Former Slam Dunk Champion Set To Leave NBA For China

Diallo Barely Saw Action In NBA Last Season

The six-foot-five Diallo was selected with the 45th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft after one season at Kentucky where he averaged 10.0 points and 3.6 rebounds. He spent the first five seasons of his NBA career with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Detroit Pistons. Diallo largely remained a piece in the rotation those five years and played between 46-58 games each of those seasons.

In both 2020-21 and 2021-22, Diallo averaged at least 11 points per game. In the latter of those seasons, he was in the starting lineup for half of his appearances (29 of 58). On May 4, 2021, Diallo set a career-high of 35 points while with Detroit in an outing against the Charlotte Hornets.

While Diallo received a bunch of playing time in his first five seasons, he barely played in the league last season. After signing an Exhibit 10 deal with the Washington Wizards in 2023, the team released him prior to the regular season beginning. Washington brought him back later in the season on a 10-day contract in January. He would play in two games with the team for a total of just five minutes. Diallo spent much of last season in the G League with the Capital City Go-Go. In 29 regular season games with them, he averaged 20.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 1.7 assists.

Altogether, Diallo has seen action in 265 career regular season games (44 starts) in the NBA. He has career per game averages of 8.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.1 assists. His career shooting splits are .495/.274/.623. Diallo played in three playoff games for the Thunder in 2020 where he scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds.

Won The Slam Dunk Contest In 2019

While Diallo wasn’t a household name, he certainly showed up in 2019 while in the limelight. Diallo was one of the participants in the 2019 Slam Dunk Contest during All-Star Weekend while he was a member of the Thunder. He ended up winning the event, defeating Dennis Smith Jr. in the finals. One of his dunks had the crowd on their feet as he jumped over Shaquille O’Neal, completing the dunk by sticking his entire forearm in the basket reminiscent of Vince Carter.

DIALLO REALLY DID THE VINCE ELBOW DUNK OVER SHAQ pic.twitter.com/NmH9vUWyFI

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 17, 2019

I Set To Join Other Former NBA Players With The Shanxi Loongs

Diallo will be joining a Shanxi team that went 27-25 last season. The basketball club also rosters other former NBA players in Alexey Shved and Isaiah Taylor. For a brief time back in 2010, they had two-time NBA All-Star Stephon Marbury on the team. With the addition of a seasoned NBA veteran in Diallo, the Loongs are hopeful for an ascent further up the standings and perhaps an opportunity to compete for a championship.