Keita Bates-Diop was hired as the assistant coach on the staff of the Miami Heat's G League team, the Sioux Falls Skyforce. The ex-Spurs starter's last game was in the 2023-24 season. He couldn't find a team last year, and now he has retired at the age of 29 to pursue a career in coaching. That's quite a surprise, considering he fit the mold to be a solid role player.
Bates-Diop was worthy of a roster spot
In his final year with the team, Bates-Diop averaged 10 points per game and shot 39% from three. He's a 6'8" wing who showed defensive versatility, and while he wasn't the best three-and-D role player in the league, he certainly had a strong enough game to warrant a roster spot somewhere in the NBA.
The most shocking part is that he only lasted one more season after he left San Antonio. Keita was a free agent in the summer of 2023, so he left what was a terrible team at the time and signed a two-year deal with the Phoenix Suns. It was truly an understandable decision at the time. They had Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, so most thought they would be good enough to make some noise.
Why wouldn't you want to hitch your wagon to a title contender as a role player, right? Unfortunately, he didn't last the season and was traded to Brooklyn before the deadline in February. That would be his last stop after a six-year career in the best basketball league in the world. It really goes to show that not everyone sticks around for 10-plus years. Guys come and go more often than you'd think.
I wonder if things would have been different for him had he found a way to stay with the Spurs. They were just on the brink of drafting Victor Wembanyama, so we knew it was only a matter of time before the team's fortunes turned around. Would he have been a better option than Cedi Osman? Who knows?
Bates-Diop played for five different teams, but he played in San Antonio the longest. He started 56 times in the 156 games he appeared in a silver and black uniform.
KBD will always be remembered in the annals of Alamo City for his out-of-body game one night late in December 2021. The Illinois-bred forward scored 30 points on 11-11 from the field to lead the Spurs to a blowout win over the Los Angeles Lakers. It was a bright moment during a dark time. Salute, Keita.