SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs franchise knows all about the impact French-born basketball players can have.
Tony Parker set the bar high for French players as his resume includes NBA titles, a Finals MVP award, and the ultimate: His name in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
But beyond Parker, other names who wore the Spurs uniform include Boris Diaw, Ian Mahinmi, Nando de Colo, Joffrey Lauvergne, and the newest French Spurs players: Sidy Cissoko and Victor Wembanyama.
And the French wave of NBA talent isn't stopping any time soon says Washington's Bilal Coulibaly.
"I said 'Next year, you'll see.' There will be more," Coulibaly told Monumental Sports Network. “I'm not shocked about it. I knew it was coming.”
"[Basketball] is getting bigger now [in France] because of the draft," Coulibaly said. “Four new guys in the NBA, so it's getting way bigger. It was soccer when I was younger, it was the main sport. But now basketball is starting to pop up, too.”
This is key, especially for the Spurs at the 2024 NBA Draft.
Considering how the current season is trending, San Antonio will likely have a high pick in the upcoming draft and there are a few French players the team could select atop the draft board.
7-1 center Alexandre Sarr (a projected top-five pick in the draft) and forward Zaccharie Risacher are projected to be among the top names come draft night and San Antonio could select them.
And they could certainly help the Spurs in their current rebuild.
"I feel like there's a lot of players over there that could definitely play in the NBA. Case in point, Bilal is an unbelievable player who's providing great minutes on an NBA team right now. The future for France is unbelievably great, starting with Bilal," Wizards' Anthony Gill said to Monumental Sports Network.
Wembanyama (the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA draft) is taking the NBA by storm and is proof that the talent pool in France is deep.
Spurs fans are also salivating at the thought of a Sarr-Wembanyama pairing next season.
And it would certainly be no surprise if the Spurs once again look at top French players to add to the roster next season.
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