Cavaliers Sign Center Khalifa Diop

CLEVELAND – The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed center Khalifa Diop (hah-LEE-fuh JYOP), Cavaliers President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts.

Diop (6-11, 231), who was selected by the Cavaliers with the 39th overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, has spent the past three seasons with Saski Baskonia of Spain’s Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. In 2025-26, the 24-year-old appeared in 47 total games (38 starts) for Baskonia and averaged 3.8 points on .670 shooting from the field, 4.2 rebounds and 0.7 blocks in 16.4 minutes per game. He helped Baskonia capture the 2026 Copa del Rey title, the club’s first in 17 years, after also contributing to the team’s 2023 EuroCup championship.

The Senegal native represented his country at the youth level, including the 2019 and 2021 FIBA U19 Basketball World Cups. Prior to being drafted in 2022, Diop earned 2021-22 EuroCup Rising Star honors while playing for Gran Canaria (Spain), an award presented to the best under-22 player in the EuroCup. He was also a member of the Cavaliers’ 2023 NBA Summer League championship team.

Diop will wear No. 18 for the Cavaliers.