It is a snapshot of a few seconds, a moment suspended in the air to truly mark the spirits.
Thanks to the strength of social networks and the brutality of his dunk, the name of Yoan Makoundou has toured the world of sport in a few hours.
The finest connoisseurs of French basketball had already heard of this 20-year-old strong winger playing in Cholet, but his overpowering action carried out on March 27 against Orléans in a Jeep Elite clearly propelled him into another dimension to which he was not. not necessarily prepared.
" This is completely crazy.
I'm not used to being in the light.
Even today I do not realize the extent that this action has taken, recognizes Makoundou.
At the time of concluding, I realized that it was a dunk apart, because I went there on instinct, but I had no idea of the enthusiasm it was going to generate.
"
THE DUNK OF THE YEAR!
💥😱 # CBOLB #CBFAMILY pic.twitter.com/dmrVyFP9cw
- Cholet Basket (@CB_officiel) March 27, 2021
This slender basketball player of 2.07 m and 102 kg has yet gathered the necessary ingredients to slam, with one hand, one of the dunks of the year on the head of his direct opponent who rises to 2.11 m: height, power and a draw that gives its action a truly impressive athletic dimension.
“With colleagues, we said to ourselves that it was athletically the most beautiful dunk in the history of French basketball, admits his agent Jérémy Medjana.
I have never seen such an impressive dunk.
He starts from very far, he is very high.
I was in the room and the few people present jumped out of their seats.
I knew Yoan could do that kind of action in a match, but it's still exciting and enjoyable to watch a dunk like this.
"
"At first I didn't like basketball, I really felt like I was zero"
Even thousands of kilometers away, on an American continent which rarely has its eyes riveted on the “highlights” of the French Championship, we got excited for Yoan Makoundou's dunk.
Congratulatory messages from Rudy Gobert or Evan Fournier poured into the phone of this pure product from the Cholet training center, before the American stars of the NBA took over.
“When I got to the locker room, I was inundated with text messages, laughs Makoundou.
The one that struck me the most came from Nicolas Batum.
He told me that he was with Paul George (
Editor's note: star of the Los Angeles Clippers, 2016 Olympic champion
), that he had seen my dunk and praised the quality of French basketball.
Crazy thing !
It was from there that I understood that it was going all over the place.
I immediately cut the phone!
"
The height of Yoan Makoundou on this action ... What an athlete!
😤 🔥
📸 @seb_gphoto pic.twitter.com/SnDJbSm0bX
- Gabriel Pantel-Jouve (@GabrielPJ_) March 29, 2021
For Yoan Makoundou, this dunk, whose video has already circulated in the hands of several NBA scouts, looks like a homecoming, a wink of fate.
Because unlike other players of his generation, the young man from Melun is far from being a child of the orange ball.
A little lost, he touched all sports during his childhood, before being pushed by his brother to basketball at the age of 15.
His beginnings in the discipline are sluggish, but for him he has an advantageous physique which allows him to show himself and… to dunk, very quickly, very young.
“At the beginning, I didn't like basketball at all, I really felt like I was zero, but I used these mockeries to bounce back, to immerse myself in the work, confides the bronze medalist with the he France team at the U19 World Cup in 2019. And the first thing I managed to do was dunks (laughs).
I always liked it.
I try to highlight that athleticism and my relaxation when I'm on the floor.
Now, every time I go to the basket, it's two points guaranteed, or opponent's foul.
"
Several NBA teams have already come to the information
After having studied at Melun, this fan of LeBron James and Kevin Durant took over the management of Marne-la-Vallée for two seasons before being spotted in 2017 by Cholet, where he perfected his learning of his sport.
Passed by the U18s then by the Espoirs, this hard worker signed his first professional contract last July, gradually climbed into the five major Choletais, signs several performances of choice (20 points, 8 rebounds in January against Holon), smashes a few dunks here and there, then is elected best player of the group stage of the Champions League.
In five years, the evolution of his career is as dizzying as his actions at high altitude.
“He's an intelligent guy who has athleticism beyond the norm, analyzes his agent.
It is classified in a category of rare athletes thanks to its verticality, its relaxation.
There is still a lot of technical work to be done, of course, but we feel that there is very interesting potential.
The fact that he started basketball so late gives him a lot of room for improvement, especially defensively, and it's exciting to watch his progress.
"
It remains to be seen how far Makoundou will be able to export his qualities as a puncher and his reputation as a breaker of hoops.
The boy does not want to rush anything, wants to gain consistency and improve several aspects of his game (dribbling, shoot) before projecting himself on the other side of the Atlantic… where his name has already circulated.
Several NBA franchises did not wait for his latest feat to come to the information and take a close interest in a player who could imitate Kévin Séraphin, Rudy Gobert or Killian Hayes, also passed through Cholet before living the American dream in the league North American.
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"These are examples that speak to me because Cholet is a recognized center," underlines Yoan Makoundou.
It is clear that it makes you want to follow in their footsteps.
The NBA is in the back of my mind, of course, even though I try not to project myself too much.
I think above all of my season.
The NBA will come when it comes.
One or two new dunks could help him accelerate his destiny ...