Victor Wenbanyama announced his participation in the 2023 NBA draft on Friday, and is expected to become the top pick of the year.
If Wenbanyama is selected as the No.1 scholar, he will become the highest player selected from France in the history of the league. In NBA history, 34 players from French teams were selected. 18 people were eliminated in the first round and 16 people were eliminated in the second round. In the past 10 years, six French players have been selected.
Here are the top five French players in the NBA draft since 2010.
Killian Hayes (ranked 7th in 2020)
Hayes was born in America, but grew up in France, where he played youth basketball. He was selected by the Detroit Pistons with the seventh overall pick in 2020. This season, he averaged 10.3 points in the piston field, which is his third season in the league.
Frank Nilikina (No.8 overall in 2017)
In 2017, Nilikina was selected by the new york Knicks from France. Nilikina played for the Knicks for four years before signing with the Dallas Mavericks in 2021. He won a silver medal for France at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. His highest average score in the NBA was in the 2019-20 season, when he averaged 6.3 points.
Segou Doumbouya (15th overall in 2019)
In 2019, the Pistons chose another young French rookie, Segou Doumbouya. In the 2019- 2020 season, he spent some time in the development league team of the Pistons. Since the 2020-22 season, he has played 94 games in Detroit. Then he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, where he played two games and spent most of his time in the development league.
Guerschon yabusele (16th overall pick in 2016)
In 2016, Abu Selai was selected by the Boston Celtics. He played in Boston for two seasons and played 74 games. He was laid off by the Celtics and then played in China and France. He now plays for Real Madrid in Spain.
Kevin seraphin (17th overall position in 2010)
Serafin was selected by the Chicago Bulls. Before his rookie season began, he was traded to the Washington Wizards. He played for the Wizards in the 2010-15 season. He played for the new york Knicks and Indiana Pacers for one season respectively. After that, Serafin left the NBA and went to Barcelona. After playing for two seasons, he retired due to a knee injury.
French players in active NBA.
Up to now, six active players, including Nilikina, have been elected to the NBA from France. The others are Rudy Gaubert, nicolas batum, evan fournier and Theo Maleden. Clint capela is Swiss, but from the French League, he entered the NBA through the draft in 2014.