The San Antonio Spurs on Monday announced that they have signed veteran forward Mamadi Diakite to a standard NBA two-way contract.
Diakite, a 6-foot-9-inch big man who went undrafted in the 2020 NBA Draft, has appeared in 49 NBA games with the Milwaukee Bucks, Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers. He was part of the Bucks’ 2021 NBA Championship team.
His signing brings the Spurs roster to 18 total players, as the team previously released center Charles Bediako. The Spurs are presently dealing with some attrition to their frontcourt, as center Zach Collins is expected to miss two-to-four weeks with an ankle injury, and star Victor Wembanyama is on a minutes limit and is expecting to rest on back-to-backs.
This season, the 26-year-old from Conakry, Guinea, has played in 19 regular seasons and Showcase Cup games, starting five times for the G League’s Westchester Knicks, averaging 8.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.05 blocks per game.
Back in 2019, he helped the Virginia Cavaliers win their first NCAA basketball championship as a redshirt junior and was named to the 2019-20 ACC All-Defensive and All-ACC second team as a redshirt senior, averaging 13.7 points and 6.8 rebounds.
The team said Diakite will wear No. 29 for the Spurs. Per team policy, the terms of his contract were not disclosed.
