Nineteen French basketball players – a record number – started the NBA season. Behind the stars and the usual captains, from Wembanyama to Gobert, they are rare to be starters. And for some of them, this exercise even turns into a nightmare, like for the captain of the Blues, Guerschon Yabusele, snubbed in New York.
The revelation
Maxime Raynaud (Sacramento Kings). Drafted far away last summer, in 42nd position, the brilliant former student of the Henri IV high school in Paris and Stanford University, who passed through Charenton and Nanterre, made an impression.
At 22 years old, the mathematics graduate, specialized in artificial intelligence, and friend of “Wemby”, takes wonderful advantage of the absence of Sacramento’s titular pivot, Domantas Sabonis, to display his 2.16 m. He went from the end of the Californian bench to a place in the 5 Major of an anonymous franchise (8 wins, 24 losses). “I love what Max brings,” rejoices his coach Doug Christie. He grows and learns before our eyes.” Good news also for the Blues between now and the 2028 Olympics.
The surprises
Sidy Cissoko (Portland Trail blazers). He started 2025 playing with Spurs in Paris. He finished it as a valuable 6th man or even sometimes a starter in Oregon. The former Paris Basketball coach, Tiago Splitter, trusts him. “He is aggressive, intelligent and valuable,” sums up the Brazilian.
He still gave him 22 minutes on the field Sunday evening during the Blazers’ victory (114-108) against Boston. Amazing.
Noah Penda (Orlando Magic). Drafted in 32nd position, the former Le Mans player is gaining playing time in Florida over the weeks. He signed his first double-double (13 points and 12 rebounds) a week ago, the first at this level since another franchise rookie, Dwight Howard. She begins to send him to press conferences after matches, a sign that she trusts him. To be continued.
Confirmations
Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio Spurs). Away from the field due to a calf strain, “Wemby” returned slowly. He regained his place in the Spurs Five this weekend. If nothing disrupts him again, he will continue to dazzle the world to aim for the All Star Game in 2026 and then the trophy for best defender in a team (23 V, 8 D) which runs like clockwork and could hope for better than a simple place in the playoffs. Unavoidable.
Rudy Gobert (Minnesota Timberwolves). Muraille in defense, regular, stringing together double doubles in a team that is rotating (20 W, 12 D), the former Cholet player does what he does best: Rudy Gobert. He has just surpassed the milestone of 10,000 rebounds in a career that began in 2013. He is only the fourth European to reach this total after Dirk Nowitzki (11,489), Pau Gasol (11,305) and Nikola Vucevic (10,418). Essential.
Alexandre Sarr (Washington Wizards). In a franchise that (almost) never wins, number 2 in the 2024 draft does what he can and does it well. “Alex is making progress. He has clearly reached a milestone,” welcomes his coach Brian Keefe. He is not far from being the “franchise player” of the federal capital. With 28 minutes of playing time on the floor per evening (18 points on average), he is the one who plays the most. The future belongs to him.
Nicolas Batum (Los Angeles Clippers). His franchise (10 V, 21 D) does not put one foot in front of the other, but he shows himself to his advantage. As a luxury joker, the Norman, who still does not know whether or not he is in his last season, brings back his always valuable science. On Sunday night against Detroit, he broke his season record for playing time (31 minutes) and points (12). Unwearable after eighteen in the NBA.
The questions
Zaccharie Risacher (Atlanta Hawks). An ankle injury then a heavy fall hampered his debut. The number 1 in the 2024 draft has gone down the Hawks hierarchy. His stats and his playing time melt away as the evenings go by. He is no longer the priority project of the “Falcons” aviary who plan to exchange him with Anthony Davies in Dallas. Before the “tradeline”, the end of transfers at the beginning of February, he has a month to show them that they are wrong.
Bilal Coulibaly (Washington Wizards). First some good news: he has regained color for a few days. “I feel confident,” he said. As evidenced by his 14 points on Sunday to allow the Wizards to subdue Memphis (116-112). However, handicapped by injuries (thumb, ankle, ischios, etc.), the former revelation from Levallois only played half of the “Magiciens” matches. “He’s finding his rhythm again,” says his coach Brian Keefe. To be confirmed.
Le flop
Guerschon Yabusele (New York Knicks). The captain of the French team, like other French people before him (Evan Fournier), gets lost. It’s been half a dozen games since he was forgotten in the rotation. He doesn’t play anymore. His average playing time? 9 minutes for 3 unfortunate points. To play again, he has until February 5 to find another franchise. The Knicks don’t seem to need him to win (22 V, 9 D).
And the others…
Confined to the G-League at the start, Nolan Traore begins to enter the Brooklyn Nets rotation. Mohamed Diawara plays more than Yabusele in New York but remains only a bench option. Same thing for Ousmane Dieng in the Thunder’s winning machine. Moussa Diabaté between twenty minutes per game in Charlotte, where he broke his rebound record last week (14). It’s also starting to pay off for his teammate Tidjane Salaün out of the bench. It is more complicated for Rayan Rupert who is satisfied with crumbs in Portland, Joan Beringer who learned the trade alongside Gobert in Minnesota. Pacôme Dadiet wax, he, the bench in New York. And the season is already over for Noah Essengue (Chicago Bulls), injured in a shoulder and who only played five minutes and forty-nine seconds this season.
