Mohamed Dabone’s age, verified: The thriller and promise of basketball’s latest prodigy

Emoni Bates appeared on the quilt of Sports activities Illustrated at 15, whereas LeBron James was featured in Slam Journal earlier than his junior yr of highschool. Zion Williamson started going viral for his vicious dunks at 16, and Victor Wembanyama debuted within the EuroCup at 15.

However even this century’s most-celebrated basketball phenoms failed to seek out fame as early in life as Mohamed Dabone, who turned 14 years outdated Tuesday with a physique and talent set so superior that he is considered as a possible No. 1 total choose in an eventual NBA Draft. 

Dabone, who’s already 6-foot-11, is heralded as a fledgling mixture of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Victor Wembanyama. A summertime headline within the Wall Avenue Journal dubbed Dabone, “The 13-year-old who is likely to be the NBA‘s subsequent nice unicorn.”

Given Dabone was born 2011, it will likely be 2030 earlier than he is draft eligible. Age, although, is on the heart of the story of on-line hype round Dabone, with many questioning and even seemingly sowing mistrust in his Oct. 21, 2011, birthdate. Nonetheless, CBS Sports activities has been advised his age was verified by European basketball’s governing physique and gained solutions for a number of the questions on the heart of the rumor mill.

Dabone, a Burkina Faso native, joined FC Barcelona’s senior workforce in Europe’s prime professional division this season. Although he is taking part in primarily for the group’s U22 workforce for now, he logged preseason motion with the principle workforce final month, turning into the youngest participant to ever play for a EuroLeague squad.

Here is one clip of what a 13-year outdated Dabone did in his first look for a Barcelona squad that options a number of former NBA gamers on its roster.

Why Mohamed Dabone’s age is a query

Dabone’s mixture of age and bodily items (he purportedly owns a 7-4 wingspan) is such an unfathomable pairing that his birthday has change into a subject of debate inside the basketball universe in locations such because the discussion board and mock draft repository NBA Draft Room. 

That Dabone hails from a poverty-stricken West African nation solely provides to the skepticism over his true age. Burkina Faso ranked 185th of 193 nations within the 2023-24 Human Improvement Index from the United Nations. Over 25% of the nation’s roughly 23 million residents lack beginning certificates, in line with a World Financial institution examine.

Skeptics see Dabone’s body and recreation alongside his age and might’t reconcile them. One simple idea is that Dabone was assigned a 2011 birthday by handlers in search of a profitable finder’s payment for introducing a uncommon phenom to the worldwide basketball neighborhood.

However CBS Sports activities has realized there’s no less than some supporting documentation to again up Dabone’s purported birthday. Dabone was capable of compete within the Could Adidas NextGen session with Barcelona’s U18 squad solely after passing the group’s age verification procedures, in line with a EuroLeague official.

“All golf equipment taking part in our competitions are required to submit official documentation for the registration of every participant,” the EuroLeague official advised CBS Sports activities. “One of many necessary paperwork is the participant’s official passport. Accordingly, the date of beginning of Mohamed Dabone printed on our web site has been taken instantly from his passport.”

RealGM, the well-respected on-line media outlet overlaying worldwide basketball, used the Adidas NextGen data to construct its profile of Dabone. Thus, the Oct. 21, 2011 birthdate for the budding star has change into disseminated extra broadly in current months.

The verification of Dabone’s birthdate via a passport comes after a unique on-line profile created suspicion that he could also be older than marketed.

Previous to the EuroLeague’s vetting of Dabone’s age for the Adidas NextGen occasion, skeptics latched on to a FIBA 3×3 profile for a “Dabone Mohamed Samsoundine,” who has a listed age of 18.  

The profile as soon as featured a photograph of Dabone however now not does. It additionally lists Dabone as being from Togo, which neighbors Burkina Faso to the south. Nonetheless, a FIBA consultant advised CBS Sports activities that anybody can create a profile and enter private particulars for the group’s 3×3 platform with out offering supporting documentation.

“Solely gamers in search of to compete in FIBA 3×3 Professional Circuit or 3×3 Nationwide Staff Competitions should bear a verification course of, which incorporates submitting an official passport,” the FIBA official mentioned. “Since Mohamed Dabone has not participated in any of those competitions, his 3×3 profile has not been verified, and FIBA can’t affirm the accuracy of the listed data.”

Chopping via the litter

In abstract, a passport for Dabone exists and lists his birthday of Oct. 21, 2011. If there’s conflicting documentation to counsel that he is truly 4 years older, it was not supplied when that FIBA 3×3 profile was created.

Everybody can agree on one factor, although: Dabone is destined for the NBA as quickly as he can legally get there. The issue for Dabone is that he’ll have to attend so lengthy.

Longtime scout Rafael Barlowe, now of the Mavericks, summed up Dabone’s state of affairs final yr for his web site by reducing via the age-related litter to color an image of a future star.

“Whereas there’s appreciable chatter relating to Mohamed Dabone’s age, with few believing he was born in 2011, his expertise and bodily instruments are plain,” Barlowe wrote.

Dabone’s movie suggests the comparisons with Antetokounmpo and Wembanyama aren’t far off base. They’re all versatile forwards with uncommon mixtures of measurement and talent. Barlowe recognized Dabone as a “high-ceiling athletic huge with large upside” and famous his strengths as an athletic lob risk and defensive anchor.

Given the promise Dabone has already proven, it is possible an obstacle to him that he should wait till 2030 to be draft-eligible. Dabone will probably be bodily prepared a lot sooner, however he will probably be compelled to delay the start of his NBA earnings window till the yr he turns 19.