Toumani Camara

Toumani Camara (born 8 May 2000) is a Belgian professional basketball player for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Raised in Belgium, he moved to the United States to attend Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory School in Hollywood, Florida. Camara started his college basketball career with the Georgia Bulldogs and then transferred to the Dayton Flyers after his sophomore season. He was selected in the 2023 NBA draft by the Phoenix Suns and traded to the Trail Blazers before the start of his rookie season.

Early life
Camara was raised in Brussels, Belgium. His mother, Anne Le Docte, is of Belgian and Haitian origin while his father is from Mali. Camara and his older brother were raised solely by Le Docte since he was five years old. He had a sister who died from a lung ailment when she was three months old. Camara has four butterflies tattooed on his right leg to pay tribute to his family: his mother, his brother, his sister and himself.

Camara first started playing basketball after being influenced by his brother. A local basketball court was occupied by soccer players throughout the day and Camara would have to wait until nighttime to play. His first exposure to American basketball was the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament which was broadcast on Belgian television. Camara stayed awake into early mornings when he found a website that broadcast live NBA games and became a fan of Dwyane Wade while he watched him win a championship with the Miami Heat.

Camara developed into a promising player and played for the Belgium national team that competed in the 2016 FIBA U16 European Championship Division B. His Belgian coach had a friend who coached in Weston, Florida, and agreed to help Camara find a school in the United States. Camara moved to the United States at the age of 16 to attend Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory School in Hollywood, Florida.

High school career
Camara played at Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory School where he averaged a double-double in his junior and senior seasons. He was recruited by more than 30 NCAA Division I schools. Camara toured the University of Dayton and Kansas State University but committed to the University of Georgia to play for the Bulldogs on 1 October 2018.

College career
Camara averaged 6.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per game during his freshman season with the Bulldogs. During his freshman season, he was teammates with future #1 pick of the 2020 NBA draft, Anthony Edwards. He was mentioned as a possible NBA prospect before the start of his sophomore season but his stock fell. Camara finished his sophomore season with averages of 12.8 points and a team-best 7.7 rebounds per game. On 1 April 2021, Camara announced that he was entering the transfer portal; he stated that he felt like he would be able to develop more while playing for a different team.

On 8 April 2021, Camara committed to play for Dayton Flyers. He averaged 10.9 points and 6.9 rebounds during the 2021–22 season, earning him a nomination to the All-Atlantic 10 Conference third team. Camara declared for the 2022 NBA draft but withdrew after testing the process. He was appointed as the Flyers' team captain for the 2022–23 season and was the only fourth-year player on the roster. Camara averaged 13.9 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. He was selected to the All-Atlantic 10 first team and the all-defensive team.

On 25 April 2023, Camara announced that he had declared for the 2023 NBA draft to forgo his final season of collegiate eligibility. He was invited to participate at the NBA Draft Combine.

Portland Trail Blazers (2023–present)
Camara was drafted by the Phoenix Suns as the 52nd pick of the 2023 NBA draft. Camara signed a four-year rookie scaled contract on 3 July 2023.

On 27 September 2023, Camara, alongside Jrue Holiday, Deandre Ayton and a 2029 first-round draft pick was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers as part of a three-team deal that sent Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks and Grayson Allen, Jusuf Nurkić, Nassir Little and Keon Johnson to the Phoenix Suns. He made his Blazers debut on 25 October in a game against the Los Angeles Clippers where he recorded seven points, one assist and two rebounds.

National team career
Camara was selected to represent Belgium on the youth level, at the 2016 FIBA U16 European Championship Division B. During the tournament with the Belgium U16 national team, he finished with averages of 2.4 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.