2023-11-04 15:20:56
Author of 38 points and a major performance against the Phoenix Suns on the night of Thursday to Friday, Victor Wembanyama had a great start to the season in the NBA with the San Antonio Spurs. But there’s more to life than “Wemby”.
Coulibaly youngest starter in Wizards history
Among the other French players playing across the Atlantic, another “rookie” stood out at the start of the regular season: Bilal Coulibaly. Former teammate of Wembanyama at Boulogne-Levallois, the young French winger, who also joined the NBA this summer, became last Monday the youngest starter in the history of his franchise, the Washington Wizards, at 19 years, 3 months and 6 days.
Author of 9 points, 5 rebounds and 1 assist during his team’s rout against Boston (107-126) at the start of the week, the 7th choice of the 2023 draft returned a new very correct statistics sheet this Saturday (9 points , 3 rebounds, 3 assists) without managing to avoid a setback for the Wizards against Miami (114-121). Despite his team’s difficult start, the French winger still manages to have a positive impact on his franchise through his defensive qualities: the former Mets displays a differential in points scored and conceded by his team when he is present on the floor of + 13.
Rudy Gobert, for his part, remains a pillar of Chris Finch’s Timberwolves and played more than 30 minutes in four of the Minnesota team’s first five games. The French international (100 caps) particularly stood out by having a big match against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday November 1st. Solid defensively, Gobert was able to contain the double NBA MVP and allow his team to win (110-89) against the reigning champion. The Blues pivot notably captured 12 rebounds during this shock.
Among the satisfactions, Ousmane Dieng was the author of a big match with OKC against Detroit at the start of the week, scoring 10 points in 18 minutes of playing time. Last night, the 20-year-old winger did not However, he only played five minutes (3 points, 1 rebound, 1 block) during the Thunder’s defeat against Stephen Curry’s Golden State.
Fournier sidelined, Batum absent
On the other hand, the start of the season is more than complicated for Evan Fournier. Not in Tom Thibaudeau’s plans for the New York Knicks, the leader of the Blues did not participate in a single minute during the first five regular season games. Even the setback conceded by his franchise against Milwaukee (105-110) changed nothing and the situation of the 31-year-old rearguard became very problematic. Deadlocked in NY, Fournier needs to find a way out quickly to hope to participate in the Paris 2024 Games.
Transferred from the Clippers to the Sixers as part of the James Harden trade, Nicolas Batum has still not played with his new team, having been absent for personal reasons since the start of the week. Finally, if Killian Hayes scored 10 points with Detroit against the Pelicans on Thursday, November 2, the Frenchman is having a difficult start to the season offensively, marked by six missed shots and zero points in terms of points despite 26 minutes of playing time against Portland the day before. .
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