During the 1998 NCAA season, the UNC Tar Heels made a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. It climaxed with a regional win over UConn 75-64 earning a trip to the Final Four before losing to Utah in that round.
That team was captained by 6-foot-9 forward Makhtar N’Diaye. After going undrafted in the 1998 NBA Draft, N’Diaye found his way onto the Vancouver Grizzlies for the 199 season.
His NBA stint lasted just one season before bouncing around to teams and leagues around the world. In 2017, he started his front-office career in the NBA with a roving scout position with the New York Knicks.
He eventually worked his way up to the Director of International and Pro Scouting with the team in 2021 and has been acting in that capacity since then.
Word on the street is the Dallas Mavericks are hiring former Knicks scout Makhtar Ndiaye as director of pro personnel and international scouting. The former Vancouver Grizzlies big man was with the Knicks as a scout for nine years.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) August 17, 2024
The Dallas Mavericks are bringing the former big man into their front office in the same capacity as their Director of Pro Personnel and International Scouting.
N’Diaye has made a name for himself in the scouting world as he continues to work with the Senegalese men’s basketball team. His future in the front office of NBA teams is already looking better than the short-lived NBA career he held as a player.
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