Bassala Bagayoko

Bassala Bagayoko (born 10 September 2006) is a Malian basketball player for the Texas Tech Red Raiders of the Big 12 conference. He has previously played professionally for Bilbao Basket of the Liga ACB.

Youth career Bagayoko moved from his hometown of Bamako, Mali, to Spain in 2018, living with a host family. He joined the youth ranks of Santa Lucía Basket in the Canary Islands, leading their Infantil (under-14) squad to a Canarian championship title and an appearance at the 2019 Spanish National Championship. He also led the Canary Islands representative team to their first-ever national title, recording 17 points, 15 rebounds and two blocks in the semifinal before contributing 21 points, 24 rebounds and two blocks in the final.

Bagayoko was invited to play with Iberostar Tenerife on loan in the Minicopa Endesa, an under-14 club tournament, and averaged 15.2 points, eight rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game in the competition. He was selected to the ideal team after helping Iberostar Tenerife reach the final, where he recorded 11 points, nine rebounds and three assists in the loss to Real Madrid. He recorded 19 points, 11 rebounds, and two blocks in the 82–61 championship game victory over the U18 Next Generation Select Team. Bagayoko was named the ANGT Rising Star and a member of the all-tournament team.

Professional career Fuenlabrada (2020–2023) Bagayoko joined Baloncesto Fuenlabrada for the 2020–21 season and split his time between the Junior (under-18) team and the reserve team playing in the Liga EBA, the fourth division of Spanish basketball. On 25 April 2021, Bagayoko made his first-team debut for Fuenlabrada in a 90–76 league defeat to Real Madrid, recording two points, two rebounds, and one block in nine minutes. He became the youngest player ever to debut in the Liga ACB, at 14 years and 7 months, breaking the record held by Ricky Rubio. However, on November 5, 2022 in a game against Bàsquet Manresa, Bagayoko tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and meniscus forcing him to miss the remainder of 2022–23 and the entirety of 2023–24 seasons.

On 30 June 2023, Bagayoko informed Fuenlabrada of his decision to rescind his contract, which tied him to the club until 2026. This drew comparisons to Bismack Biyombo, who rescinded his contract with Fuenlabrada in 2011 and signed with the Charlotte Bobcats. Two years and three months after his injury, he made his long-awaited return on January 29, 2025 in a FIBA Europe Cup game against Cholet Basket, playing 7 minutes and grabbing 2 offensive rebounds. Two days later, Bagayoko was loaned to Zornotza to gain more playing time. After playing 6 games in Segunda FEB, he returned to Bilbao Basket on March 30, in a game against Real Madrid, playing 11 minutes and having 4 points, 2 rebounds and 3 steals.