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Charlotte Bobcats center DeSagana Diop will be sidelined for the remainder of the 2010-11 season after a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) confirmed a rupture of his right Achilles tendon. Diop suffered the injury during the second quarter of Friday’s game against Golden State.
The 7-0 Diop, who was acquired by the Bobcats via trade on Jan. 16, 2009, has appeared in 552 career NBA games spread between Cleveland, New Jersey, Dallas and Charlotte. He has career averages of 2.1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.1 blocks, while shooting .433 from the field. This season, he appeared in 16 games with averages of 1.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 11.3 minutes.
Originally drafted by the Cavaliers with the eighth overall pick in the first round of the 2001 NBA Draft, Diop had his best season as a professional during the 2005-06 season in Dallas, when he appeared in 81 games (45 starts) with averages of 2.3 points and 4.6 rebounds. He shot a team-best .487 from the field and led the Mavericks with 146 blocks. During that season he also ranked 14th in the NBA in blocks per game and set a career high with 16 rebounds and tied a career high with six blocks in 37 minutes of action versus Denver on Nov.15, 2005. Diop also appeared in 28 postseason games in Dallas, with 22 of them coming during the Mavericks run to the 2006 NBA Finals before falling to eventual champion Miami in six games.
