While the biggest spotlight is reserved for Team USA Men’s basketball, and the biggest underdog story has gone to South Sudan, fans should not forget about Team France at the Paris Olympics.
France’s place as a hotbed of talent in the global evolution of basketball has long been cemented after producing talents such as Tony Parker, Nicolas Batum, Rudy Gobert and Evan Fournier.
But after Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama entered the league, the NBA, Commissioner Adam Silver and league insiders are seeing a different type of energy emerge.
“I said yesterday in an interview that this seems to be a golden era of French basketball,” Silver told reporters in January.
He isn’t wrong as this year’s NBA Draft was a historic one for France.
For the first time ever in back-to-back drafts, a French player was drafted first overall. Zaccharie Risacher was selected number one by the Atlanta Hawks, which followed Wemby’s number one overall selection in 2023 by the Spurs. The second pick, Alex Sarr, was taken by the Washington Wizards, and the Charlotte Hornets selected Tidjane Salaun sixth.
That, according to NBA.com, marked “the first time a non-U.S. country produced three top 10 picks in the same Draft.”
They were later joined by Pacome Dadiet, who was drafted 25th overall by the New York Knicks, giving the country four players taken in the first round.
This could be the Wemby effect, a generational talent who by any measure lived up to expectations in his rookie season. He won Rookie of the Year and earned First Team All-Defensive honors. His impact on the league likely contributed to a bigger spotlight on France’s talent pool and the country as a potential target for NBA expansion.
International Regular Season Games
The NBA has been growing internationally for decades, and the league has targeted certain regions across the world to help its global expansion. Its investment in Africa through the Basketball Africa League (BAL) has to the development of elite talent across the country, something basketball fans are witnessing now through South Senegal’s Olympic run.
The NBA has also played regular season games in Mexico and France and it will host two games in Paris this season between the Spurs and Pacers.
These games, and the last two Drafts, give more credence to the belief that the NBA is laser-focused on growing the game in France, a focus aided by the Paris Olympics.
While Team France features NBA players such as Rudy Gobert, Wembanyama, Fornier and Batum, it’s not as talented as Team USA or Team Canada, which is led by Oklahoma City Thunder Point Guard, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Denver Nuggets Guard, Jamal Murray.
But the team is 2-0 heading into its final group game on Friday.
Being the host nation for this year’s Games coincides perfectly with the emergence of Wemby and the historic 2024 draft class. Regardless of whether France wins a medal this summer, a new generation of basketball fans will emerge from the country, aiding the NBA’s opportunity to grow the game in the country.
It could be similar to the NBA’s expansion to Canada with the Vancouver Grizzlies and the Toronto Raptors in 1995.
As we look at Team Canada this summer, which beat Team USA last summer in the FIBA World Cup to earn the bronze medal, it’s stacked with NBA talent like Gilgeous-Alexander, Murray, Dillion Brooks, RJ Barrett, and Lu Dort. Many have pointed to the fact that these players are the first generation of Canadian talent that grew up with an NBA team in their home country.
That sense of connection to the NBA and pride in having a hometown team played a major role in both fan interest and player development, creating the pool of talent that has been so successful in the NBA.
Now the NBA has its eyes on France, and if the new draftees deliver, we could be on the verge of a new French revolution in the NBA.
