Wembanyama arrives, the NBA shocked by the French?

NBA

Wembanyama arrives, the NBA shocked by the French?

Published on June 30, 2023 at 12:35 p.m.

On June 22, Adam Silver formalized what everyone expected: Victor Wembanyama drafted first by the San Antonio Spurs. The NBA adventure can now officially begin for the French crack and during the coming season, all eyes will obviously be on him. So what should we expect for Wembanyama’s first season in the NBA? A look back at what French stars like Tony Parker and Rudy Gobert were able to do when they debuted in the major league.

For this Draft 2023, there was not really any suspense when it came to the number 1 choice of Spurs. Unsurprisingly, it was Victor Wembanyama who was chosen by the franchise of San Antonio. Direction therefore Texas for the Frenchman, welcomed like a star on the other side of the Atlantic. It remains to be seen what the performance of Wembanyama for his first season in the NBA, he who notably decided to give up the World Cup with theFrench team in order to prepare in the best conditions to shine with the Spurs.

Wembanyama at Spurs after Parker

AT San Antonio, Victor Wembanyama will thus walk in the footsteps of another Frenchman, a certain Tony Parker. He had been drafted by the Spurs in 2001 in 28th place. For what results during its first year? As soon as he arrived in Texas, parker played a lot. The playmaker had then played, during the 2001-2002 season, 77 games for an average including 9.2 points and 4.3 assists.

What about Gobert, Noah and company?

Other French players have also made their mark in the NBA. What did they give them once drafted by their respective franchise? As for Rudy Gobertchosen in 27 by the Jazz in 2013, he averaged 2.3 points and notably 3.4 rebounds in 45 games. Joakim Noah joined him Bulls in 2007, chosen in 9th during the Draft. For his debut, the pivot averaged 6.6 points and 5.6 rebounds in his 74 games played. In 2003, for his debut with the Hawks, Boris Diaw played 76 games averaging 4.5 points. Evan Fournier joined him nuggets in 2012 where he was then shooting at 5.3 points per game in his first season. In 2008, for its part, Nicholas Batum put down his suitcases Portland. For what assessment at the beginning? The Frenchman was shooting at 5.4 points and 2.8 rebounds per game, while having played 79 games during the regular season. In 2017, Frank Ntilikina had as his line of statistics for his first year with the Knicks : 5.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game in particular. For his part, with Detroitduring the 2020-2021 season, Killian Hayes had 6.8 points, 2.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game, but having played only 26 games.