After one year at Michigan, Diabate entered the 2022 NBA draft and was selected in the second round. After spending most of his time in the G-League while on two-way contracts during the first two years of his career, Diabate got real NBA minutes in '24-'25, and he made the most of them, earning a standard contract. Diabate is a strong rebounder on both ends of the court, but he has been particularly effective on the offensive glass. The 14.5% offensive rebounding rate he posted in '24-'25 was in the 94th percentile among bigs, according to Cleaning the Glass. Diabate just plays with a strong motor, and he improved his finishing inside after struggling earlier in his career. He's not someone that will likely stretch the floor anytime soon, even from midrange, so he'll need to convert at the rim to be effective. On defense, Diabate is active, posting good steal and block rates. He has decent length but is on the thin side for a center, so he can get bullied a bit by the NBA's beefier bigs. He moves his feet pretty well, and is someone that could be comfortable switching onto the perimeter in short doses. Diabate has the potential to be a solid backup center going forward, and I would be surprised if the Hornets let him walk away after how he played in '24-'25. It will be interesting to see if he continues to get regular minutes once the Hornets become more competitive.