers: Ibou Badji (Dakar, Senegal, 2002). Despite the fact that his time in the Barça first team was ephemeral – barely seven games debuting with Saras Jasikevicius-, his formative stage in Barcelona was more lasting, three years between the junior and the subsidiary, since 2018 -when he arrived at the club-, and 2021.
And it so happens that tonight Nnaji and a Badji are going to meet, who shared the youth ranks and also preseason in a first team in which the Senegalese interior did not establish itself like the Nigerian, although both share their early ambition for an NBA that seems to be giving them a chance.
Although it seems that the Charlotte Hornets are going to make James Nnaji wait one more year, who aims to continue one more season in Barcelona after being drafted on the 31st, the debut of Badji, only 20 years, He could arrive this next season after a campaign marked by a knee injury after Portland signed him in November.
The Oregon franchise renewed on July 1 within Dakar again for another year with a two-way contract. According to information from MD, in the Oregon organization they see the Senegalese as a long-term project and, as proof of this, they have granted him another vote of confidence after an unfortunate first season. The plan is to combine participation in the new team of the G-League What will Portland have from this coming course? -los Rip City Remix-, and the opportunities that may arise in the Blazers. In fact, the type of contract that he has signed is made to combine the NBA and the kind of branch league that is the G-League.
Although James Nnaji, who meets the 19 years In August, he has already been a first-team player for all intents and purposes and has reached the NBA via draft, Badji’s path to the best league in the world has been something different. The 2.16-meter center, who went through the American league academy before joining Barça, was loaned to Lleida force of LEB Oro in the 2021-2022 financial year, at the end of which he headed for the NBA, although taking a few more turns.
Ibou Badji was not drafted in 2022 and tried his luck with the Milwaukee Bucks in the ‘training camp’ in September. He ended up being assigned to the G-League team, the Wisconsin Herds, in which he left some good figures of 7.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.4 rebounds and some striking 2.4 blocks in 20.7 minutes in 7 games, which caught the attention of the Blazers, with which they have ended up making their debut in this Summer League.
A persistent knee injury who ended up undergoing surgery in March ended up frustrating a debut that could have perfectly come in the last ten games of the season, when the Blazers already gave up the campaign by sitting down Damian Lillardabout which the General Manager of the Blazers, Joe Cronin, He has already warned that it may take months to transfer in search of an operation that also favors Portland.
Cronin’s right hand, the Catalan Sergi Oliva (Gelida, 1984), who came to the Blazers last year after serving as Vice President of Strategy for the Philadelphia 76ers and assistant coach for the Utah Jazz.
“He is intimidating, has a lot of jumping ability and plays the pick and roll very well”
Gerard FindsBadji’s coach at Força Lleida
Similar to Nnaji in this respect, the Portland Trail Blazers want to develop him primarily as a standout hoop guard, the role in which, in fact, the technicians who know him well also see a future for him. Apart from his 2.16, they are also his bestial 2.40 wingspan, not far from Victor Wembanyama (2.44) to give an idea of what the former Barça player is, with an innate gift for blocking, rebounding and dominating the basket on both sides of the court. His ability to hit ‘hats’ is what is attracting the most attention in the Summer League, with 3 points, 1.5 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 blocks in 20 minutes in two games.
“He is intimidating, he has a lot of jumping ability, he plays the pick and roll very well and we have worked with him on other resources such as the low post. He has a lot of projection ”, the Lleida coach highlighted Badji to MD, Gerard Finds, after having had and shaped the 2021-2022 season. However, Badji still has a lot to polish, who apart from shooting -28% in the Summer League-, still has to polish himself as a defender.
Badji, trying to stop Wembanyama
John Locher/LaPresse
Weighs up athletic power With his size and wingspan, the Senegalese suffers against centers that attack from more open positions. Although he recorded good numbers in LEB Oro with the Segrià team -8.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and 57% shooting from the field in 20 minutes-, his duel against Marc Gasol in the Promotion Final Four he highlighted that aspect to be improved by Badji, who also suffered against Victor Wembanyama falling easily into feints, another facet to improve according to the coaches who know him best.
“I want to win rings and be like LeBron,” Badji blurted out last year in an interview with Relay last year. Tonight he will meet James Nnaji who shares with him similarities in the game and the same ambition to succeed in the NBA, who already knows very well the interiors that can sprout from the bowels of Barça with cases of Pau Gasol y Marc Gasol as paradigms and cases of other profiles of different players such as the short but intense pleasure that Juan Carlos Navarro gave and more discreet examples that managed to step on the best league in the world in any case such as Mario Hezonja and Leandro Bolmaro.
Without going into comparisons, and like Nnaji, Badji has a lot left to carve out a career, but he is there to honor and consolidate the tradition of azulgrana academy in the NBA.
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2023-07-11 05:01:44
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