Charles Bediako suffered torn MCL, cut by San Antonio Spurs

Charles Bediako will be away from the hardwood for a while. On Friday, TNT NBA insider Chris Haynes provided details on the former Alabama standout’s situation.

“Former San Antonio Spurs center Charles Bediako suffered a torn left MCL and will miss 6-8 weeks, per his agent Daniel Green,” Haynes wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “In a related move the Spurs waived Bediako from his Two-Way contract today.”

The injury is only another setback for Bediako. The 7-foot center went undrafted in the 2023 NBA Draft. However, Bediako refused to give up, playing with the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Summer League. Bediako’s relentless attitude paid dividends.

After Bediako wowed the Spurs’ front office with his Summer League campaign, the organization signed him on October 2, 2023. Only three weeks later, Bediako’s deal was converted to a two-way contract. Now, out with an injury, Bediako will be forced to start from scratch.

Bediako appeared in 11 games with the Austin Spurs this season, averaging 7.7 points and 6.9
rebounds in 19.0 minutes. He did not appear in any NBA games for San Antonio.

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Bediako played two seasons at Alabama. In his sophomore campaign, Bediako averaged 6.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 1.8 blocks per game while boosting the Crimson Tide to win the SEC Tournament Championship.

Bediako finished No. 22 in the country in total blocks (67) and No. 36 in blocks per game (1.81). In his freshman season, Bediako averaged 6.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game while shooting a team-high 69.2% from the field.

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.

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.

While Bediako couldn’t make the cut for the Spurs, he’ll undoubtedly be on plenty of other NBA teams’ radars. With a 7-foot-2 wingspan and the ability to run the floor at the power forward and center positions, Bediako is a prototype big man.

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.