Charles Bediako signs one-year deal with San Antonio Spurs
After going undrafted Thursday evening, former Alabama big man Charles Bediako found his NBA home. According to NBA insider Chris Haynes, the San Antonio Spurs have signed the Crimson Tide center to a one-year deal. Here was his report, which he posted to twitter on Friday morning:
“Undrafted center Charles Bediako out of Alabama agrees to a one-year deal with the San Antonio Spurs, his agent Daniel Green of @greensportsmgmt tells @NBAonTNT, @BleacherReport.”
The Alabama sophomore averaged 6.4 points and 6.0 rebounds per game in the 2022-2023 season while shooting 65.4% from the field. Bediako only shot seven 3-pointers in his collegiate career, missing all attempts.
Despite the lack of offense on the perimeter, Bediako can anchor a paint. The 7-foot center was named to the 2023 SEC All-Defensive Team. Additionally, Bediako was selected for the SEC All-Tournament Team after guiding the Crimson Tide to a blowout 82-63 win over Texas A&M in the SEC Championship.
Bediako was a four-star recruit and the No. 36 player in the Class of 2021, according to On3 Industry Rankings. As an IMG Academy product, Bediako was listed as the No. 6 player in his class from Florida.
With a 7-foot-2 wingspan and the ability to run the floor at the power forward and center positions, Bediako has long been on NBA teams’ radars. Bediako competed for Team Canada at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup, averaging 8.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game while scoring in double figures in four of his final five contests.
In his senior year at IMG Academy, Bediako averaged 13.2 points and 12.7 rebounds per game. The Canadian big man chose Alabama over Duke, Texas, Ohio State, Michigan and Baylor, among many others.
What NBA Draft experts are saying about Charles Bediako
Experts expect Bediako to find a role on an NBA team, but not reach the same levels of success he found in college and high school.
“On the offensive end, he has good hands and touch and finishes well around the rim. He uses his length well and is great in transition. Bediako is still limited offensively in half court sets as he doesn’t do much outside the paint,” according to Sports Illustrated.
“He doesn’t attempt 3-pointers and hasn’t proven to have an effective jump shot at all. He’s also the worst free throw shooter in this class, which isn’t promising for shot development upside. Bediako simply projects to be more of the rim running backup big type of player with good paint protection ability.”