{"id":274208,"date":"2025-11-09T23:18:14","date_gmt":"2025-11-09T23:18:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/274208\/"},"modified":"2025-11-09T23:18:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-09T23:18:14","slug":"projected-nba-lottery-pick-tounde-yessoufou-wants-to-be-a-role-model-for-african-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/274208\/","title":{"rendered":"Projected NBA lottery pick Tounde Yessoufou wants to be a role model for African kids"},"content":{"rendered":"

The West African country of Benin is known for being the birthplace of voodoo, the home of the all-female military regiment Dahomey Amazons featured in the movie \u201cThe Woman King\u201d and as having been a major hub for the transatlantic slave trade. Next year, Benin is expected to have its first native born NBA player in Baylor guard Tounde Yessoufou.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m from Benin. I can compete. And I definitely belong here,\u201d Yessoufou told Andscape during the 2025 Hoop Summit in Portland, Oregon, on April 13.<\/p>\n

The 2026 NBA draft class is expected to be highlighted by one of the most notable freshman classes in years. Brigham Young forward AJ Dybantsa, Kansas guard Darryn Peterson and Duke forward Cameron Boozer are the top freshman prospects but Yessoufou isn\u2019t far behind. The five-star prospect from Santa Maria St. Joseph High scored a California high school record 3,467 points. During the 2025 Hoop Summit against a talented USA squad led by Dybantsa and Boozer, Yessoufou scored 24 points in 29 minutes while representing Benin for the World Team. Yessoufou also didn\u2019t disappoint in his college debut, logging 24 points, seven rebounds and two made 3-pointers during a 96-81 win over the University of Texas-Rio Grande on Nov. 3. <\/p>\n

While the 19-year-old views himself as a guard and is listed as one, he is on the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Preseason Watch List. Yessoufou and Baylor host Washington tonight on ESPN at 8:30 p.m. ET.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat makes him a little different than some of the other freshmen we\u2019ve had here is he\u2019s very similar to [San Antonio Spurs forward] Jeremy Sohan, a great defender who could guard multiple positions,\u201d Baylor head coach Scott Drew said. \u201cTounde is somebody physically that can guard multiple positions and wants to be an elite defender and is a tremendous rebounder for his size. That makes him a little different from the other people in his draft class. He has a little more physicality to him than some of the guys we\u2019ve had in recent years because he\u2019s bigger, stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ToundeTounde Yessoufou (left) of Team World dribbles against AJ Dybantsa (right) of Team USA during the 2025 Nike Hoop Summit at Moda Center on April 12 in Portland, Oregon.<\/p>\n

Soobum Im\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Yessoufou was born in Cotonou, which is Benin\u2019s largest city, the seat of government for the country and a major port city on the Gulf of Guinea. Like many African kids, he grew up playing and loving the game of soccer. That mentality changed at 9 years old after being pushed by a local coach to try basketball.<\/p>\n

Yessoufou quickly fell in the love with the game, began taking it seriously and was inspired to come to America to follow his basketball dream after seeing a friend take the path. His mother and other family members were more concerned about his academics, but he stayed committed with big dreams in mind. Yessoufou was also inspired by late NBA great Kobe Bryant and his \u201cMamba Mentality.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was playing soccer and one of the coached kicked us out the soccer field and told us, \u2018Instead of playing soccer, come play basketball,\u2019 \u201d Yessoufou said. \u201cAnd all my friends, they left because everybody loves soccer. So, I\u2019m a curious type of guy. So, I stayed and I watched the practices and it was kind of was beautiful for me. So, that is how I ending up playing. At first it was just for fun. But then when I started watching Kobe Bryant, his mentality and all that stuff, I fell in love with it and I feel like it became a passion and that it was something I want to do for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yessoufou earned an opportunity to come to America to play basketball and left Benin on June 15, 2021, at the age of 15. He spoke French and no English at the time, had no friends and realized upon arrival that didn\u2019t like the colder climate than he was accustomed to in Benin. He was blessed to move in with a caring host family in Santa Maria 7,500 miles away from home. He also eventually learned English, which he speaks fluently now.<\/p>\n

Potential No. 1 NBA draft pick AJ Dybantsa and family have Jamaica in their hearts \u2013 AndscapeRead now<\/a><\/p>\n

Yessoufou also spent his first week in America in the hospital after arriving with malaria and almost lost his life. He promised himself after that life-threatening experience to give 100-percent effort anytime he played basketball.<\/p>\n

\u201cComing out here, I knew I had to adjust to play good basketball, be a good leader. But most importantly, I feel like my devotion and my education are the things that drove me to be great,\u201d Yessoufou said.<\/p>\n

Yessoufou chose to play for Baylor because not only because of its storied basketball program and Drew, but also \u2014 to the delight of his mother \u2014 it\u2019s a Christian school. Baylor has also produced numerous NBA players in recent years including Jeremy Sochan, Keyonte George, Jared Butler, Davion Mitchell, Adam Flagler, VJ Edgecombe, Yves Missi and Ja\u2019Kobe Walter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI chose Baylor because of the culture,\u201d Yessoufou said. \u201cI feel like coach has been doing a good job out there and has been a good mentor for those kids. The spirit of God drives me to just want to be good, but most importantly I feel like he brings the confidence to the players to step on the floor and fight every night.\u201d<\/p>\n

Said Drew: \u201cAs you know, Benin is not a hotbed for talent because there hasn\u2019t been a lot of NBA players, college players from there. But at the same time, once you get to the States, everybody knows who\u2019s who. And nationally, everybody had Tounde ranked. Everybody talked about him.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut what stood out for us is just the common denominator of being a great teammate, high character, great young man. And a lot of people said, \u2018He\u2019s a Baylor kid, you got to recruit him.\u2019 And we loved hearing that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BaylorBaylor guard Tounde Yessoufou reacts following a play in the first half of a game against Indiana at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Oct. 26 in Indianapolis.<\/p>\n

Ben Jackson\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

What is just as impressive as Yessoufou\u2019s game on the court is his mentality to already give back off the court.<\/p>\n

Yessoufou said his mother has always told him to make sure he doesn\u2019t forget where he comes from and to give back when able. Yessoufou also took inspiration from Sacramento Kings guard Russell Westbrook\u2019s play and philanthropy. In September, Yessoufou unveiled a new outdoor basketball court that he had made bearing his name on it in his mother\u2019s hometown of Djougou, Benin. He also provided food and school supplies to an orphanage in Lakossa, Benin.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to be a role model for the whole continent. Not just for my country, but for all the African kids out there,\u201d Yessoufou said.<\/p>\n

Said Drew: \u201cHe is a remarkable young man and so rejuvenating and exciting. He remembers where he came from and his humble beginning. His desire to give back and impact others is special, and that touches everybody\u2019s heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

The NBA has had players with ties from Benin. Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama, Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura, Minnesota Timberwolves rookie center Joan Beringer and former Spurs center Ian Mahinmi (an investor in NBA Africa) all have family ties to Benin. But if selected in the 2026 NBA draft as expected, Yessoufou would be the first Benin native to be drafted.<\/p>\n

The NBA entered the season with a record 17 African players including Joel Embiid, Pascal Siakam, Jonathan Kuminga and Khaman Maluach, among others. Yessoufou appears to be the next African in line to make a name for himself. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe motivation is putting on for my country, honestly, and to just get out there, compete against those guys, show them that I\u2019m from Benin and I can compete against them and I belong there,\u201d Yessoufou said. \u201cBut most importantly, I want to win so bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marc J. Spears is the senior NBA writer for Andscape. He used to be able to dunk on you, but he hasn\u2019t been able to in years and his knees still hurt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The West African country of Benin is known for being the birthplace of voodoo, the home of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":274209,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-274208","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=274208"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274208\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/274209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=274208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=274208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=274208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}