Reggio Emilia’s Mouhamed “Momo” Faye has declared for the 2025 NBA Draft, per ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.

Mouhamed ‘Momo’ Faye Declares For 2025 NBA Draft

A 6-foot-11 center with a 7-foot-5 wingspan, the Senegalese sentinel has terrific measurables. Tracking international stats isn’t always straightforward due to the number of leagues that are found abroad. However, Faye averaged 10.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 21.7 minutes per game in Italian Lega Basket Serie A in 2024-25. In the sole game he played during the 2025 Italian Cup, he recorded eight points, four rebounds, and five blocks in 23 minutes.

NEWS: Reggio Emilia’s Momo Faye has declared for the 2025 NBA draft, agent Matteo Comellini told ESPN. The 6’11, Senegalese center with a 7’5 wingspan is averaging 9.1 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game in 21 minutes per game in the Italian league and BCL. pic.twitter.com/2arPFF53hm

— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) April 27, 2025

As a scorer, Faye makes his living around the rim. He has a knack for freeing himself from a defender to make himself an easy target, showing the ability to score above or below the rim. At the defensive end, his skillset is rather traditional as well, given his shot-blocking instincts.

However, Faye has intriguing potential as a playmaker due to his basketball IQ, patience, and dexterity. When factoring in his scoring strengths, he could be quite the weapon in the pick-and-roll. Notably, he’s also shown the ability to guard out in space, a valuable tool for bigs.

Essentially, he presents as a prospect with a simple game, but that doesn’t make him undraftable. In fact, as a center, it’s almost better for him to have such a refined skillset. Had he been a player who demanded touches in the post, teams would have to figure out how to incorporate his strengths when modern NBA offenses revolve around the perimeter.

Where Will Faye Be Drafted?

The 2025 NBA Draft is still two months away, scheduled to begin on June 25, but the early entrants have already piled up. As always, the focus of the upcoming draft class rests largely upon the highly-touted prospects. This year, that leaves Duke forward Cooper Flagg, Rutgers guard Dylan Harper, and Rutgers forward Ace Bailey in scouts crosshairs, as they’re the players most frequently mentioned as potential stars.

All of that being said, the NBA now has a distinct cosmopolitan flavor. Gone are the days when U.S.-born players were assumed to have better career projections. In fact, the last two No. 1 picks have been international prospects. 2023 No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama is French center with Congolese heritage. 2024 No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher is a French national who was born in Spain.

A number of other international prospects have been lottery picks in this decade, including: Nigerian-American center Onyeka Okongwu; Israeli forward Deni Avdija; Congolese forward Jonathan Kuminga; Haitian-Canadian wing Bennedict Mathurin; Australian guard Dyson Daniels.

However, many will be drafted far outside of the top-14. This was the reality for players like Haitian-Malian-Belgian forward Toumani Camara and Swiss-Serbian-Greek big man Tristan Vukcevic. It’s also what a prospect like Faye can expect.