Basketball: "He prefers to focus on his NBA season," why Moussa Diabaté said no to a return to the Blues

Vincent Poirier at the Euro, it's a no. Although not mentioned by the French Basketball Federation (FFBB), the withdrawal of the Anadolu Efes Istanbul pivot for the Euro (August 27-September 14) was confirmed by Freddy Fauthoux on Saturday, after the Blues' victory over Spain (78-73) . "It 's a hard blow, he's the most capped player on the team, the one with the most experience. And when a player of that quality is absent, it's a loss," he agrees, promising that this bad news "doesn't mean we won't be competitive."

It remains to be seen whether the French staff will call up another center before the start of the Euro. Otherwise, Fauthoux will have to make do with Mam Jaiteh and Alex Sarr at position 5, with the help of Guerschon Yabusele. A little light? It's especially infuriating, considering that the French team has perhaps the largest pool of players in the world when it comes to position 5, with Victor Wembanyama, Rudy Gobert, Mathias Lessort, and Moustapha Fall all absent.

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The simplest thing would have been to recall the last pivot cut by Freddy Fauthoux, the 23-year-old NBAer Moussa Diabaté. The player in question had been dismissed at the same time as Frank Ntilikina and the NBA champion with OKC Ousmane Dieng on August 8, before the success against Great Britain (74-67) " Thanks, it's a good proposal (laughs)" , the JL Bourg coach first joked. And added: " To be clear, we have already contacted him. We called to come and replace Vincent, but he prefers to focus on his NBA season ."

Astonishing... And saddening. Born in Paris, Moussa Diabaté left France at 14 to study in the United States. After attending the University of Michigan and the NCAA, he was selected 43rd overall in the 2022 NBA Draft by the Clippers, alternating between the Los Angeles club in the NBA and the G-League for two years. He's headed to Charlotte in 2024, on a "two-way contract." Earlier this year, this commitment was transformed into a "real" three-year contract.

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Diabaté finally finished the 2024-25 campaign with 5.7 points and 6.2 rebounds in 71 outings with the Hornets. Promising. As for the French team, he celebrated his first selection against Montenegro (81-75) , with two points to the key. Perhaps the last two before long…