Kariata Diaby
{{Short description|Ivorian basketball player (born 1995)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name = Kariata Diaby
| image = Kariata Diaby 2025 (cropped).jpg
| caption = Diaby with the Connecticut Sun in 2025
| alt =
| number = 23
| team = Connecticut Sun
| position = Center
| league = WNBA
| nationality = Ivorian
| nationality_2= French
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1995|6|29|df=y}}
| birth_place = Daloa, Ivory Coast
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 4
| weight_lb =
| high_school =
| college =
| career_start = 2014
| years1 = 2014–2017
| team1 = {{ill|Voiron Basket|fr|Pays Voironnais Basket Club}}
| years2 = 2017–2018
| team2 = Charnay Basket Bourgogne Sud
| years3 = 2018–2019
| team3 = Landerneau Bretagne Basket
| years4 = 2019–2024
| team4 = ESB Villeneuve-d'Ascq
| years5 = 2024–present
| team5 = Tango Bourges Basket
| years6 = {{wnbay|2025}}–present
| team6 = Connecticut Sun
| highlights =
| bbr =
}}
Kariata Diaby (born 29 June 1995) is an Ivorian professional basketball player for the Connecticut Sun of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and for Tango Bourges Basket of the La Boulangère Wonderligue. She also plays for the Ivory Coast women's national basketball team.
Early life
Diaby was born on 29 June 1995 in Daloa, Ivory Coast.{{Cite web|url=https://www.proballers.com/basketball/player/179116/kariata-diaby|website=Proballers.com|title=Kariata Diaby}} She grew up in Ivory Coast and played for the club ABC Fighters.{{Cite news|url=https://www.ledauphine.com/isere-sud/2014/09/12/kariata-diaby-la-recrue-du-pvbc|newspaper=Le Dauphiné libéré|language=French|title=Kariata Diaby, la recrue du PVBC|trans-title=Kariata Diaby, the PVBC recruit|date=12 September 2014|url-access=subscription}} She competed for the Ivory Coast women's national basketball team at the 2013 FIBA Africa Championship for Women.{{Cite web|url=https://www.fiba.basketball/en/history/302-fiba-womens-afrobasket/5335/players/205973-kariata-diaby|publisher=FIBA|title=Kariata Diaby}} She also competed for the Ivory Coast national team at the 2017 Women's Afrobasket.{{Cite web|url=https://sun.wnba.com/news/connecticut-sun-adds-kariata-diaby-and-amy-okonkwo-to-training-camp-roster|publisher=Connecticut Sun|title=Connecticut Sun Adds Kariata Diaby and Amy Okonkwo to Training Camp Roster|date=February 13, 2025}}
Professional career
=France=
In 2014, at the age of 19, Diaby moved to France and joined the club {{ill|Voiron Basket|fr|Pays Voironnais Basket Club}}. She played for Voiron from 2014 to 2017, helping them achieve a promotion in 2016 while also competeing for them at the Coupe de France Féminine.{{Cite web|url=https://basketball.eurobasket.com/player/Kariata-Diaby/France/Etoile-de-Voiron-Feminin/265420?Women=1|website=Eurobasket.com|title=Kariata Diaby}}{{Cite news|url=https://archive.ph/0Qm0r|newspaper=Ouest-France|via=archive.today|title=Kariata Diaby a signé à Landerneau |date=18 May 2018|trans-title=Kariata Diaby has signed with Landerneau}} She then played for Charnay Basket Bourgogne Sud in the 2017–18 season, before signing with Landerneau Bretagne Basket in 2018.
After a season with Charnay, Diaby joined ESB Villeneuve-d'Ascq and played for them in the Ligue Féminine de Basketball (LFB) from 2020 to 2024. She averaged 11 points per game in the 2022–23 season and 11.2 points in the 2023–24 season, helping them win the LFB championship in the latter season.{{Cite news|url=https://archive.ph/GtSAK|newspaper=Hartford Courant|via=archive.today|title=Fresh off season in France, WNBA newcomers aim to help Rachid Meziane reestablish Connecticut Sun |date=8 May 2025|author=Adams, Emily}} She moved to Tango Bourges Basket in 2024–25 and averaged 14.3 points, leading the team and being named the LFB regular season MVP.{{Cite news|url=https://www.leberry.fr/bourges-18000/sports/rejoindre-la-wnba-le-reve-americain-de-la-tango-kariata-diaby-qui-participe-au-camp-d-entrainement-du-sun-du-connecticut-aux-etats-unis_14683199/|newspaper=Le Berry républicain|language=French|title=Rejoindre la WNBA : le rêve américain de la basketteuse berruyère Kariata Diaby qui participe au camp d'entraînement du Sun du Connecticut aux États-Unis|date=7 May 2025|trans-title=Joining the WNBA: The American dream of Berry basketball player Kariata Diaby, who is participating in the Connecticut Sun training camp in the United States|author=Werquin, Nicolas}}
=WNBA=
==Connecticut Sun (2025–present)==
On 13 February 2025, Diaby signed a training camp contract with the Connecticut Sun of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She made the opening day roster and, after her debut on 18 May, became the second Ivorian to play in the WNBA—following Christelle N'Garsanet.{{Cite web |date=2025-05-21 |title=Basket: Kariata Diaby est devenue la deuxième ivoirienne en WNBA américaine |trans-title=Basketball: Kariata Diaby has become the second Ivorian in the American WNBA |url=https://www.rfi.fr/fr/sports/20250521-basket-kariata-diaby-est-devenue-la-deuxi%C3%A8me-ivoirienne-en-wnba-am%C3%A9ricaine |access-date=2025-05-21 |website=RFI |language=fr}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{sports links}}
{{Connecticut Sun current roster}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diaby, Kariata}}
Category:Ivorian women's basketball players
Category:French women's basketball players
Category:Connecticut Sun players
Category:Undrafted Women's National Basketball Association players
Category:Ivorian expatriate basketball people in the United States
Category:French expatriate basketball people in the United States