Mouhamed Gueye

About

Mouhamed Gueye ( GAY; born 9 November 2002) is a Senegalese professional basketball player for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He moved to the United States as a teenager to play high school basketball at Prolific Prep. Gueye played college basketball for the Washington State Cougars and was named to the All-Pac-12 first-team as a sophomore in 2023. He was selected as the 39th overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets, but was traded to the Atlanta Hawks on draft night.

Gueye was raised in Dakar, Senegal, as the youngest of four siblings in a sporting family. He has cousins who have played for the national basketball team and who played professionally in Europe. Gueye grew up playing soccer but was encouraged by his mother to play basketball because of his height. He credits watching his older brother play basketball as an early influence.

Gueye’s personal coach, Mamadou Cisse, connected him with Philippe Doherty, the head coach of Prolific Prep in Napa, California. At age 16, he moved from Dakar to the United States to enroll at Prolific Prep. Gueye had never played organized basketball before…