Keita-Bates Diop Ready for NBA Playoffs with Denver Nuggets

Former Buckeye and 2018 Big Ten Player of the Year has been active for the NBA Restart in Orlando.

ORLANDO, Fla. – The successful NBA Restart in Orlando has commenced with full speed in recent weeks, as initial “seeding games” have officially concluded inside the bubble at Disney World.

The playoffs are now set to begin Monday (following the weekend play-in series) and two former Ohio State products will be suiting up for postseason basketball. We profiled standout point guard Mike Conley a few weeks back, and his Utah Jazz team will now coincidentally face fellow Buckeye Keita Bates-Diop and the Denver Nuggets in the first round.

Denver, the No. 3 seed, posted a final regular-season record of 46-27 while the Jazz, seeded sixth, went 44-28 in a raucous and tightly-contested Western Conference. The two squads will launch their seven-game series Monday afternoon at 1:30 p.m.

A 6-foot-8 small forward, Bates-Diop has appeared in four games with the Nuggets during August while trying to take advantage of opportunities, seeing extended playing time in a trio of contests with other teammates resting. Those outings included 10 points and four rebounds against the Los Angeles Lakers, and then 11 points and six boards against the Toronto Raptors.

Bates-Diop played in 109 career games for the Buckeyes from 2014-18, going from averaging just 3.8 points as a freshman to an impressive 19.8 during his standout senior season. He finished his time in Columbus with 1,272 points.

The Sacramento, Calif. native culminated with Big Ten Player of the Year honors and was later selected in the second round, 48th overall, by the Minnesota Timberwolves. He saw moderate playing time over parts of his first two seasons (67 games total), averaging roughly six points per night, and also played for the Iowa Wolves of the G-League.

Bates-Diop was then traded to Denver in February, spent more time in the G-League with the Windy City Bulls, and has since made the Nuggets’ active roster in Orlando. He and Conley make up half of the Ohio State alums currently in the NBA, gracing a short list that also includes Evan Turner (Minnesota/free agent) and D’Angelo Russell (Minnesota).

It’s unclear how much Bates-Diop may see the floor, if at all, once a few teammates return to the lineup and the playoff rotation likely shrinks. But, he will be active and ready whenever his name might be called.

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