Some Intel on Trail Blazers Two-Way Center Ibou Badji

Wisconsin Herd head coach Chaisson Allen provides insight into what the Blazers have in Badji.

LAS VEGAS — Even deep in blowouts, Ibou Badji has yet to play a minute this season for the Trail Blazers. The Senegalese center, who came up in the NBA Academy Africa development program and played professionally in Spain for three seasons before going undrafted in June, signed a two-way contract with Portland last month after spending training camp and the beginning of the G League season with the Wisconsin Herd.

Badji has been with the Blazers for about a month and has been practicing and getting integrated into the organization. He isn't close to ready to play, but the 7-foot-1 profiles as exactly the sort of high-upside swing this front office has favored since taking over a year ago.

In a December 2020 scouting report he wrote in his previous job as a draft analyst with ESPN, Blazers assistant GM Mike Schmitz likened him to a Javale McGee, Mitchell Robinson or Hassan Whiteside-type athletic, rim-protecting center. And in seven games in the G League, he blocked 4.2 shots per 36 minutes.

I spoke with Herd head coach Chaisson Allen on Tuesday at the G League Winter Showcase to get a sense of what Badji is and what he could be from someone who's coached him and seen him up close.

"We saw his length right away," Allen said. "We saw the things he could do. Block shots, roll and finish at the rim. He was able to do that in our G League games from start to finish."

Allen called Badji a "great kid" and a "high-character guy," and was surprised when he was able to figure out the airport wi-fi in a foreign country after landing on American soil for the first time for training camp in September.

"I don't think he'd been [to America]," Allen said. "But he adapted quickly to the way we did things. The game is a little different here with the spacing. We gave him little bits and pieces. Obviously, being called up by the Blazers shows the work he put in early in the season."

The Blazers signed Badji after it became clear that one of their previous two-way signings, French center Olivier Sarr, was not going to be able to return to the court anytime soon from a wrist injury he suffered in training camp. Sarr, who had a year of NBA experience, was much closer to being able to contribute than Badji is.

"I think he can come in and help any NBA team by contesting shots," Allen said. "He can give guys problems when they want to get in the paint. He did a great job of that for us. Three blocks a game and I think he only played 21 minutes per game. And then you add the rim-rolling and the lob threat, that's kind of who he is right now as a player."

It's very easy to see the utility of the kind of player Badji is, especially for a Blazers team greatly lacking in rim protection. Don't expect him to get minutes anytime soon—he's far enough away from being ready for NBA playing time that the team opted against sending him to the G League to play in the Showcase—but the player type they see in him would fill a need if he pans out.

"He needs reps," Allen said. "He's a guy that needs game situations, and I think the more times he can get that, get touches, the sky's the limit. As long as he gets those game reps, I think he'll be in good shape."