It was in the air and it is official now, the French winger Axel Toupane (2,01m, 29 years old) officially entered this Thursday with Paris Basketball for the current season and the two following ones. He is a recruit of choice for the promoted club, currently 15th in the French Championship (5 wins, 9 losses), lacking experience in this position.
NBA champion last season with the Milwaukee Bucks, Toupane, who had established contacts with the club since September, decided to leave the United States – he had previously played in the G-League (the 2nd division of the NBA ) at the Santa Cruz Warriors, a subsidiary of Golden State – in order to regain playing time and a consistent role.
Left France in 2015
The club specifies that the player’s contract covers three seasons: the current one, and two in addition, until 2024. Paris Basketball also specified that Toupane would play his first match under his new colors on January 15, at home against Boulogne -Levallois.
Convinced of the Parisian project, Toupane, who has a pied-à-terre in the capital, perfectly matches what Paris Basketball is looking for. Jean-Christophe Prat’s team is made up of many young French players packed with talent – Juhann Bégarin, drafted by the Boston Celtics last year, Ismaël Kamagaté or Milan Barbitch – but still lacking experience. A lack that the bronze medalist should make up for at the Worlds in 2019.
It will be his return to the French championship after his first steps in Strasbourg between 2011 and 2015 and a short stint at the same club in the fall of 2020. The son of Jean-Aimé Toupane, current coach of the French women’s team , will therefore be involved in the first matches of the Parisian club in the future Arena2 at Porte de la Chapelle, the inauguration of which is scheduled for September 2023.
