The Detroit Pistons have risen from the bottom of the NBA Eastern Conference in 2023-24 to top spot in the current season, coming off a win against the Los Angeles Lakers, and some credit can be given to their Senegalese G League assistant coach Assane Sène.
To attribute it all to former Virginia Cavaliers player Sène -- who arrived ahead of the 2023-24 season, initially as a video intern/player development coach -- would be ridiculous, obviously.
However, according to Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and in-form power forward Isaiah Stewart, Sène has played a role in shaping the organisation's culture, which has impacted their form on the court.
"I think it's quite rare [for African coaches to reach the level Sène has]. We do a program in the summer where we do bring over African coaches to help with Summer League, but for one to make it as a full-time coach is rare and I think it's a great feat for him and it's a great story that he has," Bickerstaff said.
"He started working with high school kids and then working his way up to make it to the NBA is a great story, but he deserves it. He works unbelievably hard. He's got a great personality; he cares about the guys that he works with. He's a high-level student of the game and he's a great teacher."
Explaining how Sène's contributions have helped the first team, Bickerstaff added: "We try to make sure that our systems mirror each other in every way. Our development staff is the same; the plays we run are the same and the defensive system is the same.
"We do a ton of collaborating [with the Motor City Cruise, Detroit's G League affiliate], but he spent a ton of time with us last year as a player development guy and he worked with our big guys last year - Isaiah Stewart, Jalen Duren - he spent a lot of time with them before this year, [which is] his first moving to the G League full-time."
Stewart sang Sène's praise, saying: "We worked quite a bit together. Obviously, he works with my position - power forwards and centers. I learned a lot of great stuff from him since he's been here with the Pistons. It's been great just to pick his brain.
"He has a lot of really great basketball knowledge, so that's just been great since he's been here - picking his brain. We've been getting better together every single year."
It all could have turned out very differently for Sène - who like most in Senegal grew up playing soccer before finding his way to basketball.
"I grew up in a small town in the north of Senegal. It's called Saint-Louis. I have four brothers and one sister. It's a big family and a very sporty, athletic kind of family," Sène told ESPN.
"Before I really got into basketball - every young kid in Senegal, they grow up playing soccer - so that's how I started. I played soccer first and judo. From there, the legs started getting a little longer, so soccer was not the perfect fit for me anymore.
"People started teasing me a little bit, [asking]: 'Why are you not playing basketball?' From there, I just started playing; taking it a little easy day-by-day, even though I was still playing soccer at the time and doing judo.
"For some reason, after that, I just fell in love with the game - and then from there, that's where everything started."
Sène credited Basketball Africa League (BAL) president Amadou Gallo Fall's SEED Academy for giving him his first major opportunity as a player in his mid-teens.
"It was a slow start, but the more I fell in love with the game; that's when opportunities started coming up. One of the biggest ones was SEED Academy... It's a boarding school in Thies, Senegal ran by Amadou Gallo Fall, who is the president of the BAL - NBA Africa's league.
"From SEED Academy, I moved to South Kent. I was at SEED Academy just for a year and a half. I can say that it prepared me for the transition to South Kent, because South Kent is a boarding school as well. SEED Academy kind of helped me with the training and everything that we were doing - basketball and education."
After high school in South Kent, Sène played for the Virginia Cavaliers for four seasons (2008-09 to 2011-12) and went on to play in the NBA D-League (now the G League) for the Cleveland Charge and the Texas Legends.
However, injury issues beginning with a fractured ankle at college cut short Sène's playing career and denied his NBA dream. Fortunately, he has kept it alive through coaching.
After attempting to keep his playing career alive in Sweden and Argentina, Sène eventually dedicated himself full-time to coaching and worked his way up from high school basketball to the Motor City Cruise.
After stints coaching at schools including South Kent and Darrow, Sène got his first breakthrough at an NBA franchise with the Pistons through his contacts at the University of Virginia.
"From connections in my networks, some of my people at UVA... I stay in touch with them and I remember I used to tell them what I really wanted and, if they saw any chances, opportunities or occasions, just to let me know," Sène recalled on how the Pistons opportunity came.
"One day; I remember I was recruiting. I was on the road and watching some AAU tournaments. Out of nowhere, I received a text saying: 'Hey; are you still interested? We know there is a team - the Detroit Pistons - looking for a big man coach. Are you available for that? Can you do it?'"
Sène had his doubts, but they were never going to stop him. "At the time, physically, I didn't know if I was able to do it. I hadn't played basketball for a couple of years. I didn't think twice. I was like: 'Yes; I can do it,'" he said.
"Right now; I'm in my dream. This is somewhere I always wanted to be. I'm here right now. This is not the end. I just want to be the best, so why not one day be a head coach in the NBA?
"I'm still dreaming and I don't want to wake up from the dream, but I just want to keep going up and up."
