The San Antonio Spurs hit the jackpot. The Texas franchise won the NBA lottery tonight and will have the first pick in the 2023 Draft, which will allow them to select the rising star of basketball: Victor Wembanyama.
Read alsoWembanyama in the NBA: the San Antonio Spurs, a French story
The French prodigy, who has been stirring up all the desires for several months, should therefore evolve in Texas next year, enough to strengthen the links between the France and the Spurs. Indeed, under the impetus of several French, the franchise has won four NBA titles since the 2000s among the five won in its history. If they have not all marked it in the same way, five Frenchmen have already worn the jersey of Spurs.
Tony Parker
He is probably the best French basketball player in history. Tony Parker played 17 seasons with the San Antonio Spurs and won four NBA titles (2003, 2005, 2007, 2014), a Finals MVP award (2007), played 1,198 games, including 226 playoffs and scored more than 19,000 points. The French playmaker has established himself as one of the best players in franchise history, which is why seeing Victor Wembanyama debut at Spurs as "TP" seems like a sign of destiny.
He is the greatest player in the history of French basketball and today celebrates his birthday...
🎂 TONY PARKER IS 41 YEARS OLD
🎂4x NBA Finals Champions MVP 2007
6x All-Star
4x All-NBA
🥇
EuroBasket 2013
2013️EuroBasket MVP ⃣ retired by Spurs
And more... pic.twitter.com/JcRsti9aZx
— 50 Shades 🇺🇸🏀 (@50NuancesDeNBA) May 17, 2023
Boris Diaw
If he has less marked the history of the Spurs than TP, the passage of Boris Diaw with the Texans remains more than honorable. Between 2011 and 2016, "Bobo" proved to Greg Popovich that he could count on him thanks to his good influence, especially on the Spurs' defensive game. In five years, Diaw played in two NBA Finals (2013, 2014) and won his only NBA championship ring in 2014.
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Nando de Colo
Long a fixture on the France team, Nando de Colo was less so with the San Antonio Spurs. In 2009, he was selected 53rd overall in the draft by the Spurs, but continued his career in Europe before finally signing with the Texas franchise in 2012. During his two seasons there, the point guard struggled to establish himself with very little playing time in the play-offs in his first season and a quick sidelining in his second season.
🇫🇷 TEAM 🇫🇷
LEGEND Nando de Colo was a MENACE with the Spurs who holds team averages of:
4 PPG | 1.9 RPG | 1.7 APG 😳
De Colo dominated everywhere, the NBA, EuroLeague, Olympics...
BALLER. 🫡🔥 pic.twitter.com/9D0ybbakE6
— Spurs_Muse (@spurs_muse) August 30, 2022
Joffrey Lovergne
Arriving from the Bulls at the end of the 2017 season, Joffrey Lovergne failed to make Spurs history. The pivot, who wore the number 77, played only one season in the black and white jersey for 51 games played, including one in the play-offs. Play-offs during which the Spurs were eliminated in the first round, in five games, by the Warriors.
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Ian Mahinmi
Mahinmi was selected 28th overall in the 2005 NBA Draft by the San Antonio Spurs. In order to continue his apprenticeship in Europe, he joined Spurs only two years later, in 2007, and became the first Frenchman to join Tony Parker.
Always good to see you, Ian Mahinmi #SpursFamily pic.twitter.com/F7Iy3cWFUD
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) March 22, 2018
Barred in particular by Tim Duncan, the pivot is only the fourth choice of Greg Popovich at this position and plays only six games before being sent to the reserves and then returning to the Spurs in 2009-2010, without ever managing to win. In total, he played 34 games for San Antonio.