Siriman Kanouté

Siriman Kanouté (born 25 September 2001) is a Malian professional basketball player. He has starred for the Malian national junior teams on several occasions and trains with French club SLUC Nancy Basket.

Early life and career
Kanouté grew up playing both football and basketball. He learned how to play basketball from his father, a former player, and soon began playing the sport for the club AS Real Bamako. In 2018, Kanouté signed a four-year contract with SLUC Nancy Basket in France.

Professional career
On 23 April 2021, Kanouté made his professional debut for SLUC Nancy, as he recorded 2 minutes in a LNB Pro B game against Saint-Chamond Basket. Over the 2020–21 season, he played in a total of 33 minutes in which he had 9 points and 8 assists.

Junior teams
Kanouté made his national team debut with the Malian under-16 team at the 2017 FIBA Under-16 African Championship in Vacoas-Phoenix, Mauritius. On 15 July 2017, he recorded a career-high 50 points and 11 steals in a 165–23 victory over Mauritius. Kanouté averaged a tournament-high 24.8 points, 4.5 steals, and 4.2 assists per game, leading Mali to their first gold medal at the tournament and earning most valuable player (MVP) honors. He joined Mali at the 2018 FIBA Under-17 World Cup in Argentina. On 30 June 2018, Kanouté recorded 37 points, tied for fourth-most in a game in tournament history, six rebounds, and five assists in an 89–77 loss to Serbia. He averaged a tournament-high 24.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 3.9 steals per game.

Kanouté played for the Malian national under-18 team at the 2018 FIBA Under-18 African Championship in Bamako. He averaged a team-high 14.3 points, 5.4 assists, and 4.4 rebounds per game, leading his team to its first gold medal at the tournament. Kanouté posted 10 points, six rebounds, and five assists against Senegal in the finals and was named tournament MVP. He later took part in the 2019 FIBA Under-19 World Cup in Heraklion, Greece. In seven games, Kanouté averaged 15.4 points, 5.1 assists, and 2.4 steals per game, helping Mali capture an unlikely silver medal, the best performance by an African team at the tournament. He was named to the All-Star Five with teammate Oumar Ballo.

Senior team
Kanouté was selected for the Mali senior team at age 19 to play at AfroBasket 2021. There, Kanouté led his country both in scoring and assists, with 14 points and 3.7 assists per game.

Personal life
Kanouté's father Séga Kanouté played basketball for AS Real Bamako and the Malian senior national team. Séga is a board member on the Mali Basketball Federation and coaches both the AS Real women's basketball team and Malian men's national junior teams.