Thierry Darlan

Thierry Serge Darlan (born 3 February 2004) is a Central African professional basketball player who last played for Bangui Sporting Club of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). He is a graduate of the NBA Academy Africa in Senegal. Darlan also plays for the Central African Republic national team.

Early career
Born in Bangui, Darlan joined the NBA Academy Africa in Senegal at age 16.

Darlan was invited to the Nike Hoop Summit in Portland in 2022, but was forced to miss the game due to an injury. In September 2022, he played at the Basketball Without Borders event in Cairo where was named the camp's MVP.

First experiences in the BAL (2022)
Darlan made his professional debut in 2022 with Angolan club Petro de Luanda in the Basketball Africa League (BAL). Under the BAL Elevate program, he was assigned to Petro. He was on the roster that made it to the 2022 BAL Finals, where they lost to US Monastir. He averaged 4.3 points and 2 rebounds in the 2022 BAL season.

In the same year, in November 2022, Darlan and the NBA Academy played in the Road to BAL 2023 where they faced professional teams from across the continent. He averaged a team-high 23 points per game, as well as 5.7 assists per game, helping the academy win two out of three games.

NBA G League Ignite (2023–2024)
On 2 March 2023, Darlan committed to the NBA G League Ignite, choosing to become a professional player instead of playing in college. He had drawn offers from Arizona, Kansas and Santa Clara, among others. On 25 May, he officially signed with the Ignite. Dealing with an ankle injury for the majority of the season and facing heavy competition for playing time, Darlan averaged 4.7 points, 4.3 rebounds in 18.1 minutes of play in the 2023–24 season.

Bangui Sporting Club (2024–present)
On 4 April 2024, Bangui Sporting Club from the Central African Republic revealed Darlan was on the team's roster for the 2024 BAL season. Darlan scored 7 points on 3-11 shooting in his Bangui debut against Al-Ahly Ly. He had career-highs of 23 points and 14 rebounds in a loss against defending champions Al Ahly.

On 25 April 2024, Darlan declared for the 2024 NBA draft.

National team career
Darlan made his debut for the Central African Republic senior national team in 2022 during the 2023 World Cup qualifiers, in which he averaged 12.7 points in three games. He made his debut at age 18 in July 2022 during the third round of the qualifiers, scoring 12 points in the game against Guinea.

Player profile
Darlan is a 6ft 6in tall combo guard with a 7ft 1in wingspan and is known for his playmaking abilities and defensive versatility because of his large frame.

Personal life
Darlan is the grandson of Jean Pascal Darlan and the cousin of Bruno Darlan (b. 1961), who both were basketball players. Bruno was the head coach of the Central African Republic men's national basketball team when Thierry played with them.

Darlan is a fan of association football club FC Barcelona and Lionel Messi.