Keita Bates-Diop Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Keita Bates-Diop
No. 21 – Phoenix Suns
Bates-Diop with Ohio State in 2018
Small forward / power forward
Personal information
Born	(1996-01-23) January 23, 1996 (age 28) Sacramento, California, U.S.
High school	University (Normal, Illinois)
Listed height	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight	229 lb (104 kg)
Career information
College	Ohio State (2014–2018)
NBA Draft	2018 / Round: 2 / Pick: 48th overall
Selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves
Pro career	2018–present
League	NBA
Career history
2018–2020	Minnesota Timberwolves
2018–2019	→Iowa Wolves
2020	Denver Nuggets
2020	→Windy City Bulls
2020–2023	San Antonio Spurs
2023–present	Phoenix Suns

Career highlights and awards
Consensus second-team All-American (2018) Big Ten Player of the Year (2018) First-team All-Big Ten (2018)

Keita Bates-Diop (born January 23, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Early life and high school career
College career
Professional career
Career statistics
- NBA
- College
See also

Early life and high school career

Keita Bates-Diop was born on January 23, 1996, in Sacramento, California to Richard and Wilma Bates. His parents added Diop to his surname. His father Richard studied under Cheikh Anta Diop, a Senegalese scientist and anthropologist. The small forward played for University High School in Normal, Illinois. He averaged 18.4 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks as a junior. He was considered one of the top 5 candidates for Illinois Mr. Basketball by the Chicago Tribune. Bates-Diop was ranked no. 24 nationally in his class by Rivals.com.

College career

Bates-Diop was a bench player as a freshman at OSU in the 2014–15 season. As a sophomore, he expanded his role on the team and averaged 11.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. But as a junior, he suffered a stress fracture in his left leg, sitting out all but the first nine games, while the Buckeyes limped to a 17–15 record without him. In those nine games, Bates-Diop averaged 9.7 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. He was granted a medical redshirt and came into his redshirt junior campaign one of the top options for new coach Chris Holtmann.

Bates-Diop earned his first Big Ten Conference player of the week honors on December 11, 2017, after notching a career-high 27 points in a 97–62 win over William & Mary. On January 9, 2018, Bates-Diop was recognized as the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week by the United States Basketball Writers Association after strong performances against Iowa and Michigan State. Bates-Diop tied a then-career high with 27 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in a victory against Iowa. Against top-ranked Michigan State, he scored a career-high 32 points in an 80–64 win. He also received his second Big Ten player of the week recognition. Bates-Diop received his second consecutive player of the week nod on January 15, with a 26-point, eight-rebound outing in a 91–69 win over Maryland and 20 points and nine rebounds in a victory versus Rutgers.

On February 26, 2018, Bates-Diop was named the Big Ten Player of the Year. He averaged 19.8 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. Following Ohio State's loss in the 2018 NCAA men's basketball tournament, Bates-Diop announced his intention to forgo his final season of collegiate eligibility and declared for the 2018 NBA draft.

Professional career

Minnesota Timberwolves (2018–2020)

On June 21, 2018, Bates-Diop was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the 48th pick in the 2018 NBA draft. On July 7, 2018, he signed with the Timberwolves. Bates-Diop participated in the NBA Summer League in 2018 and 2019.

Denver Nuggets (2020)

On February 5, 2020, the Timberwolves traded Bates-Diop to the Denver Nuggets in a four-team trade. He was assigned to the Windy City Bulls on March 1. He was waived by the Nuggets on November 22, 2020.

San Antonio Spurs (2020–2023)

On November 29, 2020, the San Antonio Spurs announced that they had signed Bates-Diop to a two-way contract. On September 7, 2021, the Spurs re-signed him. On December 23, 2021, Bates-Diop scored a career-high 30 points on 11-of-11 shooting with seven rebounds and a steal in a 138–110 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Phoenix Suns (2023–present)

On July 4, 2023, Bates-Diop signed with the Phoenix Suns.

Career statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

NBA

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2018–19	Minnesota	30	3	16.8	.423	.250	.643	2.8	.6	.6	.5	5.0
2019–20	Minnesota	37	0	17.5	.422	.330	.708	3.0	.8	.5	.5	6.8
2019–20	Denver	7	0	14.0	.464	.333	.800	2.4	.0	.3	.6	5.4
2020–21	San Antonio	30	0	8.2	.448	.294	.667	1.6	.4	.4	.2	2.6
2021–22	San Antonio	59	14	16.2	.517	.309	.754	3.9	.7	.5	.2	5.7
2022–23	San Antonio	67	42	21.7	.508	.394	.793	3.7	1.5	.7	.3	9.7
Career		230	59	17.0	.480	.339	.749	3.2	.9	.5	.3	6.5

Play-in

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2022	San Antonio	1	0	5.9	- –	- –	- –	.0	1.0	.0	.0	.0
Career		1	0	5.9	- –	- –	- –	.0	1.0	.0	.0	.0

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2020	Denver	5	0	4.8	.200	.000	.500	1.2	.2	.0	.0	.6

College

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2014–15	Ohio State	33	0	9.9	.473	.462	.679	2.1	.5	.3	.6	3.8
2015–16	Ohio State	33	33	31.5	.453	.324	.787	6.4	1.1	.7	1.2	11.8
2016–17	Ohio State	9	3	23.3	.500	.200	.714	5.2	1.3	.2	1.3	9.7
2017–18	Ohio State	34	34	33.1	.480	.359	.794	8.7	1.6	.9	1.6	19.8
Career		109	70	24.8	.472	.352	.776	5.7	1.1	.6	1.2	11.7

Keita Bates-Diop facts for kids

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