France’s national basketball team is missing many of the players who led them to a silver medal in the Paris Olympics last summer. That absence opens the door for the NBA’s top two picks from the 2024 draft to shine. Zaccharie Risacher, the No. 1 pick of the Atlanta Hawks last season, had 12 points and five rebounds in France’s 75-67 win over Spain Thursday in a warmup game for the EuroBasket tournament. He was held out of the rematch with a sore elbow, but after playing the second-most minutes on the team, Risacher looks like a big part of France’s plans going forward. The reigning silver medalists don’t have half their Olympics roster for the quadrennial international competition. Centers Rudy Gobert and Victor Wembanyama are out to preserve their health for the NBA season. Mathias Lessort is skipping the tournament, as is Evan Fournier, while longtime Team France members Nando De Colo and Nic Batum retired from international play after the Paris Games. That means Alex Sarr, the No. 2 pick from the 2024 drRead More
Top 2024 picks getting valuable experience at EuroBasket
