Ismaël Bako

Ismaël Bako (born 10 October 1995) is a Belgian professional basketball player for UNICS Kazan of the Russian VTB United League. Standing at 208 cm (6 ft 10 in), he plays at the center position. He started his career in 2012 with Leuven Bears and transferred to Antwerp Giants in April 2017.

Ismaël Bako
Bako with Leuven in 2017
No. 7 – BC UNICS
PositionCenter
LeagueVTB United League
Personal information
Born (1995-10-10) 10 October 1995
Leuven, Belgium
NationalityBelgian
Listed height208 cm (6 ft 10 in)
Listed weight103 kg (227 lb)
Career information
NBA draft2017: undrafted
Playing career2012–present
Career history
2012–2017Leuven Bears
2017–2019Antwerp Giants
2019–2021ASVEL Villeurbanne
2021–2022Manresa
2022–2023Virtus Bologna
2023–presentUNICS Kazan
Career highlights and awards

Professional career

Leuven

Bako started his career with Leuven Bears in the Pro Basketball League, making his debut in 2012. He was named the BLB Young Player of the Year of the 2016–17 season, after averaging 8.0 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.[1]

Antwerp

In April 2017, he signed with Antwerp Giants.[2] In the 2018–19 season, Bako won the Belgian Basketball Cup with the Giants. He was named the Belgian Cup Most Valuable Player.[3] In the same season, the team reached the Final Four of the Basketball Champions League. Antwerp finished in third place after defeating Brose Bamberg in the third place game. Bako was named to the Basketball Champions League Star Lineup.

ASVEL

On 3 July 2019, Bako signed a two-year contract with LDLC ASVEL of the French LNB Pro A and the EuroLeague.[4] He averaged 3.8 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. On June 12, 2020, he re-signed with the team for an additional season.[5] During the 2020-21 season Bako averaged 5.6 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. He parted ways with the team on 11 July 2021.[6]

Baxi Manresa

On July 24, 2021, Bako signed a two-year deal with Baxi Manresa of the Spanish Liga ACB.[7] On September 5, 2021, won the Catalan League and won the MVP of the competition.

Virtus Bologna

On July 13, 2022, Bako signed with Virtus Bologna of the Lega Basket Serie A and the EuroLeague.[8] On 29 September 2022, after having ousted Olimpia Milano in the semifinals, Virtus won its third Supercup, defeating 72–69 Banco di Sardegna Sassari and achieving a back-to-back, following the 2021 trophy.[9] However, despite good premises Virtus ended the EuroLeague season at the 14th place, thus it did not qualify for the playoffs.[10] Moreover, the team was defeated in the Italian Basketball Cup final by Brescia. In June, after having ousted 3–0 both Brindisi and Tortona, Virtus was defeated 4–3 by Olimpia Milan in the national finals, following a series which was widely regarded among the best in the latest years of Italian basketball.[11][12] On August 25, 2023, Bako parted ways with the Italian powerhouse.

National team career

Bako has been a member of the Belgian national basketball team since 2016. At 21, Bako was the youngest member of the squad that played at EuroBasket 2017.[13]

Personal life

Bako was born in Belgium to a Beninese father and Belgian mother.[14]

Awards and accomplishments

Club
Manresa
ASVEL
Antwerp Giants

Individual

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ismaël Bako.
  1. "Ismaël Bako Young Player of the Year". Euromillionsbasketball.be. 2017-05-15. Archived from the original on 2018-07-28. Retrieved 2017-05-15.
  2. "Ismaël Bako naar Port of Antwerp Giants". Gazet van Antwerpen (in Dutch). Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  3. Vanbuggenhout, Kevin. "Fysieke kracht geeft doorslag: Giants doorbreken hegemonie en pronken met beker". www.msn.com (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 22 March 2019. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  4. "ASVEL acquires Ismael Bako". Eurohoops. 3 July 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  5. "LDLC Asvel extends Ismael Bako". Sportando. June 12, 2020. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  6. "Norris Cole, Ismael Bako officially leaves Asvel". Sportando. 11 July 2021. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
  7. "Ismael Bako officially signs with Baxi Manresa". Sportando. July 24, 2021. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  8. "Ismaël Bako è un nuovo giocatore di Virtus Segafredo Bologna!" (in Italian). 2022-07-13. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
  9. "Supercoppa, trionfa la Virtus Bologna! Canestro decisivo di Mickey, Sassari cede 72-69". Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 29 September 2022.
  10. Virtus, il punto a fine EuroLega. BolognaBasket
  11. Basket, Milano batte Bologna nella decisiva gara 7 e vince il suo 30esimo scudetto. Gli highlights. la Repubblica
  12. Basket, Milano batte Bologna 67-55 nella finalissima e si conferma campione per la trentesima volta. Rai News
  13. "Dit zijn onze 12 Lions voor Eurobasket 2017 - detail - Basketbal Vlaanderen". basketbal.vlaanderen (in Dutch). Retrieved 2017-09-06.
  14. "En vacances dans son pays d'origine Ismaël Bako partage avec les médias ses projets pour le Bénin". quotidien le matin.
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