Spurs sign former Bucks champion

Roughly a decade after Mike Budenholzer served as an assistant coach for them, the San Antonio Spurs are signing one of Budenholzer’s old players.

The Spurs announced on Monday that they have signed Mamadi Diakite, the former Milwaukee Bucks forward. Diakite is getting a two-way contract from San Antonio.

The 26-year-old Diakite was a member of the Bucks’ 2021 NBA title team. While he only made 21 total appearances (regular season and playoffs) for Milwaukee that season, he was a prominent presence on the bench with his blonde-dyed hair. Milwaukee fans also remember Diakite for being the first to celebrate with Giannis Antetokounmpo after Antetokounmpo’s game-sealing alley-oop dunk from Jrue Holiday in Game 5 of the 2021 Finals.

Diakite, who had some great moments in college at Virginia as well, has played for Oklahoma City and Cleveland since leaving Milwaukee. He owns career NBA averages of 3.2 points and 2.5 rebounds a game in very limited minutes and could add depth in the frontcourt for a Spurs team that recently lost a big man to a season-ending torn ACL.