The announcement is still not official. It will also be “neither confirmed nor denied” as confided by a source close to Levallois town hall. But the posters that have flourished on the entrance doors of the city’s Marcel-Cerdan sports center leave little room for doubt. This emblematic hall of Hauts-de-Seine – and of France – should be transformed this summer into a preparation center for the prestigious American basketball teams and welcome the biggest stars of the discipline, men and women, during the Paris Games.
According to our information, the players of 5×5 but also those of 3×3, whose competitions will follow one another in Paris, are in fact expected there between the end of July and mid-August for their daily training. Sessions which will be prohibited to the public. The place will also be heavily secured.
The posters on the front of the Marcel-Cerdan sports center in Levallois announce the future presence of American basketball players.
After a first round in the Pierre-Mauroy stadium in Villeneuve-d’Ascq, near Lille, the 5×5 Olympic tournament will head to the capital, and to the Bercy arena, for the final stages. Announced as favorites for the gold medal with a team of basketball extraterrestrials with LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Joel Embiid, the Americans should get through the group stages without any problems. Housed in a Parisian palace, they will come to rehearse their ranges between matches.
The Marcel-Cerdan Sports Palace is far from being an unknown land for American stars. The latter often come to train there during the summer, between two seasons. In recent years, Stephen Curry and others used to come at dawn. During the NBA Paris Game, the two teams also make Cerdan their training location. The quality of the parquet flooring, the tranquility of this room, whose entrances are easily controlled, provide the perfect conditions for the American Dream Team.
The room is also known for having been the lair of the Metropolitans of Victor Wembanyama and Bilal Coulibaly in 2022-2023. The two French players and their partners from the French men’s team will prepare for the final phase matches – in the event of qualification – at Insep, the school of champions of French sport located in the Bois de Vincennes.
