Over the years, and since the debut of Tariq Abdul-Wahad, the first French player to play in the NBA, France has become an essential country in the best league in the world. To the point that today, the most promising player in the NBA is a Frenchman, Victor Wembanyama, 1st pick of the 2023 Draft. We wanted to ask ourselves what would be the top 10 of our compatriots passing a player through the league. Here is the summary of the rankings of Antoine Pimmel and Shaï Mamou, on the following criteria: individual and collective achievements, talent, longevity and place in history.
Honorable mentions: Mike Pietrus, Rodrigue Beaubois, Alexis Ajinça, Johan Petro, Kevin Séraphin
10- Ronny Turiaf and Mickaël Pietrus
We really couldn’t decide between them so we wanted to mention them both. Because they seem too important to us to be simply mentioned. Ronny Turiaf did not necessarily have the role that could have been attributed to him following his excellent seasons at Gonzaga. But he was able to establish himself as a locker room executive, a pillar in groups. Some of which have gone very far: the 2008 Lakers (NBA finalists) or the 2012 Heat, NBA champion. He too was able to take his ring while hanging out with great players like LeBron James or Kobe Bryant.
Speaking of the Black Mamba, how can we not mention the “Kobe stopper”, Mike Pietrus! The mention may make you smile today but “Air France” was for a time a sure bet in his position and in his role as a very athletic 3 and D. The kind of players the best teams wanted. Like the Magic of 2009, NBA finalist there too, with Piétrus as an important member of the rotation.
9- Ian Mahinmi
One of the rare French crowned NBA champions. Arriving discreetly in San Antonio in 2007, two years after his draft and taking advantage in a certain way of the success of Tony Parker and the attention paid to the French championship, Ian Mahinmi did not immediately make himself his hole in the league. He was notably slowed down by a major ankle injury but that didn’t stop him from winning a ring in a reduced role with the Mavericks in 2011. He managed to find a place as a replacement center – and even holder for two seasons at Indiana then Washington later – and, let’s face it, it’s really not an easy thing at this level. His solid performances in the rackets notably allowed him to sign a contract worth 64 million dollars over 4 years during the Cape Town explosion in 2016.
8- Tariq Abdul-Wahad
The pioneer. The one who opened the door before Tony Parker “built a highway” between France and the United States, to use the words of Tariq Abdul-Wahad, ex-Olivier Saint Jean. His career appeals less to younger people and, put into perspective with the performances of some of his compatriots subsequently, it may seem trivial. But that is absolutely not the case. TAW broke codes by being drafted out of the University of San José (11th choice in 1997) before establishing himself as a starter in several different teams at a time when Europeans were not looked at with much respect. good eye. Or even not looked at all in the case of Frenchies. Injuries somewhat hastened the end of his career after a few good seasons in Sacramento, Orlando, Denver and Dallas. But this defensive specialist absolutely must not be forgotten. He is the one with whom it all started for the Blues in the NBA.
7- Evan Fournier
Upon his arrival in the NBA in Denver, Evan was described as an “international disaster” by Mark Kiszla, a local journalist. It was certainly not in the Nuggets jersey that he really succeeded in launching his career in the United States, but what the Ile-de-France native subsequently showed in Orlando in particular proved Kiszla wrong. . Fournier helped bring the Magic back to the playoffs two seasons in a row, with great consistency in scoring (6 consecutive seasons between 15 and 19 pts on average) and became a fan favorite at Disneyworld.
If his adventure with the Knicks was not as fulfilling and successful as he would have liked, Evan can still boast of having broken the record for the number of 3-point baskets in a season for a player of franchise. We don’t know what the future holds for him in the NBA, he who is currently relaunching in Detroit, but we can never take away from him the fact of having managed to pour a little French champagne on the NBA for a few seasons .
6- Nicolas Batum
The captain of the French team is finishing a beautiful and long career in the NBA, in the perpetual costume of lieutenant, then of soldier capable of doing everything for the good of his team and his teammates. In this regard, what Nicolas Batum has done in the league is admirable. But when it comes to distinguishing individuals, this altruism and this personality serve him a little. He will make fun of it and he will be right, but it is a fact: “Batman” would have been higher in this ranking if he had played more for his apple, which goes against the grain anyway. mentality.
Let’s be content with everything that allows him to still be in our top 6: 7 great seasons in Portland, an All-Star caliber season in Charlotte around more nebulous periods, a five-by-five in 2012 , then a renaissance at the Clippers where the entire franchise had nothing but incredibly positive words about him. Ultimately, Batum will have maintained an immaculate image as a team player and a precious Swiss army knife. We hope that the end of his career in the NBA will allow him to leave without regrets for the new chapter of his life.
5- Victor Wembanyama
Too soon? Too high? In the space of one season, Victor Wembanyama has already achieved enormous statistical achievements, won (barring cataclysm) the title of Rookie of the Year, given some headaches to voters for the title of Defensive Player of the Year and for the best defensive five while his team is last in the West by far, pranced at the top of the blockers rankings, achieved a five-by-five, but also and above all survived the immense hype around him. It’s only one season, we agree, but to think that what we have just seen, that is to say more than 20 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks per game in 28 minutes and its floor level is absolutely terrifying for the opposition, and at the same time incredibly exciting for our compatriots.
4- Boris Diaw
Babac has had two lives in the NBA. A first between 2003 and 2012, where he showed very good things at times, notably on the Phoenix side where he won the MIP title and was part of a team which could and should have played in the NBA Finals at one point. . But it was the second, between 2012 and 2018, which really gave it its credentials. His trade to San Antonio after moribund seasons in Charlotte was a rebirth. Boris was like a fish in water and a centerpiece of Popovich’s group in 2013 and 2014, with two NBA Finals and a championship title. His season at Jazz, the last of his career, was honorable, but it is obviously in Texas that the memory of his basketball IQ and his moves sprinkled with coffee and good food are most vivid.
Coffee, tap dancing and dunk, the Boris Diaw anecdote
3- Joakim Noah
“Jooks” was a fairly unique player in the NBA, with this unmatched rage and intensity, but also a range allowing him to be an ultra valuable point forward in attack, in addition to being one of the best defenders in the world. If we mostly remember his years with the Bulls, trying to forget his aborted dream of shining at home in New York, it’s because he became a true icon in Chicago.
With Derrick Rose, Noah embodied the true return of ambition to the Windy City. People often forget it, but Joakim’s best seasons in the NBA are of a very, very high level, particularly the 2013-2014 which saw him be elected Defensive Player of the Year, but also 4th in the MVP trophy regular season and member of the All-NBA First Team, no tricolor having ever managed to do so well with regard to the last two achievements.
Two-time All-Star, public enemy of LeBron James and Ohio, and personality as complete as unpredictable, Noah even managed to make a local journalist eat his article who absolutely did not believe in him when he arrived in the league. Respect !
2- Rudy Gobert
If the trend is Gobert bashing, particularly among our American friends who rarely go a day without calling him overrated and overpaid, let’s try to shed some serious light on Rudy’s career. Whatever one thinks of the player – according to Shaq and Chalmers, he barely knows how to defend properly – to disrespect his accomplishments and his level of play is dishonest. At the time of these lines, the Blues pivot is on track to win a FOURTH Defensive Player of the Year trophy. Four ! Only Hall of Famers Ben Wallace and Dikembe Mutombo have done as well.
Add to that his 7 appearances on the All-Defense First Team, a place as 37th most prolific blocker in NBA history with a few good seasons still to go and the impact he had on the Jazz and the Wolves, his only two teams to date, and you have a future member of the league’s Hall of Fame. The sequel can still be more beautiful and help him improve this very divisive image, but even if he stopped today, Rudy Gobert would be a more than respectable runner-up to the king of this ranking, whose identity was undoubtedly known before you even started reading this article…
1- Tony Parker
Who else ? TP put France on the international basketball map and, along with others, broke the barrier that prevented Americans from respecting European players. Arriving on tiptoe, but with the advantage of speaking the language, Tony Parker worked hard to get Gregg Popovich in his pocket and convince him to trust him. It took a lot from the legendary Spurs coach, who was able to make the French leader a member of the most victorious trio in NBA history.
TP in the United States is: 4 championship titles, a Finals MVP title, 6 All-Star Game selections and, supreme honor, an entry into the Hall of Fame in 2023. If Victor Wembanyama has the talent that it takes to become the best Frenchman of all time in the NBA, he will still have to do something exceptional to supplant Tony Parker as the latter has set the bar so high on a collective and individual level.
2024-03-14 16:03:00
#French #alltime #NBA
