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sep 24 2026Unicaja enters the Liga Endesa season with only two reference centers, Willy Hernangómez and David Kravish, and has spent weeks searching the market without finding the right profile. Now a familiar face has emerged in Málaga: Yankuba Sima, currently at Valencia Basket, according to SER Málaga.
Why Sima is available
The key lies in a move from nine days ago. The arrival of Nikola Mirotic at Valencia brought the number of players with domestic roster spots to six in the orange squad, one more than the five required by the ACB.
With that margin covered, keeping Sima is no longer an administrative necessity. And if Jasiel Rivero remains at the club, as reports suggest, the Valencia team would be willing to listen to offers for the center.
Olga Lorente revealed that Sima is on the radar of several Liga Endesa teams precisely because of that scenario.
His 2025-26 numbers
His role last season was very secondary. In Liga Endesa he averaged 3 points and 1.7 rebounds, and in his EuroLeague debut he finished with 3.2 points and 1.5 rebounds in just six games.
He was the last option in the interior rotation managed by head coach Pedro Martínez, which explains why his departure poses no sporting problem for the club.
A return just three months later
The Málaga interest makes emotional and sporting sense. Sima wore the Unicaja jersey for three seasons, between 2022 and 2025, before leaving for Valencia this summer. Trained in American college basketball at St. John's and Oklahoma State, he could return to Málaga just a few months after departing.
Unicaja, for its part, carries a shortcoming that became evident in preseason: in the 74-113 loss to Real Madrid at the Carpena, the opponent's interior physical superiority was absolute, and since then the club has been searching for a shot-blocker for that position.
