It's official. The Cleveland Cavaliers have announced the signing of Khalifa Diop, according to the franchise's president of basketball operations, Koby Altman. The Senegalese center leaves Saski Baskonia four years after being selected by the Cavaliers at No. 39 in the 2022 Draft. He will wear No. 18.
2025-26 Season Numbers
His final season in Vitoria featured increasing playing time but modest production. Diop appeared in 47 games between the ACB and EuroLeague, 38 of them as a starter, averaging 3.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 0.7 blocks in 16.4 minutes, with an impressive 67 percent field goal percentage.
That shooting percentage is his best calling card. At 2.11 meters with a strong frame, Diop doesn't need complex plays to be productive near the rim, and he's exactly the profile of a cheap, efficient fifth big man that the NBA seeks to complete rosters.
Three Seasons in Vitoria and a Title
During his time with Baskonia, he helped the club win the 2026 Copa del Rey, the franchise's first in seventeen years, after also contributing to the EuroCup title in 2023.
Before that, he developed in Gran Canaria's academy, where he made his EuroLeague debut at just seventeen years old and was named EuroCup Rising Star in 2021-22, an award recognizing the competition's best player under 22. That performance led to his Draft selection and also motivated Baskonia to pay the €700,000 release clause in 2023, one of the most ambitious investments in the club's recent history.
Diop, who represented Senegal in youth categories at the U19 World Championships in 2019 and 2021, is already familiar with the organization: he was part of the Cavaliers' Summer League championship team in 2023.
The Problem in Vitoria
What is a minor addition for Cleveland is a major setback for Baskonia. The club loses one of its key interior players just three weeks before the Liga Endesa season begins and has virtually no margin to replace him with guarantees in a center market that is practically depleted.
It's the risk any European club assumes when retaining a player with NBA rights: the franchise can claim him at any time, and it does so when it suits them, not when it's convenient for the European team. Diop had been waiting four years for the call. It came in September.