After being moved across four NBA teams in five days in February 2025, Sidy Cissoko later became a starter for the Portland Trail Blazers and helped deliver an NBA Cup win.
The Story
In February 2025, Portland Trail Blazers forward Sidy Cissoko went from uncertainty about his NBA future to a path in Portland after a rapid sequence of moves left him looking for the next chance—one he ultimately found with the Blazers on a two-way contract.
The timeline began on February 3, 2025, when Cissoko was caught in a whirlwind of transactions. Across just five days, the 6-foot-6 shooting guard was associated with four different franchises, including being traded to the Sacramento Kings from the San Antonio Spurs, traded again to the Washington Wizards, and then waived after arriving in Washington before he could make his mark there.
Cissoko’s two-way opportunity with Portland followed quickly. Ten days after signing that two-way contract on February 18, 2025, he described how difficult the preceding stretch had been, saying, “It was a tough two weeks for me. I’m lucky I got a two-way. It could be way worse.”
Before the 2025 trade run, Cissoko’s route to the NBA had already included multiple transitions. He moved at age 13 from Saint-Maurice, near Paris, to Vitoria-Gasteiz in Spain to play youth basketball for Baskonia, later representing his country at different youth levels.
Cissoko’s development led to a spot for Team World at the 2022 Nike Hoop Summit, which was hosted at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. He later joined NBA G League Ignite and, after one season, declared for the 2023 NBA Draft.
In the 2023 NBA Draft, the San Antonio Spurs selected Cissoko 44th overall. His NBA start included an ankle injury that required surgery, and he spent much of his early time with San Antonio’s G League affiliate, the Austin Spurs, playing 29 regular-season games across one and a half seasons with his parent club.
In an interview after those early struggles, Cissoko described how injuries and the adjustment period affected his mental health, saying, “When I was injured, I fell a bit into depression. It was difficult.”
Nearly two years after the early-2025 shakeup, Cissoko was a starter for the Trail Blazers during their surge, helping engineer an NBA Cup win as Portland stood at 9-3. Reflecting on his mindset, Cissoko previously told reporters in December 2025, “If I can die on the court, I will die on the court,” framing his approach to setbacks as part of the work of staying ready for his opportunity.
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