FAQs and Answers About Keita Bates-Diop. Keita Bates-Diop was born on the 23rd of January, 1996. He is an American professional basketball player who plays for the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA. The most-read newspaper in Chicago, US, known as The Chicago Tribune rated him as one of the top 5 candidates for Illinois Mr. Basketball. Also, Rivals.com rated him no. 24 nationally in his class. Furthermore, he played college basketball for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Keita Bates-Diop Biography
This American professional basketball player was born on January 23, 1996, which makes him 26 years old. He was born and brought up in Sacramento, California. According to his date of birth, his sun sign is Aquarius and the player has traits of an Aquarius. When it comes to body measurement, Keita is 6 ft 8 inches tall and weighs around 229 lb (400 kg). Indeed, his height and weight fit him perfectly in the tribe of basketball.
Keita Bates-Diop Family
This American professional basketball player was born to Richard Bates and Wilma Bates. Hes not the only child as he has a brother named Kai Bates-Diop. His father Richard, used to play basketball at Creighton University from 1979-1983. Furthermore, he is a law degree holder and uses that as a legal practitioner in Bloomington, III. Wilma Bates, his mother, addresses the player as one who holds a very thoughtful personality. Also, his brother used to play basketball at high school.
However, he collapsed on the court during basketball practice one day and his heart stopped beating. The top-tier athlete was saved by his coach, Maddie Biehl, and Emily Martz, with an AED. After six days of hospitalization, the attack resulted in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. Although at the moment, Kai can now play basketball to a certain extent. He takes a pill every day to monitor his adrenaline, though hes fine now. Due to that unfortunate incident, the family now manage AEDs for eight different schools through a charity event called Kai13.
Keita Bates-Diop Career
High School Career
This small forward played for University High School in Normal, Illinois. As a junior, he averaged 18.4 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. The Chicago Tribune considered him one of the top candidates for Illinois Mr. Basketball. In addition, Rivals.com ranked him no. 24 nationally in his class.
College Career
In the 2014-15 season, Keita was a bench player as a freshman at OSU. However, he expanded his role on the team as a sophomore. Unfortunately, he sat out of all but the first nine games due to a stress fracture in his left leg. As a result of this, the Buckeyes limped to a 17-15 record without him. A medical redshirt was granted him and he came into his redshirt junior campaign, one of the top options for new coach Chris Holtmann. On December 11, 2017, he earned his first Big Ten after notching a career-high 27 points in a 97-62 win over William & Mary.
Keita was recognized as the Oscar Robertson National player of the Week on January 9, 2018. This was done by United States Basketball Writers Association after strong performances against Iowa Hawkeyes mens basketball and Michigan State. In addition, he also received his second Big Ten Player of the Week recognition. Furthermore, on January 15, he received his second consecutive Player of the Week nod. Bates-Diop was named the Big Ten Player of the Year on February 26, 2018. The basketball player announced his intention to forego his final season of collegiate eligibility and declared for the 2018 NBA draft. This action was following Ohio States loss in the 2018 NCAA mens basketball tournament.
Professional Career
Minnesota Timberwolves (2018-2020)
Keita was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the 48th pick in the 2018 NBA draft on June 21, 2018. Though, the player signed with the Timberwolves on July 7, 2018. In 2018 and 2019, he participated in the NBA Summer League.
Denver Nuggets (2020)
In a four-team trade, the Timberwolves traded Keita to the Denver Nuggets on February 5, 2020. On March 1, he was assigned to the Windy City Bulls. However, Keita was waived by the Nuggets on November 22, 2020.
San Antonio Spurs (2020-present)
San Antonio Spurs announced that they had signed Keita to a two-way contract on November 29, 2020. However, the Spurs re-signed him on September 7, 2021. In a 138-110 win over Los Angeles Lakers, Keita scored a career-high 30 points on eleven-of-eleven shooting with seven rebounds and a steal on December 23, 2021.
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 Net Worth
Keita no doubt is aiming for success day in and day out as a still-in-the-making prolific career in the NBA. On July 7, 2018, he signed a 3-year contract worth $4 million while joining Minnesota Timberwolves legally. In addition, Keita was paid $838,464 as an annual salary in 2018 and $1,416,852 in 2019. Hence, its deduced that Keita remained the 16th best-paid player of the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2018. For the 2020 season, he earns $1,663,861 according to research. It is speculated that the player has an accumulated net worth of more than $1.2 million. Furthermore, he has a car gifted by GMC after he cracked a rookie deal.
How Did Keita Bates-Diop Become Famous?
You should know that Keita Bates-Diop is not an overnight success story. Thanks to his emergence as one of college basketball it’s best players, Ohio State is among the surprises of the season. Various factors have made Ohio State one of the great surprises of the 2017-18 season. However, anyone involved with the Buckeyes program will definitely point to Keita as the reason. Bates-Diop emerging as one of the 20 best players in college basketball has made Ohio State so much better.
Keita Bates-Diop Social Handle
The American professional basketball player has a strong social media presence. This is clearly seen as he has 39.1k followers on Instagram and 10.6k followers on Twitter. His Twitter account is @KBD_33 while his Instagram handle is @keitabd.
Conclusion
Those who come up with a natural affinity for basketball have the NBA as a magical wonderland. Indeed, Keita is one of those players in the NBA who never fails to add flavor. He serves as a small forward for the San Antonio Spurs. Two years after beginning his career, he has managed to grasp a few accomplishments. In short, he stands as a great basketball player in the NBA and is sure to achieve more.