Diop returns to Cleveland after four years in Baskonia
The Cleveland Cavaliers have officially announced the signing of Khalifa Diop, the Senegalese center who leaves Saski Baskonia after four seasons in Vitoria. The NBA franchise thus claims the player selected in the 39th position of the 2022 Draft, who will wear the number 18 in his return to the American organization.
The announcement has come through Koby Altman, president of basketball operations for the Cavaliers, confirming a move that ends a waiting period for the 2.11-meter tall interior player. Diop had been on the European market for four years awaiting the call from Cleveland, and the franchise has decided to activate its rights in September, just as continental basketball prepares for the new season.
An investment that materializes after years of patience
Khalifa Diop's trajectory in Europe has been that of a continuously evolving player. After training in the Gran Canaria youth system, where he made his EuroLeague debut at just seventeen years old, the Senegalese center was recognized as the Rising Star of the EuroCup in the 2021-22 season, an award that honors the best player under 22 in the competition. This performance was crucial for the Cavaliers to select him in the 2022 Draft, but it also motivated Baskonia to pay 700,000 euros for his buyout clause in 2023, one of the most ambitious investments in the recent history of the Vitoria club.
His time in Vitoria has left a significant legacy. In three seasons with the blue and reds, Diop contributed to the achievement of relevant titles: he was part of the team that won the EuroCup in 2023 and, more recently, participated in the conquest of the Copa del Rey in 2026, the first title of this kind for Baskonia in seventeen years. These achievements solidified his status as a reference interior player in the Vitoria project, making his departure even more challenging for the club at a sporting level.
The numbers that back him for the NBA
In the 2025-26 season, his last in Vitoria, Diop showed a growing role in minutes, although with contained statistical production. He played 47 games in the ACB and the EuroLeague, starting in 38 of them, with averages of 3.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 0.7 blocks in 16.4 minutes of play. Although the numbers may seem modest, there is one stat that becomes his best calling card: a remarkable 67 percent in field goal shooting.
This percentage precisely reflects the type of player that Diop represents for an NBA franchise in the making. With his physical stature and ability to be productive near the basket without the need for complex plays, he fits the profile of a cheap, efficient fifth bench player that organizations in the American league seek to complete their rosters. His effectiveness from short distance, combined with his defensive athleticism and rebounding ability, positions him as a viable alternative for Cleveland's deep rotations.
The prior knowledge of the organization
Diop does not come completely new to the Cavaliers. In 2023, the Senegalese was already part of the team that represented the franchise in the Summer League, winning the competition. This background allows him to be familiar with the organizational structure, the playing systems, and the environment of the franchise, which facilitates his integration into a project that calls for him after four years of waiting.
At the international level, Diop has represented Senegal in youth categories, participating in the U19 World Championships in 2019 and 2021, demonstrating his experience in national team basketball and his commitment to his home country.
The major setback for Baskonia
If for Cleveland this addition represents a minor piece in their construction puzzle, for Baskonia, the departure of Diop constitutes a considerable setback. The Vitoria club is left without one of their reference interior players just three weeks before the start of the Liga Endesa, with no real margin to replace him with guarantees in a virtually depleted market of big men.
This situation illustrates one of the inherent risks that any European club assumes when retaining a player with NBA rights. The American franchise can call him back at any moment, activating its rights when it suits them, not when it is convenient for the European team. Diop has patiently awaited the call from Cleveland for four years. That call has come in September, at the worst possible time for the Vitoria project, which must now reorganize its interior rotation for a season that begins in just a few days.
This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Diop regresa a Cleveland tras cuatro años en el Baskonia