Foreign Legion: France’s Young Basketball Stars

You might call it a coincidence, but the fact that the NBA chose to host two regular season games in Paris this year for the first time in history is intriguing. The draw for the French fans is clear: The San Antonio Spurs will be bringing Victor Wembanyama back ‘home’ for the two games. The 2023/2024 Rookie of the Year was born about a 30-minute drive (depending on the Paris traffic) from the Accor Arena, so it feels like something of a homecoming.

While he is tipped to be one of the best of his generation, it’s common knowledge that “Wemby” is not the only French star of the future. The 2024 Draft saw two young Frenchmen drafted at No.1 and No. 2 overall (Zacharie Risacher and Alex Sarr), and France became the first country outside of the US to have three players drafted in the top 10 overall. Tidjane Salaun completed the ‘invasion’ by being picked up at No.6 by the Charlotte Hornets.

Talent spotting around the globe

Of course, it’s not that French players are completely rare in the NBA, as we have seen the likes of Tony Parker and Rudy Goubert succeed in recent years, but the explosion of new recruits is worth taking note of. If you watch US college basketball games or play fantasy college basketball, you’ll no doubt have an idea of who the stars of tomorrow will be, but there is an increasing focus on players from around the world. Six of the top 12 in the 2024 Draft were from outside the US.

In France’s case, there is both luck and strategy. Players like Wembanyama would probably rise to the top of their game regardless of the infrastructure around them, but there has been, nevertheless, a concerted effort to take a different approach to player development in the Western European country. Private academies have popped up across the country, as well as clubs like ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne, which is co-owned by Parker.

Yet, the NBA has also played a significant role. Initiatives like BWB (Basketball without Borders) play a prominent role in talent spotting in France, as well as putting potential players on the right path once they have been scouted. Killian Hayes, a player making his way in the NBA G League, is an alumnus of the BWB strategy. It’s obviously not only focused on France, and plenty of other players have come through the system, but it offers an interesting route for players who eschew the official French system of INSEP (an elite sports institution based in Paris).

African basketball starting to show its promise

We can also cite the simple growth of the NBA’s presence and basketball’s global growth. Many young players are being picked up from African nations, particularly from Francophone nations where the sport is popular. Yet, we might also offer a little bit of criticism. The NBA is hungry for international talent, but there are fewer safeguards than what is offered in the United States. If you are a young player on a US college scholarship who eventually doesn’t make it, you have a route to a career through your education. Many non-American players skip the college route, and it can be devastating if your career does not pan out the way you’d hoped.

In the end, the interesting aspect is going to be whether this trend continues to grow. Perhaps a decade from now the sight of US players making up the majority of the top Draft picks will be rare. We know, of course, that the NBA is putting down routes in Eastern Europe in a bid to find the next Doncic or Jokic. As hinted, we expect Africa to become one of the most fertile places for recruitment in the coming years. But right now, France’s stars are shining, and we can’t wait to see what these young players achieve in the NBA.