N'Faly Dante (born 19 October 2001) is a Malian basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA G League.[1] He played college basketball for the Oregon Ducks. He was a five-star recruit who attended Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, Kansas.
| No. 3 – Rio Grande Valley Vipers | |||||||||||||||
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| Position | Center | ||||||||||||||
| League | NBA G League | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | 19 October 2001 Bamako, Mali | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 230 lb (104 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kansas) | ||||||||||||||
| College | Oregon (2019–2024) | ||||||||||||||
| NBA draft | 2024: undrafted | ||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 2024–present | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| 2024–present | Houston Rockets | ||||||||||||||
| 2024–present | →Rio Grande Valley Vipers | ||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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Medals
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High school career
editDante attended Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, Kansas. In his junior season, he averaged 16 points, nine rebounds, and three assists per game, leading his team to a 22–6 record and its first GEICO Nationals appearance.[2]
Recruiting
editDante was a consensus five-star recruit, one of the best centers in his class, and the number one recruit from Kansas.[3] On 13 August 2019, in a letter addressed to his mother on The Players' Tribune, he announced his reclassification to the 2019 class and committed to play college basketball for Oregon.[4]
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N'Faly Dante C |
Bamako, ML | Sunrise Christian Academy (KS) | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | Aug 13, 2019 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 89
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| Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: — 247Sports: 15 ESPN: 29 | ||||||
Sources:
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College career
editOn 15 October 2019, Dante was ruled ineligible to start the 2019–20 season because the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) missed his clearance date. He reenrolled at the University of Oregon on 14 December.[5] Dante made his debut for the Ducks on 18 December, scoring 11 points in an 81–48 win over Montana.[6] On 18 January 2020, Dante injured his knee in a game against Washington and missed several weeks.[1] On 9 December 2020, Dante scored a career-high 22 points in an 87-66 win over Florida A&M.[7] On 19 December, he was ruled out for the season with a torn ACL. Dante averaged 8.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, shooting 65.6 percent from the field as a sophomore.[8]
Professional career
editAfter going undrafted in the 2024 NBA draft, Dante signed a two-way contract with the Houston Rockets on 9 July 2024.[9]
National team career
editWith Mali at the 2016 FIBA Under-17 World Championship in Zaragoza, Spain, Dante averaged 2.8 points and 4.3 rebounds in 9.2 minutes per game, as his team finished in 15th place.[10] He was named to the roster for Mali at the 2017 FIBA Under-16 African Championship in Mauritius, where his team captured the gold medal, but he did not record playing time.[11]
Career statistics
edit| 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 |
College
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019–20 | Oregon | 12 | 0 | 13.6 | .627 | — | .400 | 2.8 | .6 | .9 | .6 | 5.8 |
| 2020–21 | Oregon | 6 | 6 | 17.7 | .656 | — | .438 | 5.8 | .2 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 8.2 |
| 2021–22 | Oregon | 32 | 27 | 20.0 | .675 | — | .588 | 6.3 | .7 | .7 | 1.0 | 8.1 |
| 2022–23 | Oregon | 31 | 30 | 26.2 | .614 | — | .617 | 8.4 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 13.4 |
| 2023–24 | Oregon | 22 | 21 | 31.5 | .695 | — | .613 | 9.2 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 17.0 |
| Career | 103 | 84 | 23.4 | .654 | — | .591 | 7.1 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 11.3 | |
References
edit- ^ a b Crepea, James (18 January 2020). "With N'Faly Dante out with twisted knee, Chandler Lawson's career game aids Oregon Ducks' comeback at Washington". OregonLive. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
- ^ Divens, Jordan (17 April 2019). "2018-19 MaxPreps Boys Basketball Junior All-American Team". MaxPreps.com. MaxPreps. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
- ^ Nemec, Andrew (13 August 2019). "N'Faly Dante, 5-star center, reclassifies into 2019 recruiting class, commits to Oregon Ducks". The Oregonian. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
- ^ Polacek, Scott (13 August 2019). "5-Star Center N'Faly Dante Commits to Oregon, Reclassifies for 2019 Class". BleacherReport.com. Bleacher Report. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
- ^ Crepea, James (15 October 2019). "N'Faly Dante to miss at least first 9 games of Oregon Ducks basketball season". OregonLive.com. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
- ^ "N'Faly Dante makes Oregon debut". The Herald and News. Associated Press. 20 December 2019. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
- ^ "Dante a perfect 10-for-10 as Oregon defeats Florida A&M". ESPN. Associated Press. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
- ^ Mickanen, Dylan (19 December 2020). "Oregon Ducks center N'Faly Dante out for season with torn ACL". NBC Sports. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
- ^ houhjoshi (9 July 2024). "Rockets Sign N'Faly Dante to Two-Way Contract". NBA.com. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
- ^ "N'Faly Dante Player Profile, AAU Stats, Events Stats, Game Logs, Awards". RealGM.com. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
- ^ "N'Faly Dante (MLI)'s profile". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 13 August 2019.