Villeurbanne, December 12, 2023. Women's Asvel faces this evening, at the Astroballe, the Turks of Fenerbahçe, undefeated for 51 matches.
It's time for the presentation of the two teams, the announcer lists the names of the players.
When suddenly, in the stands, the applause gets louder.
“Number 23. Marine Johannès!”
The French international makes her appearance.
A pleasure for the public who finally sees her again in the jersey of her French club.
Two months earlier, she was still playing in the WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association) finals, the most intense competition in her sport, with the New York Liberty.
Although the basketball player experienced defeat, she managed to make a name for herself on the other side of the Atlantic, where her sport is a religion.
Videos of his feats went viral on social networks, and American basketball star LeBron James even commented: “His one-legged shot made me get out of my seat!
» “I saw this when I woke up, at 6 a.m., I didn't expect it at all.
I received lots of messages from my loved ones.
It was funny.
It does something all the same, I took a lot of inspiration from the NBA,” says Marine Johannès modestly.
To discover
Leadership, balance, career, money... A business coaching program for women
Also read: “There are more cases of child abuse in swimming, gymnastics or ice sports”: “Balance ton sport”, a platform for athletes who are victims of violence
A unique game
The player does not have an imposing physique.
This rather slender blonde, originally from Calvados, measures less than 1.80 m when some of her teammates are close to 2 meters.
But, by all accounts, his way of playing remains unique.
As Mary Patrux, basketball journalist at BeIn Sports, notes: “Technically, she achieves incredible things, it’s a permanent danger.
She can bring the spark we need in a match.
She represents modernity in basketball today.
She is someone who is evolving in a way that few girls have played, she was inspired by male role models.
We had never seen that in France.”
Her offensive range, her three-point shots, her touch of madness when she tries passes that no one expects except her teammates, or even her way of handling the ball dazzles.
She also wears the number 23 in homage to Michael Jordan, whose gestures she tries to reproduce in each of her matches.
Huge popularity
“She is performing well at ASVEL, she is in a big American franchise, the American media like her.
It attracts a certain audience and new people who were not interested in basketball before,” analyzes Mary Patrux.
Like Lilas, a literature and history teacher who discovered it during confinement.
“I didn’t know much about this sport.
It moved me to see it, it’s a form of art, we feel a bit the same thing as when we look at a painting,” confides the one who decided to create an X account (ex-Twitter) dedicated to his idol, Out of Context Marine Johannès.
The deputy president of ASVEL feminine, Marie-Sophie Obama, pushes the comparison.
“Marine is very spectacular, she is a basketball artist, with all her sensitivity.
She's an esthete, she brings something that we've never seen before.
She has been there for five years, her popularity remains immense.
She is the one who sells the most jerseys in the club, boys included.
She is the new face of our sport, without a doubt.”
Marine Johannès, French international basketball player.
Pehée Marion
A model player
Proof of her popularity, she is also invited on the set of
NBA Extra,
the show presented by Mary Patrux.
“It demonstrates this new French enthusiasm for women’s basketball.
In our show, which is very marked by NBA and therefore men's sport, we now welcome women like Marine and Sandrine Gruda.
They are personalities in their own right,” explains the journalist.
For a whole generation of young players, she also serves as a role model.
Within the Academy created by Tony Parker, in Lyon, his name resonates.
Player Lana Meilland's eyes light up when she talks about her idol.
At just 16 years old, she draws a lot of inspiration from it.
“She makes me dream, we all want to be like her.
When I look at him, I have the impression that everything is easy even though I know it’s not,” she smiles.
For her part, Justine Mouyokolo, who had the chance to play a few matches with Marine under the colors of ASVEL, can no longer count the number of times she is asked what it feels like to play alongside the “star French basketball.”
Lana Meilland, 16, is a basketball player and fan of Marine Johannès.
Pehée Marion
Raise the crowds
For around ten years, and particularly since the epic of the “Braqueuses” who reached the final of the 2012 Olympic Games, women's basketball has continued to evolve.
Sandrine Gruda, Marine Johannes' teammate at ASVEL and top scorer in the history of the French team, was already present in London.
“Marine is an atypical player.
She is the first French player who managed to raise the crowds, thanks to her style of play. I felt it with her arrival in the French team in 2016: there is a before and an after Marine, in all objectivity.
I have seen many generations and players come and go, and she is the only one who has this style of play,” she assures.
Also highly publicized, the pivot wishes to emphasize that social networks have helped to promote the development of its sport.
Figures from the French Basketball Federation confirm this.
In ten years, the number of licensees has almost doubled, going from 450,000 in 2010 to 725,000 today.
The momentum is such that clubs refuse thousands of registrations each year for lack of sufficient places.
“There is a greater increase among girls than among boys, even though boys constitute the majority of graduates.
There are 36% girls today,” notes Jean-Pierre Siutat, its president.
Marine Johannès in profile above, wears number 23 during the Lyon team's victorious match against the Istanbul team Fenerbahçe at the Astroballe.
Pehée Marion
Promote sportswomen
Budgets have also increased.
They have doubled in ten years, going from 1.2 million to 2.5 million in 2023. Clubs no longer hesitate to rely on private partners to develop.
And the proliferation of sports channels and platforms, such as L'Équipe TV, BeIn Sports, or even Skweek, allows for greater visibility.
The arrival of Tony Parker in 2017 at women's ASVEL also marked a major turning point.
He intends to move the lines, advocates equal pay for men and women.
Because the gap remains significant.
According to figures from the Federation, the average salary of a female player is around 6,233 euros gross, while that of men is around 17,000 euros.
Until five years ago, women's salaries remained below 5,000 euros gross.
“Tony does a lot for French women's basketball with the desire to put us forward.
This is also why I chose to join his club five years ago.
He made our sport evolve, and it also made other clubs grow,” comments Marine Johannès.
Marine Johannès during the victorious match of the Lyon team against the Istanbul team Fenerbahçe at the Astroballe.
Pehée Marion
A dream to come true
Does she feel this enthusiasm?
“I become aware of it a little more every day, because I receive a lot of messages on social networks which tell me “You don’t realize, you inspire a lot of young people, my children.”
I’ve been there, I was a fan too,” she replies.
If commentators advocate her modesty, all are unanimous, Marine Johannès is the image of this sport today.
And she intends to leave a mark.
“I would like people to keep the image of me as a player who was able to develop French women's basketball.
I want to commit to continuing to talk about it.”
Bronze medalist in Tokyo in 2020, she has Paris 2024 in her sights.
If last summer a controversy took place over his non-selection for the French team during the European Championships, the page seems to have turned.
“I will focus on the French team this summer, I want to be present from the first day of preparation.
This is an event not to be missed.
The title in Paris, in my country, in front of my friends and family, would be a dream,” she admits.
That evening, in any case, in front of a conquered Astroballe, his team put an end to the Turkish curse by winning on their floor.
Satisfaction for the basketball player, but her head is already elsewhere.
Towards this Olympic medal that she is impatiently awaiting.