Could Eli N’Diaye Play a Bigger Role for Real Madrid This Season?

20-year-old big Eli N’Diaye started in 13 games for Real Madrid last season, providing some much-needed defensive versatility at the center position for Los Blancos. Could he be moved into an even larger role by head coach Chus Mateo this season?

July 12, 2012; Las Vegas, NV, USA; General view of FIBA basketball during a stoppage in play as the United States play against the Dominican Republic in the second half at the Thomas and Mack Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

While most of Europe’s biggest basketball clubs have abandoned development opportunities with their senior teams, Real Madrid manages to boast a prospect or two and make sure they get a chance to shine almost every season. Sometimes, that prospect is someone like Nikola Mirotic or Luka Doncic and that makes it easy to give them a chance. Last season though, Real Madrid’s top prospect on their senior roster was Eli N’Diaye. 

The 20-year-old Senegalese is a four/five for Real Madrid, sometimes playing next to one of last season's centers Edy Tavares or Vincent Poirier, or playing center himself next to Guerschon Yabusele to give Los Blancos a five-out look on offense. N’Diaye appeared in 23 EuroLeague games, starting in 13 of them, and averaged 2.9 points and 2.3 rebounds in 11.2 minutes per game. Across all competitions, he shot 34 percent from beyond the arc on 68 attempts. 

N’Diaye’s best stretch of the season came in the EuroLeague championship game. He earned the start and opponents Panathinaikos decided to leave him open as they focused on shutting down Tavares and Facundo Campazzo’s pick-and-roll game. N’Diaye responded with a 3-for-3 start from the field including two 3-pointers, scoring Madrid’s first eight points of the game. 

N’Diaye was a solid utility player for Real Madrid last season but their frontcourt options have changed. Tavares will be returning but Poirier left for Turkish club Anadolu Efes Istanbul and Yabusele for the Philadelphia 76ers. Madrid added Serge Ibaka and Usman Garub in response and is rumored to be acquiring Juancho Hernangomez in the wake of Cedi Osman signing with Panathinaikos. Argentinian forward Gabriel Deck is still with the club as well. 

That puts five senior players in front of N’Diaye on the depth chart. It’s not dissimilar to last season and even then, Mateo still found opportunities for N’Diaye so expect the same this season. Something NBA scouts will be hoping for is if Madrid’s reloaded frontcourt could lead to opportunities for N’Diaye on the wing. 

N’Diaye is 6-foot-8 and 183 pounds. His impressive 7-foot-1 wingspan lets him get away with playing center in Europe but for an NBA career, he’ll need to either bulk up significantly or likely show he can hang with athletic wings while offering rim protection alongside that skillset. For Madrid, it would behoove them to give N’Diaye opportunities on the wing. While their squad is arguably the most talented outside of the NBA - eight former NBA players, two potential future NBA players, and Sergio Llull - they do have a notable weakness: perimeter and point-of-attack defense. 

Madrid doesn’t have a defensive stopper, and some could argue this contributed to them eventually coming up short in last season’s EuroLeague Championship game. Campazzo, Mario Hezonja, and Dzanan Musa are all names similar to NBA fans but certainly not for their defense. This core group gave up 45 points to Kendrick Nunn and Kostas Sloukas in last season’s championship game. They need a reliable body to throw at stars they’ll face this season: Evan Fournier, Jordan Nwora, Wade Baldwin, and others. N’Diaye has a chance to be that guy, and so does fellow prospect and teammate Hugo Gonzalez. 

For N’Diaye, if he can prove capable of taking on tough wing assignments for stretches and show an improved 3-point shot - with slightly better accuracy, but primarily he needs to be a more willing shooter - he could carve out a larger and more important role for himself with Real Madrid even with all the star power currently ahead of him in the rotation. If he accomplishes that, his draft stock will certainly rise too.

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