The 2023 NBA Draft in June was a historic one: Victor Wembanyama, selected by the San Antonio Spurs, became the first Frenchman selected first overall in this expansive talent pool for young basketball prospects. He was closely followed by compatriot Bilal Coulibaly who was picked in seventh by the Washington Wizards. Never before have two Frenchmen been selected in the top 10 before. With Rayan Rupert (Portland Trailblazers) and Sidy Cissoko (San Antonio Spurs) selected 43rd and 44th respectively, France even came close to its 2016 record, when five players were drafted.
Newly arrived in Texas, Wembanyama has declared his desire to "start a French reign" over international basketball. To achieve his goal, the alien – as the superstar LeBron James likes to call him – will be able to rely on many compatriots in the prestigious North American league. As the game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets kicks off the season on Tuesday, October 24, we take a look at the Bleus of the NBA.
The players haven't even officially returned to the hardwoods yet but he's already the center of attention. Wembanyama will be the star attraction of the 2023-2024 season. "I've never seen anything like it in my life. If all goes well, he's going to revolutionize the game," said the NBA consultant Frédéric Weis, who will be commenting the prodigy's entire season on beIN Sports. "With Tony Parker, we had a taste of the media impact this could generate. But this is clearly the next step. One of the best players in the world will be French."
In addition to being the superstar of the San Antonio Spurs, the former Metropolitans 92 player from Boulogne-Levallois (Paris suburbs) will have the difficult task of being French basketball's ambassador in the American league. "He's the real change: He's going to put the spotlight back on all the other French players," said Jacques Monclar, another consultant for BeIN Sports.
"I even think he'll be a link between the youngsters and the older members of the French team," added Weis. If Nicolas Batum, his captain in the national team, is to be believed, the 19-year-old seems ready to take on this mantle: "He has the mindset and the talent to cope with all this pressure."
As for the French team's senior members, they'll be doing their best to ease concerns before the Olympics. This is particularly true of Evan Fournier. The guard, a benchmark for French players in the NBA, is going through a difficult time with the New York Knicks. At the end of last season, his coach even insinuated that they were performing better after he was taken out of the rotation. Despite some good preseason games, the Île-de-France native's future remains unclear when he returns to competition.
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