There’s a reason why more U.S. prospects aren’t skipping college to play professionally in much of Europe, China, and other pro leagues where English isn’t the dominant language spoken.
Adapting to a new language and culture is hard, as almost anyone who has tried moving to another country can attest. And the prospect of being apart from loved ones for months or years can make such a prospect fraught for even the most strong-willed individuals.
For Detroit Pistons rookie forward Sekou Doumbouya, adapting to basketball at the NBA level and life in the U.S. before his 19th birthday, the transition has been about as seamless as could be hoped for, given all the Conakry native has gone through in life.
Born in the capital of his native Guinea, the move to Detroit isn’t even the first such change in Doumbouya’s young life, even if it was probably the coldest. His family moved to France when he was just a year old, his father remaining behind in Guinea, unable to secure a visa.
“Far from the eyes, but close to the heart,” is how the rookie described his father in those years (via Sports Illustrated’s Charlotte Wilder).
Doumbouya would go on to play soccer as most youths do in France, picking up basketball later, at 12. But then as he is now, he was a quick learner, and soon fast-tracked on the path that elevated him to become one of the youngest players ever drafted, and the youngest active player in the league.
While his polished defensive skills and athleticism scream promise, his raw offensive game sent the Guinean to the Pistons’ G League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Drive, where his on-court growth soon began to blossom.
Averaging 16.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 11 games with the Drive over 11 games, the Pistons called up Doumbouya on Sunday to play in just his second regular-season NBA game ever, scoring four points on 2-of-2 shooting.
In a vacuum, that’s nothing to get especially excited about — until you factor in the 15th overall pick’s age and situation.
Teammate Andre Drummond initially thought Doumbouya could not speak English he was so shy (he speaks both French and English well but prefers the former), but the pair have since grown close.
“He actually is a funny kid. He just didn’t speak. He was just trying to feel everybody out,” Drummond said (via the Detroit Free Press’ Vince Ellis). “He’s a lot of fun to be around and he loves to ask questions. It’s always fun to be around him.”
The bond may be due to the fact Drummond himself was also just 18 when drafted out of the University of Connecticut.
Whatever sparked the tie, the UConn product was lauding Doumbouya’s rapid growth in the G League during a recent conference call ahead of Detroit’s looming appearance in this season’s Mexico City Games where the Pistons will take on the Dallas Mavericks on Dec. 12.
Sekou is a hell of a player, very talented. He was like a sponge; he listens to everything you tell him. He went to the [Grand Rapids] Drive for a little bit — our G League team — and has come back with a different mentality.
“He’s playing a lot tougher, playing smarter, learning our defensive and offensive schemes, and the result was him getting his first baskets last night,” added Drummond, referring to that Sunday tilt against the Spurs.
The Mount Vernon native made a point of highlighting Doumbouya’s growth with the team’s G League affiliate as such a young player, noting he’s “a young kid; he’s 18 years old.”
“He listens to everything, everything the coaching staff says, everything I’ve spoken to him about what the NBA is like for a kid his age, and what he needs to do to better adjust.”
“He came back [from the G League] with a different confidence and a different mindset, so when he’s here now it’s always good to see him, and see that he’s growing in progressing in his game … so I think he’s going to be very good for us later on in his career.”
The NBA is continuing to develop the G League as an alternative path for players wishing to skip the unremunerated NCAA path into the NBA but faces increased competition for domestic prospects from alternatives not tied to the league, like Australia’s National Basketball League.
To attract international prospects like Doumbouya or the Boston Celtics’ fan-favorite center Tacko Fall — both of whom have deep ties to the continent — the league has launched the Basketball Africa League in conjunction with FIBA, to begin play in early 2020.
But for now, young overseas prospects — many already seasoned with pro experience like the Guinean forward and his Mexico City Games opponent, Luka Doncic — will have to continue to find ways to adapt to life in the NBA and in North America, albeit with the help of sympathetic teammates like Drummond.
But for those able to make the transition as Doumbouya has, the payoff for international players able to weather the tough transition can be huge, as Doncic’s growing popularity and Toronto Raptors’ wing Pascal Siakam’s championship ring can attest.
In fact, Doumbouya sees a little of himself in fellow African Siakam’s style of play, and not just because of the continent of their birth.
“We almost have the same dimensions and I play like him,” Doumbouya said. “It’s a big inspiration for the African people, African players.”
With such a high motor and adaptability both on- and off- the court, it’s not hard to imagine a future with Doumbouya becoming one himself, given time.
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