Detroit Pistons: Complete grades for the 2019 NBA offseason
By Phil Watson
Drafting Sekou Doumbouya
Entering the 2019 NBA Draft, there was a lot of buzz hyping French forward Sekou Doumbouya as a potential top-10 pick, but when he was still there when the Detroit Pistons went on the clock with the 15th overall pick, the Pistons didn’t hesitate.
Doumbouya, who won’t turn 19 until December, was born in Guinea and raised in France and played last season with CSP Limoges in France’s top league, the Jeep Elite, as well as in the Eurocup.
He averaged 7.2 points and 3.0 rebounds in a limited 18.1 minutes per game, shooting 47.8 percent overall and hitting 31.5 percent on 2.4 3-point attempts per game, as the 6-foot-9, 230-pound showed some stretch-4 potential.
Last season was Doumbouya’s first at France’s top level. A professional since 15, he spent the previous two seasons in France’s LNB Pro B, the nation’s second-tier circuit.
His exposure to the NBA style of play at the Las Vegas Summer League was limited, as Doumbouya played in just one game while dealing with a strained right hamstring.
He looked solid in his 13 minutes, however, scoring nine points with two rebounds on 3-of-7 shooting, hitting 1-of-4 from deep.
Doumbouya is still very raw and will likely spend the season shuttling back-and-forth between the Pistons and their G League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Drive.
But he’s got a lot of upside and already has solid size to withstand the rigors of the NBA, so he’s ahead of the curve there.