His mom, Mam explained, could not read, but learned to speak French. For him, she is a lioness because of how she fought through life to protect her own family.
"I owe my mom really a lot. The way we grew up, it was very hard but my parents always did the best possible for us. I feel like we are all human beings, and we all want happiness, but we don't all start from the same point," he continued. "But my mom always found a way to make us feel that all is good and that is the biggest win and the biggest point she made. I don't know how she managed to do it."
Those lessons that he learned at home he has applied to his day-to-day life today as a man and a basketball player.
"Maybe you are gonna take more time, maybe less, depending on how you are going to find a way, but you can adapt to any situation. And for me, my parents are a very good example of it," Jaiteh added.
His family cherished African customs, traditions and cuisine, while raising their children to also embrace everything French because it is the place where they lived.
"I was the first of my family to face the mix of my parents' culture, and my own, one foot of African culture and one of French culture," he explained. "That is how I define myself. I think I understand both and I think it gives me something different."
This past summer, Mam got a chance for the first time in 15 years to go back to Gambia and Senegal, to spend some time visiting his extended family, cousins and his uncle. He spent most of his time in Brikama, one of the country's largest cities, but also had a chance to see some of the villages and the harsh reality of life there.
"Some of the poorest parts, no electricity, no water. Food was there, actually, but even sleeping was hard. For me, it was a big teaching point in life," he said.
The reality might have hit Jaiteh the hardest when he returned home to France: "The first day after coming back from Africa, I was saying 'wow' to everything because it makes you realize how much comfort you have, and how many things you have."
The trip, Mam explained, motivated him and, of course, made him even more thankful for all the good and bad that life has given him. That certainly includes basketball, where he's had his share of downs, but his perseverance and ability to find the strength to keep going cycles back to his family.
"I always learned from my parents to observe and try to never give up. Those two things are maybe the big key. The third one is belief in God. The mix of these three is what always upholds me even in the tough situations."
He also learned from them that he does not always need to take the common road.
So, when he went through the disappointment of not getting drafted at age 22, which was supposed to be a sure thing, and then dealt with the constant discussions of whether he was meeting the lofty expectations set in front of him, he took an uncommon road.
