Meet Mohamed Wague: Jazz Newcomer Who Couldn't Dunk at 16

At 16 years old, Mohamed Wague had a problem most teenagers would probably love to have.

He was 6-foot-6. And everyone at the basketball courts in New York City seemed to expect him to know how to dunk.

He couldn't.

A decade later, Wague stands 6-foot-10, has played college basketball at four different schools, represented Mali internationally and now has a contract with the Utah Jazz.

Not bad for someone who initially knew next to nothing about the sport.

Utah signed Wague on Thursday amid a growing need for frontcourt depth following Jusuf Nurkić's toe injury. The 26-year-old arrives on a reported Exhibit 10 contract, with a possible stint with the Salt Lake City Stars next on his basketball journey.

But his path to this point began with something more personal than basketball.

Wague was born in New York, though he spent much of his childhood in Mali, where his family is from. He returned to the United States as a teenager to renew his passport and wasn't particularly interested in going back to school in West Africa.

He needed a reason to stay.

Basketball became that reason.

In a first-person account published by Oklahoma Athletics, Wague recalled learning the game in New York City parks, where other kids questioned why someone his height couldn't dunk.

His early basketball knowledge was pretty limited. Run the floor, block a few shots … figure out everything else along the way.

There was also the matter of learning English, something Wague improved through conversations with the people he met playing basketball.

By 2019, Wague had helped Frederick Douglass Academy capture the New York City public school championship. He later finished his prep career at Scotland Campus in Pennsylvania before taking his talents to Harcum College.

Wague averaged 14.8 points, 11.9 rebounds and 2.9 blocks during the 2021-22 season, collecting 417 rebounds and earning NJCAA Division I First Team All-American honors.

West Virginia came next. Then Alabama, where he appeared in 33 games during the Crimson Tide's 2024 Final Four run.

Oklahoma was his fourth collegiate stop, and it ultimately gave him his largest role.

Wague averaged 11.5 minutes per game during his first season in Norman, though he earned four starts down the stretch. His second season was a different story.

He started all 37 games in 2025-26, averaging 6.9 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks while shooting 60 percent from the field.

Somewhere along the way, basketball also brought him back to Africa.

Wague represented Mali at the 2025 FIBA AfroBasket, appearing in five games as his country reached the championship game for the first time and captured a silver medal.

Wague previously wrote about missing his sister's wedding in Mali while pursuing basketball in the United States. He's also expressed interest in helping younger athletes find opportunities of their own.

Now, after going undrafted in June, he's getting an opportunity with Utah.

An Exhibit 10 contract guarantees neither a permanent roster spot nor meaningful NBA minutes. Wague still has plenty to prove, especially at 26.

But consider where all of this started.

At 16, basketball gave Wague a reason to stay in the United States.

At 26, he's hoping to give the Jazz a reason to keep him.