The big man was seventh in the EuroLeague in rebounding as a rookie last season
Valencia replenishes frontline with Neal Sako
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Valencia Basket added a new face to its frontline by signing center Neal Sako to a two-year deal Thursday.
Sako (2.10 meters, 26 years old) made his EuroLeague debut last season with LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne with which he averaged 9.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 0.8 steals per game. He was second in the league in offensive rebounds with 2.7 per game and seventh in both two-point shooting (68.1%) and rebounds.
Sako started his career in the French capital with Paris-Levallois, where he played for the youth team before making his professional debut in the 2018-19 season. In 2020-21, he appeared in 13 EuroCup games with Boulogne Metropolitans, seeing limited action while helping the team reach the quarterfinals in that competition. Sako left Paris after that season, and spent a year with Chalons-Reims Basket, before joining Cholet in 2022.
In his two seasons with Cholet, Sako took a major step forward. He averaged 11.9 points on 72.6% two-point shooting and ranked third in the French League with 7.6 rebounds in 2023-24. Now he will look to remain at that high level as he heads to play abroad for the first time.