Wembanyama, Coulibaly, Sarr, Yabusele… Discovering the fourteen French people in the NBA

The two most experienced Frenchmen in the NBA Rudy Gobert (32 years old, 12th season, Minnesota Timberwolves) and Nicolas Batum (35 years old, 17th season, Los Angeles Clippers) can aim for the title. Voted best defender of the year for the 4th time and remaining within his statistical standards (14 points, 12.9 rebounds in the regular season, 12.1 points, 9.8 rebounds in the play-offs), Rudy Gobert had largely contributed to the magnificent spring for the Wolves, who returned to the Western Conference final for the first time since 2004, losing to Dallas (4-1).

With his leaping teammate Anthony Edwards, Gobert can dream of the title, even if he will have to learn to play inside with Julius Randle, who arrived at the beginning of October from the New York Knicks in exchange for Karl-Anthony Towns at the end of a surprise transfer. After being sent to Philadelphia in November 2023, Batum will happily return to the Los Angeles Clippers in his now usual role of game facilitator (“glue guy”).

The real level of the Clippers is however uncertain after the departures of Paul George (Philadelphia) and Russell Westbrook (Denver), and while Kawhi Leonard is once again sidelined due to injury for an indefinite period.

For Victor Wembanyama: anything is possible

After a successful first season individually (rookie of the year, best NBA blocker, 21.4 points average), but struggling collectively with the San Antonio Spurs (14th out of 15 in the West, 22 wins and 60 losses), Victor Wembanyama hopes to “put ourselves in that situation of being a winning team, a play-off team.” “If we want to win now, I have to be a leader first by example. There will be no more room for these errors. There is a lot of mental work to do,” explained the extraordinary interior (2.24 m), whose progress continues to fuel the wildest expectations.

In a summer interrupted by his Olympic ride with the Blues (silver medal at the Paris Olympics), “Wemby” (20 years old) still gained muscle mass to resist the athletic defenders of the NBA: “my power increases every year always. The main aspect that allows me to improve my game is the athletic side. »

Confirmation for Bilal Coulibaly

Author of an interesting first season, Bilal Coulibaly (20 years old) wants to gain even more depth at the Washington Wizards, a franchise in reconstruction whose future he hopes to embody. “I hope to have a good place, to be a major part of the team,” explained the winger to AFP, while wanting to “continue to defend against the best players of the opposing team and try to make them have a good evening.”

Risacher, Sarr, Yabusele, Salaun: time to shine

After the magnificent 2023 vintage (Wembanyama N.1, Coulibaly N.7), the 2024 draft was even more spectacular for French basketball, with the high-ranking selections of Zaccharie Risacher (N.1, Atlanta Hawks), Alexandre Sarr ( N.2, Washington Wizards) and Tidjane Salaün (N.6, Charlotte Hornets). The three 19-year-old players have the opportunity to establish themselves in bottom-of-the-table teams, after showing great promise in pre-season.

More experienced, Guerschon Yabusele (28 years old) told AFP he was “proud” to get a second chance in the NBA in Philadelphia, after a frustrating stint in Boston (2017-2019). Determining with the Blues at the Olympics and noted for a spectacular dunk against LeBron James, the “Dancing Bear” knows that the 76ers, title contenders, are waiting for his “energy”, “whether on defense , in attack, on a ball that is lying around, being able to jump, give your body to the team and fight.”

Dadiet, Cissoko, Dieng, Diabaté, Rupert, Traoré: looking for playing time

Sidy Cissoko (20 years old, San Antonio Spurs, 2nd season), Rayan Rupert (20 years old, Portland Trail Blazers, 2nd season), Pacôme Dadiet (19 years old, New York Knicks, drafted in 25th position) and Ousmane Dieng (21 years old Oklahoma City Thunder, 3rd season) should be part of the end of their teams’ rotation.