NBA Career
Diop was drafted directly out of Oak Hill Academy by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the 8th overall pick of the 2001 NBA Draft. He was the fifth high school player, after Kwame Brown, Tyson Chandler, Eddy Curry and Ousmane Cisse to declare for the draft. He played 193 games in four seasons with the Cavaliers, as a rarely looked at backup, averaging 1.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in 10.8 minutes per contest. Diop signed a three-year contract with the Dallas Mavericks as a free agent on August 19, 2005. Diop quickly established himself as a defensive stalwart and potent shot blocker and rebounder, providing relief for Erick Dampier as a center. After December 31, 2005, he started most of the games for the Mavericks, assisting in their improvement and strong drive that resulted in the team qualifying to play in the NBA finals as representatives of the Western Conference.
Against the New York Knicks in a pre-season game, Diop hit the game-winning tip-in of a missed shot by Keith Van Horn. Against the Denver Nuggets in November 2005, he registered 16 rebounds with a career-high 6 blocks—including a denial of Carmelo Anthony's potentially game-winning field goal attempt.
Diop's defense was applauded around the league; for the 05–06 season, he ranked 11th in total blocks, 14th in blocks per game, and 4th in blocks per 48 minutes.
In March 2006, two Mavericks fans produced a version of the hip-hop song "Jump" by Kris Kross. In their version, the refrain "Jump! Jump!" was turned into "Diop! Diop!", and the video praises Diop's shotblocking ability. It became so popular that the Mavs started to play the video at their home games. Diop said, "I remember the first time they played the video during a timeout and I was trying to pay attention to what coach was trying to say but I was sneaking looks at the video."
On February 19, 2008, Diop was traded to the New Jersey Nets along with signed and traded Keith Van Horn, Devin Harris, Trenton Hassell, Maurice Ager, and roughly $3 million dollars cash and 2008 and 2010 first round draft picks in exchange for Jason Kidd, Malik Allen and Antoine Wright.
On July 9, 2008, Diop signed a six-year, $32 million contract with the Dallas Mavericks.
On January 16, 2009, he was traded to the Charlotte Bobcats for guard Matt Carroll and center Ryan Hollins.
Read more about this topic: DeSagana Diop
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