What's Behind the NBA's French Revolution?

Basketball Geography: France

In draft circles, the “French Prospect Boost” has been a running joke for a few months - with many amateur analysts suggesting that French players are drafted higher for their perceived potential than an American prospect would. There’s no way to really quantify that, but there have been French players drafted highly in the past that didn’t pan out quite the way we would have wanted them to - Frank Ntilikina and Killian Hayes are good examples.

It seems like French players are the newest “big thing” in the NBA, but are they just a fad? Or is this constant flow of talent here to stay? What’s at the root of it all?

In this past draft, three of the top six players were French, four were first-rounders, and an additional player, Melvin Ajinca, was picked in the second round—five players from France were drafted in total. Last year, with Wemby at the top, Bilal Coulibaly, Rayan Rupert, and Sidy Cissoko—four players were drafted. Scouring through drafts from 2010-2018, the same numbers were not being produced - with the occasional lottery pick here and there. So what’s going on in France?

It seems like development is the biggest factor. The INSEP (National Institute of Sport, Expertise, and Performance) program, which played a pivotal role in the development of Parker and sixth overall pick Tidjane Salaun, has facilitated rapid growth in players. France has their basketball development system set up similarly to European soccer clubs - with players being placed in boarding schools or training settings like INSEP when they’re as young as thirteen. This style of development is in contrast to America, whose prospects generally follow the high school → college → professional route. Of course, America still produces the vast majority of NBA players, so this isn’t to say the American system isn’t working—rather, it shows that there are other ways to develop players into strong talent.

French players have access to elite training facilities, coaches who used to be professional athletes, and strong mentorship from management and former players. With the success of Tony Parker, Boris Diaw, and other Frenchmen in the NBA, scouts now have their eyes on France as a destination for NBA players.

Tony Parker playing for the French national team.

But why France over other countries?

France’s style of play - which is very modern - is an easier adjustment than other European countries, who play fundamental and beautiful basketball - but whose style isn’t congruent to the athleticism dependent NBA style. Risacher, Sarr, Salaun, Wembanyama, and Coulibaly all fit or project to be in the very modern mold of NBA players - while most other European prospects have been discredited for playing the 'European style,' which used to be perceived as soft.

This can be credited to Parker and Diaw, who successfully melded fundamental ball movement with NBA athleticism on the 2014 San Antonio Spurs. Diaw in particular was a success on the 2005-06 Phoenix Suns, a team that provided for a great innovation in the NBA.

When I visited the NBA draft, I had a conversation with three native Frenchmen, who were excited to see Sarr and Risacher get drafted. They mentioned their love for basketball starting with Tony Parker and how the country was moved by his underdog style of play. I asked them which other players they liked, and they gave me interesting answers.

Outside of Tony Parker and Wemby, two of them mentioned they still loved Michael Jordan and that he was a critical part of their childhood. I found the story endearing, and I realized that the Dream Team was where a lot of NBA dreams started and were passed down generation by generation.

If you want to know why French prospects are booming, it’s because most countries still hold onto their players—China and many Balkan countries have trouble exporting their homegrown players to the NBA. France, with its partnership with the NBA, has been able to give their youth the dream of becoming the best basketball player on the world, maybe even as recognizable as Michael Jordan. This encouragement of globalization has allowed their prospects to thrive in comparison to other countries, and it’s paying off. With the Olympics in Paris this year—and a great French basketball team hoping to pull off a shocker and take gold—we might see even more French talent in the NBA in a couple of years.

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