This year, France became a popular country, especially in the NBA community. After all, it produced the No. 1 pick in the draft, Victor Wembanyama. Naturally, fans started to look back and see if any of their teams had French players in the past.
Here is a breakdown of some players from France who had ties with teams from the Pacific Division.
Sacramento Kings
Tariq Abdul-Wahad was drafted by the Kings in 1997. People started describing him as the first person who grew up in France and play in the NBA. He played on four teams but was best known for his time in Sacramento where he was a starter. If you forgot about this guy, it is because teammates like Chris Webber, Jason Williams, and Vlade Divac were more popular.
Golden State Warriors
Hardcore fans from the Bay Area will remember Mickael Pietrus. After all, Pietrus stayed with the team for five years and was an important role player for the “We Believe” Warriors. At one point in time, the nicknames “Air France” and “Euro Jordan” were used on him. If your nicknames have something to do with Michael Jordan, that means you did something worthy.
Phoenix Suns
The Suns picked Elie Okobo during the 2018 NBA Draft. Okobo was born somewhere in the southwestern part of France and started playing basketball professionally at the age of 18. For his NBA career, Okobo averaged around 15 minutes per game and usually had a good game every time he played more. Sadly, his time in Phoenix only lasted two seasons.
Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers just drafted Moussa Diabate last year. The Paris-born player only played 22 games so it might be too early to judge his career. The team had another French player, though, in Nicolas Batum. Batum was a key player in the rotation and was usually trusted to make clutch plays. Let’s hope both players will have bigger roles for the Clippers next season.
Los Angeles Lakers
Ronny Turiaf, who was born in the French region of the Caribbean Sea, was selected by the Lakers in the 2005 NBA Draft. He stayed with the team for three years before joining the Warriors. For their latest connection to France, the team could mention Sekou Doumbouya, who was a Laker during the 2021-22 season. Although Doumbouya was born in Africa, his family moved to France when he was a baby. That practically makes him French right?
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