Basketball: Brancou Badio is leading the way for Senegal in FIBA World Cup 2027 qualifiers

For club and country alike, Brancou Badio now pulls on the green jersey of a heavyweight of continental basketball.

Not the same shirt but the same prestige, whether during international windows with Senegal or the coming EuroLeague season with Panathinaikos Athens, after the point guard signed with the Greek team this summer.

The Rufisque native is coming off a historic season that definitively confirmed his potential. He contributed heavily to Valencia’s Spanish league title with 9.9 points, 2 assists and 2.1 rebounds in almost 20 minutes per game. His stat lines were even fuller in the EuroLeague, a competition he was discovering at the time: 10.9 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists on average to carry the Spanish club to its very first Final Four.

His output has been as efficient as his game can be spectacular, including in defence. He is no stranger to standout plays, even at the block, where his 1.91m height can do damage.

While Europe truly discovered him during that campaign, Africa has known his talent for almost a decade already. Badio has been a regular in the Senegal squad since he was 20, and one of its senior figures for almost as long.

He may have been developed at an academy in the Canary Islands, going on to pass through FC Barcelona, Frankfurt and Manresa, but his importance in the Lions of Teranga’s den is immense.