Mohamed Diawara

Mohamed Diawara
No. 51 – New York Knicks
PositionPower forward
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (2005-04-29) 29 April 2005
Paris, France
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
NBA draft2025: 2nd round, 51st overall pick
Drafted byLos Angeles Clippers
Playing career2021–present
Career history
2021–2024Paris Basketball
2023–2024→Poitiers Basket 86
2024–2025Cholet Basket
2025–presentNew York Knicks
2025–2026→Westchester Knicks
Career highlights
Stats at NBA.com 
Stats at Basketball Reference 
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  France
FIBA Under-20 EuroBasket
Gold medal – first place2024 PolandUnder-20
FIBA U17 World Cup
Bronze medal – third place2022 SpainTeam

Mohamed Diawara (born 29 April 2005)[1] is a French professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously played for Cholet Basket of the LNB Élite. Standing at 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), he plays in the power forward position. In his rookie season, his team won the 2026 NBA Finals.

Professional career

Paris Basketball

Diawara began his basketball career with the Parisian club La Domremy Basket 13 and later played for the youth team of Saint Charles Basket in Charenton-le-Pont.[2] In the 2020–21 season, he was trained at the French academy INSEP[1] and moved to Paris Basketball in the summer of 2021,[1][3] for which he made his first appearances in the French first division in the following 2021–22 season.[1] In the summer of 2022, he was named the best player at the Basketball Without Borders talent scouting event organized by the world governing body FIBA and the NBA in Milan.[4]

Poitiers Basket and Cholet Basket

In December 2023, Diawara was loaned to second-division club Poitiers Basket 86,[5] after receiving little playing time in Paris during the previous 2023–24 season. He was signed by first-division club Cholet Basket during the 2024 summer break.[6]

New York Knicks

On 26 June 2025, Diawara was drafted by the Los Angeles Clippers with the 51st overall pick of the second round of the 2025 NBA draft, who traded his rights to the New York Knicks for the rights to Kobe Sanders.[7][8]

On 29 December 2025, against the New Orleans Pelicans, Diawara recorded a career-high 18 points in 18 minutes, making all 4 of his three-point shots.[9]

On 1 March 2026, against the San Antonio Spurs, Diawara scored 14 points in just 15 minutes off the bench, on 5-14 (35.7%) shooting, also securing 4 rebounds. The Knicks beat the Spurs 114–89, ending the Spurs' eleven-game winning streak, despite strong play from Spurs star and fellow Frenchman Victor Wembanyama.[10]

On 4 March 2026, against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Diawara scored 9 points in just 13 minutes off the bench, making 3-4 of his three-point shots. Despite his hot shooting, he played only 3 minutes in the second half, and the Knicks lost to the Thunder 103–100.

On 13 June 2026, Diawara and the Knicks won the 2026 NBA Finals, beating the San Antonio Spurs 4–1.[11][12]

On June 22, 2026, Diawara re-signed with the Knicks on a four-year, $10 million contract.[13][14]

National team career

Diawara played for the France under-17 basketball team at the 2022 FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup, in which his team won the bronze medal.[15]

Career statistics

Legend
  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
 †  Won an NBA championship

NBA

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2025–26† New York 6979.2.423.369.7501.4.8.2.13.6
Career 6979.2.423.369.7501.4.8.2.13.6

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2026† New York 607.2.231.167—1.51.0.2.01.2
Career 607.2.231.167—1.51.0.2.01.2

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Mohamed Diawara". Paris Basketball. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  2. ↑ "Découvrez Mohamed Diawara". Saint Charles Basket. 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  3. ↑ "Elite : Le Paris Basketball affiche ses ambitions". basket-ballworld.fr. 25 September 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  4. ↑ "Mohamed Diawara et Leila Lacan : deux Français MVP du Basketball Without Borders Europe". BeBasket. 5 June 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  5. ↑ "Diawara prêté à Poitiers jusqu'à la fin de saison". Paris Basketball (in French). 20 December 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  6. ↑ "Avec Cholet, Mohamed Diawara va vouloir montrer qu'il a les épaules pour la NBA". Bebasket.fr (in French). 13 September 2024. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  7. ↑ Marriette, Giovanni (2025-06-27). "Draft 2025 : le Français Mohamed Diawara drafté en 51 par les Knicks !". TrashTalk (in French). Retrieved 2025-06-27.
  8. ↑ "Noah Penda, Maxime Raynaud et Mohamed Diawara sélectionnés au 2e tour de la draft NBA". L'Équipe. 27 June 2025.
  9. ↑ Pursiainen, Kris (2025-12-29). "The Knicks' best rookie just sent a message Mike Brown can't afford to ignore". DailyKnicks.com. Retrieved 2025-12-30.
  10. ↑ Schwartz, Jared (2026-03-02). "Mohamed Diawara reclaims his spot in pecking order during Knicks' win: 'Doesn't bat an eye'". NYPost.com. Retrieved 2026-03-02.
  11. ↑ Siegel, Brett (June 13, 2026). "Knicks win first championship in 53 years after NBA Finals Game 5 triumph vs. Spurs". ClutchPoints. Retrieved June 13, 2026.
  12. ↑ Lambert, Ben (June 13, 2026). "Recap: The Knicks win the 2026 NBA championship". NBA.com. Retrieved June 13, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Knicks sign restricted free agent to multi-year contract worth over $10 million". ClutchPoints. 22 June 2026. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  14. ↑ "NEW YORK KNICKS RE-SIGN MOHAMED DIAWARA". NBA.com. July 6, 2026. Retrieved July 13, 2026.
  15. ↑ "Les Bleuets décrochent le bronze à la Coupe du monde U17 contre la Lituanie". L'Équipe (in French). 10 July 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
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