The next big thing is on the way, figuratively and literally.
At a towering 6-foot-11, Mohamed Dabone’s star is quickly ascending.
From Burkina Faso to the global stage, 14-year-old Dabone is already making his mark on the basketball world.
Mohamed Dabone receives Spanish passport
Despite his roots, Dabone recently received a Spanish passport, as Spain looks to secure young international talent.
He is currently playing for FC Barcelona, where he has been dominating.
In the 2026 EuroLeague Next Gen tournament, he averaged 17.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and 19.2 PIR across 4 games.
Dabone’s best game was against the Next Gen Team 3SSB, where he totaled 25 points, 9 rebounds and 30 PIR.
The young teenager has been compared to the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Victor Wembanyama, all before the age of 15.
It may be unfair to compare Dabone to such massive stars, first, because Antetokounmpo is one of the greatest to ever do it, and second, because we still have not even come close to Wembanyama’s prime.
However, it’s more the body frame and type of the Miami Heat star and San Antonio Spurs specimen that people are seeing in Dabone.
No one is saying he is the next Antetokounmpo, or even the next Wembanyama, because again, no one knows what this Wembanyama even is yet, but the comparisons have been made and the ball is rolling.
There have been murmurs about the accuracy of his age, with more than a few people claiming him to be older than he is, specifically in the age range of 17-18, but nothing has been definitively reported.
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Regardless, Dabone looks to have the skillset of a generational prospect. Now that term gets thrown around a lot these days, but with Dabone it’s appropriate.
That doesn’t mean he will be the next Antetokounmpo, but it is promising and telling how scouts around the globe view the young man.
Dabone isn’t draft eligible until 2030, if he was born in 2011, so that still leaves a handful of years before he really enters the eye of the public, but that won’t stop NBA scouts from salivating at him right now.
If get continues to impress with FC Barcelona, then his stardom is about to catapult way quicker than expected.
Of course he is still just a teenager, so there will be growing pains when playing against grown men who are much stronger and skilled, but it’s the raw talent that will get people excited.
After all, as soon as Wembanyama entered the league, he almost instantly became the NBA‘s best defender. He averaged 3.6 blocks his rookie year while winning Rookie of the Year, and becoming a member of the NBA All-Defensive First-Team.
Last season he won Defensive Player of the Year and took the San Antonio Spurs all the way to the 2026 NBA Finals, losing to the New York Knicks.
NBA’s Greatest
And for the Antetokounmpo comparisons. If Dabone can win two MVPs, an NBA championship and a Finals MVP, then he would go down as an all-time great.
That’s just a sliver of Antetokounmpo’s resume, who recently joined the Heat.
As unrealistic as that is to put at the feet of a 14-year-old, it goes to show you just how special people believe Dabone can be.
There is still a long way to go before he even sniffs an NBA court, but the time will pass quicker than you think, and before you know it, there will be three aliens in the NBA, going toe-to-toe with one another.
