Khalifa Koumadje

Khalifa Koumadje (born Jean Marc Christ Koumadje,^[1] July 7, 1996) is a Chadian professional basketball player for the Shandong Hi-Speed Kirin of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).

Khalifa Koumadje

Koumadje with Alba Berlin in May 2022
No. 21 – Shandong Hi-Speed Kirin
Position	Center
League	CBA
Personal information
Born	(1996-07-07) July 7, 1996 (age 29) N'Djamena, Chad
Listed height	7 ft 3 in (2.21 m)
Listed weight	269 lb (122 kg)
Career information
High school	Montverde Academy (Montverde, Florida)
College	Florida State (2015–2019)
NBA draft	2019: undrafted
Playing career	2019–present
Career history
2019–2020	Delaware Blue Coats
2020	Movistar Estudiantes
2020–2021	Avtodor
2021–2024	Alba Berlin
2024–present	Shandong Hi-Speed Kirin
Career highlights
2× German League champion (2021, 2022) German Cup winner (2022) NBA G League Defensive Player of the Year (2020) NBA G League All-Defensive Team (2020)
Stats at Basketball Reference

Early life

Born in N'Djamena, Chad, Koumadje first picked up a basketball when he was 15, after previously playing soccer before he lost his speed because of his growth spurts. When he was 16, in 2013, his mother relocated 3,000 km to Senegal due to the political unrest in Chad. In Senegal, Koumadje met basketball recruiter Ibrahima N’Diaye, the brother of former NBA player Mamadou N'Diaye, who approached him to work out at the Flying Star Academy in Dakar. Six months later, Koumadje received the opportunity to receive a basketball scholarship in the United States.^[2]

Koumadje played high school basketball at the Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida, where he was teammates with Ben Simmons.^[3]

College career

Koumadje played college basketball at Florida State. During his senior season at FSU, Koumadje averaged 6.6 points per game, 5.6 rebounds per game, 1.4 blocks per game, and 15.5 minutes played per game.^[4]

Professional career

Delaware Blue Coats (2019–2020)

After going undrafted in the 2019 NBA draft, he signed with the Philadelphia 76ers.^[5] He was cut during training camp and was added to the training camp roster^[6] and opening night roster^[7] of the Delaware Blue Coats, the NBA G League affiliate of the 76ers. Koumadje had 19 points, 10 rebounds, and five blocks in a 114–107 win against the Raptors 905 on December 14.^[8] On January 4, 2020, Koumadje recorded a triple-double in a 111–88 win over the Long Island Nets, posting 12 points, 16 rebounds and a franchise-record 12 blocks.^[9][10] In the last 10 games of the shortened 2019–20 G League season, Koumadje averaged 11.8 points, 12.8 rebounds, and 5.8 blocks per game, shooting 66% from the field.^[11] He was named NBA G League Defensive Player of the Year.^[12]

Movistar Estudiantes (2020)

On September 21, 2020, Movistar Estudiantes announced that they had signed Koumadje.^[13]

Avtodor Saratov (2020–2021)

On December 20, 2020, he signed with Avtodor of the VTB United League.^[14]

Alba Berlin (2021–2024)

On February 25, 2021, Alba Berlin of the German Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) and EuroLeague announced that they had signed with Koumadje until the end of 2022–23 season.^[15] In his first EuroLeague season, he averaged 5.9 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.^[2]

On July 26, 2023, he renewed his contract with the German club through 2026.

Shandong Hi-Speed Kirin (2024–present)

In November 2024, Koumadje joined the Shandong Hi-Speed Kirin of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).^[16]

Career statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	PIR	Performance index rating
Bold	Career high

EuroLeague

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG	PIR
2020–21	Alba Berlin	4	1	11.8	.700	—	.000	3.3	.3	—	1.0	3.5	4.0
2021–22		21	4	12.4	.704	—	.658	4.3	.0	.1	.6	6.0	8.7
2022–23		31	17	13.2	.707	—	.537	3.8	.2	.3	.6	4.0	5.9
2023–24		28	11	16.6	.627	—	.682	5.4	.3	.4	.9	5.6	9.0
Career		84	33	14.1	.679	—	.611	4.4	.2	.3	.9	5.8	8.2

Domestic leagues

Year	Team	League	GP	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2019–20	Delaware Blue Coats	G League	33	26.4	.635	—	.679	11.0	.8	.6	4.1	11.3
2020–21	Estudiantes	ACB	6	4.9	.600	—	.250	1.0	—	—	.3	1.2
2020–21	Avtodor Saratov	VTBUL	5	5.8	.429	—	—	1.2	—	.2	—	1.2
2020–21	Alba Berlin	BBL	20	11.6	.771	—	.621	3.7	.3	.3	.9	4.6
2021–22	Alba Berlin	BBL	34	12.1	.744	—	.638	4.5	.3	.1	.9	6.2
2022–23	Alba Berlin	BBL	29	12.9	.655	—	.632	4.2	.3	.1	.8	6.3
2023–24	Alba Berlin	BBL	32	14.4	.800	—	.567	5.2	.4	.2	.7	5.6

College

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2015–16	Florida State	26	1	6.1	.481	—	.412	1.5	.0	—	.7	1.3
2016–17	Florida State	35	0	10.1	.654	.000	.480	1.9	.1	.2	1.1	3.4
2017–18	Florida State	24	21	16.0	.626	—	.583	4.1	.1	.1	1.5	6.5
2018–19	Florida State	37	37	15.5	.627	.000	.582	5.6	.2	.2	1.4	6.6
Career		122	59	12.1	.622	.000	.541	3.3	.1	.1	1.2	4.5

Personal life

In October 2023, Koumadje changed his first name to Khalifa, a name he was known by throughout his life.^[17]