Another former Hawk is heading overseas after a rocky rookie year, with Eli Ndiaye set to take his game back to where it started.
For Atlanta, the hope was that Ndiaye could become one of those undrafted free agent success stories that teams love to uncover. The Hawks moved quickly after the 2025 NBA Draft to bring him in, and the intrigue was obvious from the start. He had already built up a strong résumé with Real Madrid, and he arrived as a young forward with real upside.
Ndiaye spent four seasons with Real Madrid before choosing the NBA path. In that span, he helped the club win eight trophies, including a EuroLeague title. He’s still only 22, which leaves plenty of room for him to keep developing and, eventually, try to make his way back to the NBA.
That next step is now coming overseas. The club announced that Ndiaye is signing a two-year contract that will keep him there through the end of the 2027-28 season.
His time in Atlanta never really got off the ground. He didn’t get a full chance to show what he could do in his lone season with the Hawks, and the reasons had more to do with circumstances than anything else. Injuries and the team’s roster situation kept him on the sidelines for his entire rookie year and in the G League.
Ndiaye is not the only former Hawk making that move. Keaton Wallace, Jacob Toppin and Garrison Mathews have also opted to join basketball clubs overseas instead of immediately chasing another NBA opportunity.
The pattern says plenty about how talented these players are, even if their paths have taken them out of the league for now. And with Ndiaye still just 22, the door remains open for a future NBA return if he puts together the kind of stretch that gets scouts paying attention again.
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