Skal Labissiere

Labissière is a Haitian center who reached the NBA through the 2016 draft after a tumultuous journey that included surviving the 2010 Haiti earthquake and relocating to Memphis as a teenager. Drafted by the Phoenix Suns and traded to the Sacramento Kings, he has navigated injuries and roster changes while pursuing a professional basketball career.

Born Skal Labissière on March 18, 1996, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, he began playing basketball at Collège Canado-Haïtien. During the 2010 Haiti earthquake, his family's home collapsed with Labissière, his mother, and his brother inside. All three survived but remained trapped under debris for three hours. His legs were pinned, causing numbness, and he was unable to walk for several weeks afterward.

A few months after the earthquake, Labissière moved to Memphis, Tennessee, to live with Gerald Hamilton, who ran the Reach Your Dream Foundation. He attended Evangelical Christian School and started playing varsity basketball as an eighth-grader. Initially speaking little English, he required a French interpreter in classes but became fluent within months. He transferred to Lausanne Collegiate School for his senior year but was ruled ineligible by the TSSAA. Instead, he played for Hamilton's Reach Your Dream Prep Academy, averaging 26 points, 12 rebounds, and 4.5 blocks per game.

Rated a five-star recruit and considered among the best players in his class, Labissière committed to Kentucky. Coach John Calipari compared him to Anthony Davis and offered him a scholarship before any other 2015 prospect. At Kentucky, Labissière averaged 6.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks in 15.8 minutes per game across 36 appearances, starting 18. He declared for the 2016 NBA draft on April 5, 2016.

The Phoenix Suns selected Labissière 28th overall in the 2016 NBA draft and traded his rights to the Sacramento Kings. He signed his rookie-scale contract on July 15, 2016, becoming the highest-drafted Haitian player since Samuel Dalembert in 2001. He made his NBA debut on November 5, 2016, recording eight points and three rebounds. He later played for the Stockton Kings of the NBA G League.

Labissière functions as a stretch big with soft shooting touch, shot-blocking timing, and a frame suited for modern pick-and-pop actions. His development trajectory was altered by the earthquake and subsequent relocation, but his physical tools and skill set remain intriguing. In the NBA, his path has been defined by incremental opportunities, G League assignments, and efforts to refine his game around the perimeter.