Toumani Camara’s unlikely journey to becoming a rising defensive NBA star: ‘He embraced all of it’.
Part one of a two-part series on Portland Trail Blazers forward Toumani Camara’s rise from watching the NBA in the middle of the night as a young child in Brussels, Belgium to becoming a rising defensive star in the league.
Toumani Camara had prepared himself mentally and physically to make an impression during the Phoenix Suns’ 2023 training camp when his already improbable path to the NBA took a sudden and sharp turn.
The Suns had selected Camara out of Dayton late in the second round, an area of the draft where few success stories emerge. A solid showing during summer league, however, elevated Camara’s profile and fueled his confidence that he could find a role within the business side of the Suns’ star-studded rotation.
But in the Northwest, a summers-long melodrama between the Portland Trail Blazers and Damian Lillard had reached a conclusion. Ultimately, a series of trades sent Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks and brought Suns center Deandre Ayton to Portland.
Tossed into the deal upon the Blazers’ request was Camara, who saw the league’s business side in action as his future was altered by a standoff between a franchise and its superstar.
Next thing Camara knew, he was on a plane with Ayton heading to Portland. But really, what was one more stop on Camara’s unlikely ride to the NBA that began with humble beginnings in Brussels, Belgium?
So, he boarded a private jet with an enthusiastic Ayton and headed for Portland, hoping for the best.
“I was enthusiastic, too, because I’m still in the NBA,” Camara said. “But I was still shocked by the situation. There were definitely emotions going on at the same time.”
Unbeknownst to Camara then, the move north would prove beneficial to his career, set forth by his older brother more than 5,000 miles away from Rip City.
BASKETBALL BROTHERS
Camara’s basketball life began when Tidiane Camara introduced his younger brother to the game at age 6 in Belgium.
Their father had been gone a year, leaving Anne le Docte to raise her two sons alone. Tidiane took on the responsibility of looking after his little brother.
“At that time, I wanted to do everything like him” Camara said. “He was kind of like my father figure growing up. So I was just following his path.”
