The reigning NBA rookie of the year. The reigning NBA defensive player of the year. The No. 1, No. 2 and No. 6 overall picks in this year’s NBA draft. They all have something in common.
They're French.
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It's not a new concept for France to have players in the NBA; there's been about four dozen over the years. But this might be the golden era when it comes to the quality of French players in the world's top basketball league, with stars, rising stars and potential stars scattered everywhere.
San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama is the reigning rookie of the year, Minnesota's Rudy Gobert is a four-time defensive player of the year and the new influx of French talent is set to start its climb this season with No. 1 draft pick Zaccharie Risacher of the Atlanta Hawks, No. 2 pick Alex Sarr of the Washington Wizards and No. 6 pick Tidjane Salaün of the Charlotte Hornets.
“It's not just France. It’s Spain, it's Italy, it's Germany, all these places, Australia," San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "Some of these kids start when they’re 13, 14, 15 years old, and they go to these clubs. They leave their families, go to the clubs. They go to school in the mornings and they play basketball in the afternoon. And they learn individual skills, they learn the team skills, how to play. It's serious stuff. They love the game like we all do here. They’ve got great coaches and over time, there you go.”
Basketball's global light has been shining on France for some time — and has been shining particularly brightly of late. The U.S. swept the men's and women's basketball gold medals at the Paris Olympics, beating France in both of those finals and neither win came easily; the American men found themselves in a three-point game until the final moments and the women won gold by a single point over the hosts.
Wembanyama — who gets to play two games in France in January when the Spurs and Indiana Pacers head to Paris for matchups — was the unanimous NBA rookie of the year. Gobert tied a record with his fourth defensive player of the year win and the top six picks in the draft were split down the middle with three from the U.S. and three from France, an unprecedented event.
“It's been great. It’s been great,” Risacher said, in perfect English, of getting used to life in Atlanta. “It’s an adjustment to make, but it's definitely a great thing to do. I mean, I’m 19 and I have the opportunity to do so much in my life. ... I'm super excited, super happy.”
The comparisons between Risacher and Wembanyama will be inevitable — both French, both No. 1 picks, in back-to-back years no less. It's something the Hawks have talked about, and it's something they hope doesn't hold this year's top pick back.
“I’ve tried to kind of articulate what I think is the reality of the situation," Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “You know, we literally won the lottery.
“What we’ve really tried to impress upon Zack is his work ethic is aligned with getting better," he added. “And I think he loves to play and that’s come out in some of the games. He knows how to play.”
Among those excited to see how Risacher plays: Wembanyama. But the Spurs star hasn't offered the Hawks rookie any tips on how to handle what awaits him with the NBA season starting this week.
“I’ll always be here for him, as a fellow future national-team teammate, I hope, and as a friend, of course," Wembanyama said. "But he’s got his own history to write. And I don’t think he needs any advice. I’m very confident in his mental strength.”
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