At the start of the NBA season, Victor Wembanyama and Guerschon Yabusele imagined facing off withtheir teams, the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks. But the two leaders of France’s men’s national team didn’t expect they would end up not meeting on the court. While Wembanyama has quickly established himself as the league’s latest superstar, Yabusele, largely left out of Knicks head coach Mike Brown’s plans, has spent most of the season on the bench.
Much like these two big names, French players under NBA contract – a record 19 in total – have experienced mixed fortunes. Wembanyama, who turns 22 on January 4, remains true to form: impressive when on the court, a concern when sidelined by injury. After a shoulder vein thrombosis forced him to cut short the previous season, the Spurs’ center claimed his first “Player of the Week” title of the 2025-2026 campaign in October, stirring excitement among stat-watchers. But a calf strain in mid-November then caused him to miss 12 games.
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