N'Faly Dante

N'Faly Dante (born 19 October 2001) is a Malian professional basketball player, who most recently played for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Recruiting Dante was a consensus five-star recruit, one of the best centers in his class, and the number one recruit from Kansas. On 13 August 2019, in a letter addressed to his mother on The Players' Tribune, he announced his reclassification to the 2019 class and committed to play college basketball for Oregon.

College career On 15 October 2019, Dante was ruled ineligible to start the 2019–20 season because the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) missed his clearance date. He reenrolled at the University of Oregon on 14 December. Dante made his debut for the Ducks on 18 December, scoring 11 points in an 81–48 win over Montana. On 18 January 2020, Dante injured his knee in a game against Washington and missed several weeks. On 9 December 2020, Dante scored a career-high 22 points in an 87–66 win over Florida A&M. On 19 December, he was ruled out for the season with a torn ACL. Dante averaged 8.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, shooting 65.6 percent from the field as a sophomore.

Professional career After going undrafted in the 2024 NBA draft, Dante signed a two-way contract with the Houston Rockets on 9 July 2024. On 3 March 2025, Dante made his NBA debut in a 137–128 defeat against the Oklahoma City Thunder, recording 10 points, nine rebounds, two blocks and one assist.

On 18 August 2025, it was announced the Atlanta Hawks had signed Dante to a two-year, $4.4 million offer sheet. He made four appearances for the Hawks, averaging 0.8 points and 1.8 rebounds. On 23 December, it was announced that Dante would miss the remainder of the season after suffering a torn ACL in his right knee. On 5 February 2026, Dante was waived by Atlanta.

National team career With Mali at the 2016 FIBA Under-17 World Championship in Zaragoza, Spain, Dante averaged 2.8 points and 4.3 rebounds in 9.2 minutes per game, as his team finished in 15th place. He was named to the roster for Mali at the 2017 FIBA Under-16 African Championship in Mauritius, where his team captured the gold medal, but he did not record playing time.

Career statistics

NBA

College