Skal Labissière

Skal Labissière

Labissière in Kentucky's Blue-White scrimmage in 2015
No. 19 – Reno Bighorns
Position Power forward / Center
League NBA Development League
Personal information
Born (1996-03-18) March 18, 1996
Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Nationality Haitian
Listed height 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight 225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High school
College Kentucky (2015–2016)
NBA draft 2016 / Round: 1 / Pick: 28th overall
Selected by the Phoenix Suns
Playing career 2016–present
Career history
2016–present Sacramento Kings
2016–present →Reno Bighorns
Career highlights and awards

Skal Labissière (French pronunciation: ​[labissjɛʁ]; born March 18, 1996) is a Haitian professional basketball player for the Reno Bighorns of the NBA Development League, on assignment from the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He graduated from Lausanne Collegiate School in Memphis, Tennessee[1] before playing one season of college basketball for Kentucky.

Early years

Labissière was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. His basketball career began at the Collège Canado-Haïtien, a junior-senior high school in Port-au-Prince, which participated in school championships organized by the Comité Interscolaire de Basket-ball Amateur (CIBA), and the Association de Basket-ball Interscolaire (ASI).[1] During the 2010 Haiti earthquake, his family's home collapsed with Labissière, his mother and his brother inside. All three survived, but were trapped under the debris for three hours. Labissière's legs were trapped, causing them to go numb and he was unable to walk for a few weeks after. A few months after the earthquake, Labissière moved to the United States in Memphis, Tennessee, to live with Gerald Hamilton, who ran the Reach Your Dream Foundation, which brought international prospects to the United States.[2][3][4]

High school career

Labissière attended Evangelical Christian School in Memphis and started to play varsity basketball as an eighth-grader.[2] When he had first arrived, Labissière spoke little English and required a French interpreter in all of his classes. After three to four months, he didn't need the help and became fluent.[2] In 2014, he left the school his senior year and enrolled at Lausanne Collegiate School, also located in Memphis,[5] but because of the move he was ruled by TSSAA as ineligible to play basketball at Lausanne for the season. So instead, Labissière played for Gerald Hamilton's Reach Your Dream Prep Academy team, where he averaged 26 points, 12 rebounds and 4.5 blocks per game.[6][7][8][9]

"The harder I work, the better I will be as a basketball player and I'll be able to influence more people around the world."

—Skal Labissière[10]

Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Skal Labissière
PF/C		 Port-au-Prince, Haiti Lausanne Collegiate School 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Nov 13, 2014 
Scout:5/5 stars   Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports:5/5 stars    ESPN:5/5 stars
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 1   Rivals: 1  ESPN: 2, 1 (C), 1 (TN)
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

College career

Labissière was rated as a five-star recruit, and was considered among the best players in his class.[11][12] He committed to the University of Kentucky to play college basketball.[13][14][15] UK's coach John Calipari, offered Labissière a scholarship before any other 2015 prospect, comparing him to Anthony Davis.[9] At the start of the season, he was considered a potential #1 draft pick for the 2016 NBA draft.[16] Labissière posted averages of 6.6 points (.516 FG%, .661 FT%), 3.1 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 15.8 minutes per game in all 36 games while starting 18 of them for the 2015–16 Kentucky Wildcats.[17]

On April 5, 2016, Labissière declared for the NBA draft, forgoing his final three years of college eligibility.[18]

College statistics

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2015–16 Kentucky 36 18 15.8 .516 .000 .661 3.1 .3 .3 1.6 6.6

Professional career

Sacramento Kings (2016–present)

On June 23, 2016, Labissière was selected by the Phoenix Suns with the 28th overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft, becoming the highest drafted Haitian player since Samuel Dalembert (26th, 2001). His rights were later traded to the Sacramento Kings on draft night[19] and in July, he joined the Kings for the 2016 NBA Summer League.[20] On July 15, 2016, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Kings.[21] On November 5, he made his professional debut in a 117–91 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, recording eight points and three rebounds on 15 minutes off the bench.[22] On November 11, he was assigned to the Reno Bighorns, the Kings' D-League affiliate[23] and recalled on November 23.[24] Three days later, he was reassigned to Reno.[25]

References

  1. 1 2 "Skal Labissière, draft #1 NBA 100 % haïtien". LeNouvelliste.com (in French). April 20, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 Remsberg, Matt (January 14, 2012). "Rise Above: Skal Labissiere". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
  3. ↑ Roberts, Ben (January 31, 2013). "Kentucky target Labissiere a walking, shooting 'miracle'". Kentucky.com. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  4. ↑ Parrish, Gary (July 19, 2012). "After surviving Haiti's quake, Labissiere out to make most of his second chance". CBSSports.com. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
  5. ↑ Smith, Jason (August 22, 2014). "Skal Labissiere enrolls at Lausanne, but apparently won't play basketball, AD says". CommercialAppeal.com. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
  6. ↑ Jones, Steve (January 11, 2015). "UK signee Labissiere improves on losing team". Courier-Journal.com. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  7. ↑ Norlander, Matt (October 28, 2014). "The strange high school setup for five-star prospect Skal Labissiere". CBSSports.com. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  8. ↑ Dauster, Rob (October 26, 2014). "Skal Labissiere, Reach Your Dreams Prep and why this isn't as scuzzy as it sounds". NBCSports.com. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  9. 1 2 Jones, Steve (May 21, 2015). "2015 Super Five - Skal Labissiere". Courier-Journal.com. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  10. ↑ Bossi, Eric (April 22, 2015). "Labissiere's unlikely journey to No. 1". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Skal Labissiere - Rivals.com". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Skal Labissiere - Basketball Recruiting - Player Profile". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  13. ↑ Cohen, Michael (November 13, 2014). "Skal Labissiere picks Kentucky over Memphis, other finalists". CommercialAppeal.com. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  14. ↑ Cohen, Michael (November 14, 2014). "Skal Labissiere signs with Kentucky, praises guardians". CommercialAppeal.com. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  15. ↑ Borzello, Jeff (November 14, 2014). "Kentucky gains 2015's top class". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  16. ↑ Wasserman, Jonathan (September 8, 2015). "Ben Simmons or Skal Labissiere: Who Starts Year as NBA Draft's No. 1 Prospect?". BleacherReport.com. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Skal Labissiere College Stats". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  18. ↑ Vecenie, Sam (April 5, 2016). "NBA Draft 2016: Freshman Skal Labissiere is a boom or bust prospect". CBSSports.com. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Kings Announce Draft-Night Trade". NBA.com. June 23, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  20. ↑ "Kings Announce 2016 NBA Summer League Roster". NBA.com. July 5, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  21. ↑ "Kings Sign Papagiannis, Richardson and Labissiere". NBA.com. July 15, 2016. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
  22. ↑ "Teletovic, Parker lead Bucks to 117-91 win over Kings". ESPN.com. November 6, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  23. ↑ "Kings Assign Papagiannis, Labissiere and Richardson to Reno Bighorns". NBA.com. November 11, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  24. ↑ "Kings Recall Richardson, Papagiannis and Labissiere from Reno Bighorns". NBA.com. November 23, 2016. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  25. ↑ "Kings Assign Papagiannis, Labissiere and Richardson to Reno". OurSportsCentral.com. November 26, 2016. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
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