Coming home. Real Madrid announced on Monday an agreement with Eli John Ndiaye, whereby the power forward will be a Real Madrid player for the next two seasons, through the end of the 2027-28 season, according to the club's statement.
The return comes just a year after his departure. The Spanish-Senegalese big man left Madrid in the summer of 2025 to sign a two-way contract with the Atlanta Hawks, the usual path to try to break into the NBA. He didn't succeed, and not precisely due to performance issues.
A Year Derailed by Injury
His American experience was cut short on December 9, when he suffered a torn labrum in his left shoulder that required surgery and cost him the rest of the season. The Hawks released him at the end of the month without him ever debuting in the NBA.
Before that date, he had shown very promising signs in the G League. With the College Park Skyhawks, he averaged 8.1 points and 6.9 rebounds in 26 minutes, with games of 17 points and 13 rebounds, 16 and 10, or 12 and 11. The injury also prevented him from competing in the EuroBasket with the Spanish national team.
Eight Titles Before Turning 21
His connection to the club goes back a long way. Ndiaye joined Real Madrid's youth academy in 2017, at just thirteen years old, and was named MVP of the EuroLeague Young Talents Tournament in 2021. He made his debut with the first team on September 12 of that same year against Barcelona.
In his four seasons with Real Madrid, between 2021 and 2025, he won eight titles: one EuroLeague championship, three ACB League titles, one Copa del Rey, and three Spanish Super Cups. His last season, 2024-25, he finished with 65 games across all competitions, fifty of them as a starter, and averaged 3.6 points and 2.6 rebounds in fourteen minutes.
A Return That Addresses Two Fronts
The move fits into the interior reconstruction that head coach Pedro Martínez has been completing this summer, marked by Usman Garuba's Achilles tendon rupture and completed with the arrivals of Jaime Pradilla, Mikael Jantunen, and Olivier Sarr.
And it also resolves a market standoff. Valencia Basket had presented an offer for the player and Madrid, which held the right of first refusal on him, has chosen to exercise it. At 22 years old, and with a Spanish passport, Ndiaye returns as a rotation piece and roster option.