NBA 

Before seeing Rudy Gobert, Evan Fournier or Victor Wembanyama shine on the courts, Tony Parker and Joakim Noah were among the most influential French players in the NBA. Currently at Spurs but also a former teammate of the Chicago pivot, Doug McDermott had many stories to tell about them.

When we see Victor Wembanyama and Bilal Coulibaly make their debut on the NBA floor, we say to ourselves that the future of French basketball is in good hands.

The two nuggets prove to be more than convincing, with the Spurs pivot putting in a string of historic performances.

And it’s all the more exciting as they will soon be joined by Alex Sarr, Zaccharie Risacher and Tidjane Salaün.

Clearly, French basketball players have established themselves in force on the American continent.

If they were able to get there, it is also because their elders knew how to pave the way for them, notably Tony Parker and Joakim Noah.

The former became a Hall of Famer and four-time champion as well as a San Antonio legend, while the latter was Defensive Player of the Year for the Bulls and is still a local favorite.

Doug McDermott cashes in on Tony Parker and Joakim Noah

An NBA player for almost a decade now, Doug McDermott is starting to get used to being the teammate of a Frenchman.

Before playing with Wembanyama this season, he had played alongside Jooks in Chicago for two seasons. A few weeks ago, while Spurs paid tribute to TP, he indulged in an anecdote about the two legends of France:

When I was with the Bulls, it was pretty fun coming here to San Antonio, when Timmy Duncan, Manu and Tony were still here. Just playing against him was impressive . 

I remember playing with Joakim Noah in Chicago, another Frenchman, and I remember they kept talking in French the whole game, talking a lot of nonsense to each other I guess .

At that time, Parker and Noah were already on the decline and players like Rudy Gobert and Evan Fournier were still in their first seasons in the big league. 

France was therefore not as represented and it was in fact always a special occasion to face a compatriot. 

The former members of the Blues were very close, so it was not surprising that they spoke in their native language.

The advantage for McDermott is that he knows how to live in the same locker room as a Habs. He also admitted to the media that he personally takes care of Wemby:

It’s great to have another French player in our team now. 

He also admired Tony Parker when he was younger. I try to help him as much as possible with English. 

We’ll have to take care of that first before I move on to French .

Clearly, Doug McDermott has been spoiled in his career when it comes to playing with great French interiors. First Joakim Noah, now Victor Wembanyama: the two men have a very different style of play, but they are nonetheless two very high level defenders.