Gorgui Dieng Age, Wife, Family, Height, Weight, Body Stats, Bio

Quick Facts

Gorgui Dieng is a professional basketballer of Senegalese origin who plies his trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves of the NBA. The basketball star originally groomed his talents in his home country before relocating to the United States as a teenager. A first-round draftee, Dieng initially went to the Utah Jazz in the 2013 NBA Draft after which he was traded on draft night to the Minnesota Timberwolves. On the international front, he represents the Senegalese national basketball team.

Gorgui Dieng Bio (Age)

Gorgui Sy Dieng was born in Kébémer, Senegal on the 18th day of January 1990. He had his high school education at the Sports for Education and Economic Development (SEEDS) Academy, the foremost student-athlete academy in Africa located in Thies, Senegal. The youngster was initially drawn to soccer as a teenager, however, out of curiosity, he decided to give a shot at basketball and there has been no turning back ever since. Among other highlights of those early years, Dieng featured in the 2009 edition of the “Basketball Without Borders” camp held in South Africa and for his outstanding performance, he was named the MVP of the camp. That tournament was a major turning point for Dieng and also marked the beginning of his journey to the NBA.

At the start of the 2009-10 session, Gorgui Dieng transferred to Huntington Prep School in West Virginia where he completed his last year of high school. He recorded averages of 15.4 points, 12.6 rebounds and 7.2 blocks per game during his senior season. By the end of his high school stint, the talented youngster was considered a 4-star recruit, No. 10 power forward, and No. 44 player in the class of 2010. Among several scholarship offers, Dieng chose the University of Louisville and he made an initial verbal commitment to the program in April 2010.

Gorgui Dieng’s freshman season with the Louisville Cardinals men’s basketball team was initially stalled when the NCAA ruled him ineligible for the 2010-11 season. However, the decision was rescinded on October 26, 2010, after which he featured in 29 games for the season.

Dieng got more playing time as a sophomore starting in all 40 appearances for the 2011-12 season. To cap off his college career, the talented player finished his junior season with career-highs of 9.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He equally served as the student representative on the 2012–13 University of Louisville Athletic Association Board of Directors, the governing body for the Cardinals’ athletic department.

NBA Career

Forgoing his senior year in college, Gorgui Dieng entered the 2013 NBA draft where he was selected in the first round by the Utah Jazz as the 21st overall pick. However, he was swiftly traded in a draft-day deal to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Dieng had a rather slow start during the 2013-14 regular season, however, he made major improvements in the latter half of the season. On March 20, 2014, he tallied 22 points and 21 rebounds in the Timberwolves’ game against the Houston Rockets and became the first rookie to record a 20-20 game in the history of the franchise. These and several other accomplishments earned him a spot on the NBA All-Rookie second team.

For the 2014-15 season, Dieng made 73 total appearances and his scoring average upped to 9.7 points as well as career-highs of 8.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.7 blocked shots per game. He continued in this top form for the 2 seasons that followed finishing each with at least 10 points per game and appearing in all 82 games for each season.

Following the arrival of power forward Taj Gibson to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Gorgui Dieng’s playing time became highly irregular throughout the 2017-18 season. He did not start any game in all 79 appearances and his regular season scoring average dipped to 5.9 points and 4.6 rebounds. Dieng is expected to remain with the Timberwolves until 2020 having signed a 4-year $64 million contract extension with the side in October 2016.

His Wife and Family

Gorgui Dieng’s mother and father are Seynabou Diagne and Momar Dieng respectively. He was raised in a large household alongside 7 siblings and up to 30 cousins, aunts, uncles, and other relatives. Unlike his professional career in the NBA, Dieng maintains a low profile with regards to his personal life. Other than a few red carpet appearances with his wife Amalia, not much is known about the NBA star’s family life. Dieng and his wife also have a son whose identity has continued to elude the media.

Height, Weight, and Body Stats

Gorgui Dieng has an imposing height of 6 ft 11 inches (211 cm). He keeps his athletic physique at a 114 kg (251 lbs) body weight.

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