Skal Labissière

Skal Labissière (French: [labisjɛʁ];[1] born March 18, 1996) is a Haitian professional basketball player who last played for the Capitanes de Ciudad de México of the NBA G League. He graduated from Lausanne Collegiate School in Memphis, Tennessee,[2] before playing one season of college basketball for Kentucky. Labissière has also played for the Sacramento Kings and Portland Trail Blazers.

Skal Labissière
Labissière in 2019
Free agent
PositionPower forward / center
Personal information
Born (1996-03-18) March 18, 1996
Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Listed height6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
High school
CollegeKentucky (2015–2016)
NBA draft2016: 1st round, 28th overall pick
Selected by the Phoenix Suns
Playing career2016–present
Career history
2016–2019Sacramento Kings
2016–2017→Reno Bighorns
2019–2020Portland Trail Blazers
2021Westchester Knicks
2022Cangrejeros de Santurce
2023Capitanes de Ciudad de México
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com

Early years

Labissière was born in Port-au-Prince in 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).[2] During the 2010 Haiti earthquake, his family's home collapsed with Labissière, his mother and his brother inside. All three survived but remained trapped under debris for three hours. His legs were pinned, causing them to go numb, and Labissière was unable to walk for a few weeks after. A few months following the earthquake, Labissière moved to Memphis, Tennessee, to live with Gerald Hamilton, who ran the Reach Your Dream Foundation that brings international athletes to the United States as young prospects.[3][4][5]

High school career

Labissière attended Evangelical Christian School in Memphis and started to play varsity basketball as an eighth-grader.[3] 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.[3] In 2014, he left the school his senior year and enrolled at Lausanne Collegiate School, also located in Memphis,[6] but because of the move he was ruled by TSSAA as ineligible to play basketball at Lausanne for the season. Instead, Labissière played for Hamilton's Reach Your Dream Prep Academy team, where he averaged 26 points, 12 rebounds and 4.5 blocks per game.[7][8][9][10]

"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[11]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
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 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:5/5 stars   Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports:5/5 stars    ESPN:5/5 stars   ESPN grade: 96
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:

  • "Kentucky 2015 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  • "2015 Kentucky Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  • "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  • "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 2, 2015.

College career
Labissière playing for Kentucky

Labissière was rated as a five-star recruit, and was considered among the best players in his class.[12][13] He committed to the University of Kentucky (UK) to play college basketball.[14][15][16] UK's coach, John Calipari, offered Labissière a scholarship before any other 2015 prospect, comparing him to Anthony Davis.[10] At the start of the season, he was considered a potential number 1 draft pick for the 2016 NBA draft.[17] 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.[18]

On April 5, 2016, Labissière declared for the NBA draft, forgoing his final three years of college eligibility.[19]

Professional career

Sacramento Kings (2016–2019)

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 overall in 2001). His rights were later traded to the Sacramento Kings on draft night,[20] and on July 15, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Kings.[21] Labissière made his NBA debut on November 5, 2016, recording eight points and three rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench in a 117–91 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.[22] On February 23, 2017, in just his ninth game of the season, Labissière had a season-high 12 points in a 116–100 win over the Denver Nuggets.[23] On March 1, 2017, in his first career start, Labissière had 10 points and five rebounds in 15 minutes in a 109–100 loss to the Brooklyn Nets.[24] On March 15, 2017, he scored 21 of his career-high 32 points in the fourth quarter of the Kings' 107–101 win over Phoenix, becoming the first rookie from the 2016 draft class to score at least 30.[25] He also had 11 rebounds to record his first career double-double.[26] He became the youngest Kings player to record a 30–10 game and the fourth Kings player to do it as a reserves since the 1984–85 season.[27] His points total was the highest for a Kings first-year player since teammate Ben McLemore scored 31 in 2013–14. Labissière became only the 41st player in NBA history to score at least 32 points while age 20 or younger—the only other player to achieve this feat in franchise history is Tyreke Evans.[25] During his rookie season, he had multiple assignments with the Reno Bighorns of the NBA Development League.[28]

On December 5, 2017, Labissière was assigned to the Reno Bighorns.[29] He was recalled by the Kings four days later.[30] On January 2, 2018, Labissière recorded 17 points and a career-best 15 rebounds in a 131–111 loss to the Charlotte Hornets.[31] On January 22, 2018, he scored a season-high 23 points in a 112–107 loss to Charlotte.[32]

Portland Trail Blazers (2019–2020)

On February 7, 2019, Labissière was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers for Caleb Swanigan.[33] On April 10, Labissière started the season finale for Portland as the team was resting its rotation players for the playoffs. In 40 minutes of action, Labissière had 29 points and 15 rebounds, helping the Blazers overcome a 28-point deficit in a 136–131 win.

On February 6, 2020, Labissière and cash considerations were traded to the Atlanta Hawks for a future protected second-round draft pick.[34] At the end of the season, Labissière did not re-sign with Atlanta, and became a free agent.[35]

Westchester Knicks (2021)

On December 9, 2020, Labissière signed with the New York Knicks.[36] He was waived two days later.[37][38] He was then added to the Knicks’ NBA G League affiliate, the Westchester Knicks. He made his Westchester debut on February 10, 2021.

Cangrejeros de Santurce (2022)

Labissière joined the San Antonio Spurs for the 2021 NBA Summer League.[39]

On March 10, 2022, Labissière signed with Cangrejeros de Santurce of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional.[40]

Capitanes de Ciudad de México (2023)

On March 3, 2023, Labissière was acquired by the Capitanes de Ciudad de México.[41]

On April 26, 2023, Labissière signed with Grises de Humacao of the Puerto Rican league,[42] but didn't play for them. On September 8, he signed with the Sacramento Kings and was waived the same day.[43]

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  Bold  Career high

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17 Sacramento 331218.5.537.375.7034.9.8.5.48.8
2017–18 Sacramento 602820.7.448.353.8054.81.2.4.88.7
2018–19 Sacramento 1308.7.433.364.5451.8.5.2.22.8
Portland 917.0.6841.000.5002.1.6.3.33.4
2019–20 Portland 33117.2.551.231.7585.11.3.2.95.8
Career 1484217.5.492.353.7484.51.0.4.77.2

Playoffs
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2019 Portland 303.7.250.000.000.0.0.0.0.7
Career 303.7.250.000.000.0.0.0.0.7

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2015–16 Kentucky 361815.8.516.000.6613.1.3.31.66.6

References
  1. Press, ed. (November 8, 2017). "Pop Quiz! How do you pronounce: L-A-B-I-S-S-I-E-R-E ?". NBC Sports. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  2. "Skal Labissière, draft #1 NBA 100 % haïtien". LeNouvelliste.com (in French). April 20, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  3. Remsberg, Matt (January 14, 2012). "Rise Above: Skal Labissiere". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
  4. Roberts, Ben (January 31, 2013). "Kentucky target Labissiere a walking, shooting 'miracle'". Kentucky.com. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  5. Parrish, Gary (July 19, 2012). "After surviving Haiti's quake, Labissiere out to make most of his second chance". CBSSports.com. Archived from the original on April 14, 2016. Retrieved August 22, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  6. Smith, Jason (August 22, 2014). "Skal Labissiere enrolls at Lausanne, but apparently won't play basketball, AD says". CommercialAppeal.com. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
  7. Jones, Steve (January 11, 2015). "UK signee Labissiere improves on losing team". Courier-Journal.com. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  8. Norlander, Matt (October 28, 2014). "The strange high school setup for five-star prospect Skal Labissiere". CBSSports.com. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  9. 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.
  10. Jones, Steve (May 21, 2015). "2015 Super Five - Skal Labissiere". Courier-Journal.com. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  11. Bossi, Eric (April 22, 2015). "Labissiere's unlikely journey to No. 1". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  12. "Skal Labissiere - Rivals.com". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  13. "Skal Labissiere - Basketball Recruiting - Player Profile". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  14. Cohen, Michael (November 13, 2014). "Skal Labissiere picks Kentucky over Memphis, other finalists". CommercialAppeal.com. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  15. Cohen, Michael (November 14, 2014). "Skal Labissiere signs with Kentucky, praises guardians". CommercialAppeal.com. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  16. Borzello, Jeff (November 14, 2014). "Kentucky gains 2015's top class". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  17. 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.
  18. "Skal Labissiere College Stats". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  19. Vecenie, Sam (April 5, 2016). "NBA Draft 2016: Freshman Skal Labissiere is a boom or bust prospect". CBSSports.com. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  20. "Kings Announce Draft-Night Trade". NBA.com. June 23, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  21. "Kings Sign Papagiannis, Richardson and Labissiere". NBA.com. July 15, 2016. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
  22. "Kings vs. Bucks – Box Score". ESPN.com. November 5, 2016. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  23. "Cauley-Stein scores 29, Kings beat Nuggets 116-100". ESPN.com. February 23, 2017. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  24. "Nets end 16-game skid with 109-100 road win over Kings". ESPN.com. March 1, 2017. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  25. Khan, Shahbaz (March 15, 2017). "Labissiere's Career Night". NBA.com. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
  26. Tagle, Benedict (March 15, 2017). "Labissiere, Kings Outshine Suns in Phoenix". NBA.com. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
  27. Khan, Shahbaz (March 17, 2017). "Career Night Puts Rookie in Rare Company". NBA.com. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
  28. "All-Time NBA Assignments". NBA.com. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  29. "Kings' Skal Labissiere: Assigned to G-League". cbssports.com. December 5, 2017. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
  30. "Kings' Skal Labissiere: Back from Reno". cbssports.com. December 9, 2017. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
  31. "Howard, Walker help Hornets pull away and beat Kings 131-111". ESPN.com. January 2, 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  32. "Walker, Lamb lead Hornets past Kings 112-107". ESPN.com. January 22, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
  33. "Trail Blazers Acquire Skal Labissière". NBA.com. February 7, 2019. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  34. "Trail Blazers Complete Trade with Atlanta Hawks". NBA.com. February 6, 2020.
  35. Spencer, Sarah K. (November 19, 2020). "Bembry, Labissiere among four Hawks becoming free agents". ajc.com. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  36. "Knicks Sign Skal Labissière". NBA.com. December 9, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  37. @NY_KnicksPR (December 11, 2020). "New York Knicks announced today that the team has waived center/forward Skal Labissière" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  38. Martin, Colin (December 11, 2020). "Knicks waive C/F Skal Labissiere, roster now at 19 players". sports.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on May 3, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  39. "San Antonio Spurs 2021 MGM Resorts NBA Summer League Roster". NBA.com. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
  40. Skerletic, Dario (March 10, 2022). "Skal Labissiere joins Cangrejeros de Santurce". Sportando.basketball. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  41. "2022-23 NBA G League Transactions". gleague.nba.com. March 3, 2023. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  42. La Guerra del BSN [@LaGuerraBSN] (April 26, 2023). "OFICIAL: El centro Skal Labissiere es el nuevo refuerzo de los Grises de Humacao en sustitución de Thomas Robinson" (Tweet) (in Spanish). Retrieved June 9, 2023 – via Twitter.
  43. Smith, Keith [@KeithSmithNBA] (September 9, 2023). "The Sacramento Kings have waived Skal Labissiere, as part of a process to get Labissiere to the Stockton Kings of the G League. This sign-and-waive plan for Sacramento and Labissiere was first reported by @James_HamNBA" (Tweet). Retrieved September 9, 2023 – via Twitter.
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