Mouhamed Gueye

Mouhamed Gueye
No. 18 – Atlanta Hawks
PositionPower forward / center
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (2002-11-09) 9 November 2002 (age 22)
Dakar, Senegal
Listed height6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High schoolProlific Prep (Napa, California)
CollegeWashington State (2021–2023)
NBA draft2023: 2nd round, 39th overall pick
Selected by the Charlotte Hornets
Playing career2023–present
Career history
2023–presentAtlanta Hawks
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Mouhamed Gueye (/ɡ/ GAY;[1] born 9 November 2002) is a Senegalese professional basketball player for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He moved to the United States as a teenager to play high school basketball at Prolific Prep Academy. Gueye played college basketball for the Washington State Cougars and was named to the All-Pac-12 first-team as a sophomore in 2023. He was selected as the 39th overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets and traded to the Atlanta Hawks on draft night.

Early life

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Gueye was raised in Dakar, Senegal, as the youngest of four siblings in a sporting family.[2][3] He has cousins who have played for the national team and in Europe.[2] Gueye grew up playing soccer but was encouraged by his mother to play basketball because of his tall height.[2] He credits watching his older brother play basketball as an early influence.[2]

High school career

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Gueye's personal basketball coach, Mamadou Cisse, connected him with Philippe Doherty, the head coach of Prolific Prep Academy in Napa, California.[2] At age 16, he moved from Dakar to the United States to enroll at Prolific Prep.[4] Gueye had never played organized basketball before playing at Prolific Prep.[2]

Gueye emerged as a four-star recruit and a top-50 recruit in the country.[4] He completed his academic requirements early and reclassified to the 2021 class before he committed to play for the Washington State Cougars over several other high-major offers.[4][5]

College career

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Gueye averaged 7.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and .5 assists per game during his freshman season with the Cougars in 2021–22.[4] He was selected to the Pac-12 all-freshman team.[4] Gueye declared for the 2022 NBA draft but withdrew after receiving feedback from NBA teams.[4] He also tested the transfer portal but elected to return to the Cougars for his sophomore season.[6]

Gueye's role with the Cougars increased during the 2022–23 season following the departures of key pieces in their front-court.[4] He also played primarily as a center instead of his natural power forward position.[4] Gueye was the centrepiece of the Cougars' offense with head coach Kyle Smith reinforcing throughout the season that the team "plays through Gueye".[4] On 2 February 2023, he scored a career-high 31 points against the USC Trojans.[7] Gueye averaged 14.3 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game during the 2022–23 season and was named to the All-Pac-12 first-team.[4][8]

On 4 April 2023, Gueye declared for the 2023 NBA draft.[9] He was invited to participate at the NBA Draft Combine.[10]

Professional career

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Gueye was selected by the Charlotte Hornets as the 39th overall pick of the 2023 NBA draft.[11] His rights were traded to the Boston Celtics and then to the Atlanta Hawks on draft night.[12] On 3 July 2023, Gueye signed his rookie contract with the Hawks.[13] On 12 November 2023, he was ruled out for a month after suffering a right low back stress fracture;[14] he subsequently missed most of his rookie season.[15] Gueye returned from his injury with a stint for the Hawks' NBA G League affiliate, College Park Skyhawks, and appeared in four games where he averaged 8.3 points and 5.3 rebounds.[15]

Career statistics

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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

NBA

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2023–24 Atlanta 6 0 12.1 .348 .333 .833 3.7 .7 .8 .7 4.0
Career 6 0 12.1 .348 .333 .833 3.7 .7 .8 .7 4.0

Play-in

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2024 Atlanta 1 0 2.4 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0
Career 1 0 2.4 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0

College

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2021–22 Washington State 35 33 21.9 .491 .280 .493 5.2 .5 .8 .9 7.4
2022–23 Washington State 33 33 32.1 .488 .275 .674 8.4 1.9 .8 .8 14.3
Career 68 66 26.9 .489 .277 .613 6.7 1.2 .8 .9 10.7

References

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  1. ^ "2023-24 start of season NBA pronunciation guide" (Press release). National Basketball Association. 24 October 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Mouhamed Gueye Q&A". Prospective Insight. 16 April 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  3. ^ Clark, Colton (15 June 2022). "'It's always been WSU': Mouhamed Gueye talks offseason, return to Washington State". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Clark, Colton (29 March 2023). "'I'm focused on being a pro': Washington State post Mouhamed Gueye has sights on NBA". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  5. ^ Lawson, Theo (7 May 2021). "Washington State grabs commitment from Mouhamed Gueye, the highest-ranked recruit in program history". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  6. ^ Givony, Jonathan (7 June 2022). "Washington State's Mouhamed Gueye withdraws name from men's basketball transfer portal". ESPN. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  7. ^ "Ellis sparks Southern Cal past Washington State 80-70". AP News. 3 February 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  8. ^ "2022-23 Pac-12 Men's Basketball All-Conference honors and Annual Performance Awards, presented by Nextiva". Pac-12. 7 March 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  9. ^ "Washington State forward Mouhamed Gueye officially declares for NBA draft". The Spokesman-Review. 4 April 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  10. ^ Saglimbeni, Vincent (10 May 2023). "Former local college athletes prepare for next steps in basketball careers". KXLY. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  11. ^ Clark, Colton (22 June 2023). "Cougars' Mouhamed Gueye picked in second round of NBA draft, traded to Hawks". Seattle Times. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  12. ^ Vinnick, Jamey (23 June 2023). "UPDATE: WSU's Mouhamed Gueye traded to Atlanta after being taken in Round 2 of NBA Draft". 247Sports. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  13. ^ "Atlanta Hawks Sign Rookie Forward Mouhamed Gueye". NBA. 3 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  14. ^ Williams, Lauren (12 November 2023). "Bufkin, Gueye to miss extended time with injuries". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  15. ^ a b Hunt, Stephen (10 April 2024). "'It doesn't get better than this': Former Washington State big man Mouhamed Gueye loving the NBA, despite lack of minutes". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
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