The Cleveland Cavaliers used the No. 58 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft on a player they had no intention of bringing over from Europe immediately.
And now that guy, Saliou Niang, just made first-of-its-kind basketball history in the EuroLeague.
Niang plays for Virtus Bologna out of Italy, and on Thursday, he had an incredible game as part of the second-best basketball competition in the world.
Taking on the team from Dubai, Niang put up 17 points and 17 rebounds.
He's the first non-big to ever have a 17-17 game in EuroLeague history.
Saliou Niang is the first non big man EVER to record a double double with 17+ pts and 17+ reb in Euroleague.
— Marco Pagliariccio (@loupaya) January 15, 2026
In the last 5 season only other 3 players did this: Walter Tavares (2), Nikola Milutinov and Johnathan Motley. Pic.twitter.com/0Ka51fEouy
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Niang is 21 years old and originally from Italy.
He measures 6-foot-6, a lanky and talented wing player.
Niang hasn't been putting up numbers this big most of the season, but a flash like this shows what he's capable of.
It'll be interesting to see where the Cavs go with him after this season. It seems like it'd make sense to at least get Niang to Summer League and go from there.
For now, they're likely watching with pride and intrigue in their draft pick.
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