Alpha Kaba

Alpha Kaba
Kaba in 2023
Maccabi Tel Aviv
PositionCenter / Power forward
LeagueIsraeli Basketball Premier League
Euroleague
Personal information
Born (1996-01-29) 29 January 1996 (age 28)
Blois, France
NationalityFrench / Guinean
Listed height6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight226 lb (103 kg)
Career information
NBA draft2017: 2nd round, 60th overall pick
Selected by the Atlanta Hawks
Playing career2014–present
Career history
2014–2015Élan Béarnais Pau-Orthez
2015–2017Mega Leks
2017–2019ASVEL
2019–2020Boulazac
2020–2021Nanterre 92
2021–2022Gaziantep Basketbol
2022–2023Budućnost VOLI
2023–2024Jiangsu Dragons
2024Valencia
2024–presentMaccabi Playtika Tel Aviv
Career highlights and awards
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com

Alpha Kaba (born 29 January 1996) is a French-Guinean professional basketball player for Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League and the EuroLeague. He also represents the Guinea national basketball team in international competitions.

Career

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He spent the early parts of his career at Romorantin-Lanthenay town where he had grown up.[1] From 2009 to 2011, Kaba played for ADA Blois[2] before joining the youth ranks of Elan Bearnais Pau-Lacq-Orthez. He made his professional debut in the French elite league Pro A on 26 September 2014, tallying two points and four rebounds in nine minutes of play against Entente Orléans 45.[3]

In July 2015, Kaba signed with Serbian club Mega Leks.[4] In his second season with the Mega Leks, Kaba became the Adriatic League's leading rebounder for the entire 2016-17 season.

On 28 July 2017 Kaba signed a three-year contract with ASVEL Basket.[5]

On 18 September 2019 he signed with Boulazac Basket Dordogne of LNB Pro A.[6] He averaged 8.8 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. Kaba signed with Nanterre 92 on 3 July 2020.[7] On 21 November he was named EuroCup player of the week, after posting 21 points and twelve rebounds in a win against Aquila Basket Trento.[8]

On 28 July 2021, Kaba signed with Gaziantep of the ING Basketbol Süper Ligi.[9] He was named the MVP of the regular season after helping Gaziantep finish in the fourth place, while averaging 13.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game.[10]

On 4 August 2022, Kaba signed for Budućnost VOLI.[11] He signed a deal with the Chinese club Jiangsu Dragons in September 2023.[12]

On 2 April 2024, Kaba signed with Valencia of the Spanish Liga ACB.[13] On June 16 of the same year, he parted ways with the Spanish club.

On 27 September 2024, Kaba signed with Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League and the EuroLeague.[14]

NBA draft rights

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In 2016, Kaba originally entered his name for the 2016 NBA draft, but ultimately withdrew his name on the day of the international deadline. A year later, he put his name as an international entry for the 2017 NBA draft. On 22 June 2017 Kaba was selected with the final pick in the 2017 NBA draft by the Atlanta Hawks.[15] On 8 July 2023, Kaba's draft rights were acquired by the Houston Rockets.[16]

International career

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In 2014, Kaba played for the French under 18 national team at the Albert-Schweitzer-Tournament in Germany[17] and at the European Championships in Turkey,[18] earning Eurobasket.com All-European Championships U18 Honorable Mention.[19]

He helped the French under 20 national team reach the semifinals of the 2015 European Championships in Italy.[20]

In his senior career, Kaba switched to play for the Guinea national basketball team.

Personal life

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Kaba is of Guinean descent.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Alpha Kaba a bien grandi". www.lanouvellerepublique.fr. 11 August 2014. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  2. ^ "Alpha Kaba n'a pas oublié l'ADA Blois". www.lanouvellerepublique.fr. 28 March 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  3. ^ "Pau-Lacq-Orthez / Orléans - 1ère journée - 2014/15 – Résultat match - Pro A – LNB.fr". www.lnb.fr. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  4. ^ "Deux pépites françaises filent en Serbie". www.bebasket.fr. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  5. ^ "Asvel inks big man Kaba". Eurocupbasketball.com. 28 July 2017. Archived from the original on 28 July 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  6. ^ Carchia, Emiliano (18 September 2019). "Alpha Kaba signs with Boulazac". Sportando. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  7. ^ Carchia, Emiliano (3 July 2020). "Nanterre signs Alpha Kaba". Sportando. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  8. ^ "Alpha Kaba gets MVP of the Week award for EuroCup". Eurobasket. 21 November 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  9. ^ Terrasi Borghesan, Ennio (28 July 2021). "Gaziantep announces 1-year deal with Alpha Kaba". Sportando. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  10. ^ "ING Basketbol Süper Ligi'nde Sezonun En Değerli Oyuncusu Alpha Kaba Ödülünü Aldı". tbf.org.tr (in Turkish). 16 May 2022. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  11. ^ "MVP turskog šampionata potpisao za Budućnost". b92.net. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  12. ^ "Alpha Kaba continue sa carrière en Chine". BeBasket (in French). 20 September 2023. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  13. ^ "Valencia Basket signs center Alpha Kaba for the remainder of the season". ValenciaBasket.com. 2 April 2024. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  14. ^ "מכבי החתימה את אלפא קאבה". Maccabi.co.il (in Hebrew). 27 September 2024. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  15. ^ "Hawks Select John Collins, Tyler Dorsey and Alpha Kaba In 2017 Draft". NBA.com. 22 June 2017. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  16. ^ "Rockets Acquire Dillon Brooks as Part of Five-Team Trade". NBA.com. 8 July 2023.
  17. ^ "AST 2014 France « Deutscher Basketball Bund". www.basketball-bund.de. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  18. ^ "Alpha Kaba | U18 European Championship Men (2014) | FIBA Europe". www.fibaeurope.com. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  19. ^ "European Championships U18 Basketball, Teams, Scores, Stats, News, Standings - eurobasket.com". www.eurobasket.com. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  20. ^ "Alpha Kaba | U20 Europe Championship Men - Division A". u20men.fibaeurope.com. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
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