Sidy Cissoko

Cissoko is a French guard who reached the NBA through the undrafted free-agent route after a developmental path through the Baskonia youth system and the NBA G League Ignite. Born in France to a Senegalese Olympian father, he became the first European player to join the Ignite and has since signed with the Portland Trail Blazers.

Born Sidy Cissoko on April 2, 2004, in Saint-Maurice, France, he is the son of Yaya Cissoko, a basketball player who represented Senegal at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Sidy played basketball from a young age, looking up to Kyrie Irving, and reached the under-15 level with CTC Center Essonne.

In 2017, at age 13, Cissoko moved to Spain and joined the Baskonia youth ranks. In 2020–21, he played with the Baskonia reserves in the fourth-tier Liga EBA, averaging a team-leading 17.4 points per game. He also led the Baskonia junior team to a fourth-place finish in the junior national championship, leading the competition in points and assists.

On September 26, 2021, Cissoko made his senior debut for Baskonia at age 17. He was subsequently loaned to Iraurgi SB in the second-tier LEB Oro, where he averaged 10.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.4 assists in 32 games.

On July 19, 2022, Cissoko signed with the NBA G League Ignite, becoming the first European player to do so. He was ranked as the third-best European prospect in his class by ESPN, behind Victor Wembanyama and Rayan Rupert. In 28 games with the Ignite, he averaged 12.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 3.6 assists. He declared for the 2023 NBA draft and signed with the Portland Trail Blazers.

Cissoko functions as a developmental wing with defensive versatility, playmaking instincts, and a frame that projects well for the modern NBA. His seasoning in the Spanish club system and the G League provided exposure to multiple levels of professional basketball. In the NBA, his trajectory centers on three-point development, defensive consistency, and leveraging his length and basketball IQ in reserve minutes.