Charlotte Hornets centre Moussa Diabate has revealed that former New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau advised him to spend a second season at Michigan before entering the 2022 NBA Draft. The French-Cameroonian big man, picked 43rd overall, says the warning proved accurate.
"He told me, 'You know if you would have stayed at Michigan you would have been a 1st rounder,'" Diabate said on Make it to Midnight. "He was like, 'But you know by making that decision you probably took the hardest path.'" Diabate described the exchange as a reality check that pushed him to take his early NBA career seriously.
A consensus five-star recruit in the 2021 class, Diabate averaged modest numbers in his lone collegiate season before declaring. He bounced between teams early in his career before establishing himself as a regular in Charlotte over the past two seasons.
With LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges traded out this off-season, the Hornets are rebuilding around Diabate and their young perimeter players. The 23-year-old now features as the team's established frontcourt presence heading into the new campaign.
