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Victor Wembanyama, NBA World React to France Dominating the 2024 NBA Draft
One year after the San Antonio Spurs selected one of the most exciting prospects in sports history, Victor Wembanyama, with the top pick, the Atlanta Hawks drafted fellow Frenchman Zaccharie Risacher with the No. 1 pick on Wednesday night.
With the very next pick, the Washington Wizards selected Alex Sarr—a 19-year-old center out of France. It marked the first time in NBA history that two international players were picked back-to-back with the No. 1 and No. 2 selections, and they both happened to reign from France.
Just a few minutes later, the French basketball community had another chance to celebrate when the Charlotte Hornets picked Tidjane Salaun with the No. 6 pick. Later, Pacome Dadiet would be drafted by the Knicks with the 25th overall pick, also out of France.
Wembanyama celebrated a big night for basketball in France with a post on social media:
C’est la France frère 🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷
— Wemby (@wemby) June 27, 2024
The rest of the NBA world chimed in as well:
Somewhere Tony Parker and Boris Diaw are smiling and nodding. Feels like France is starting to take over the NBA.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) June 27, 2024
what the hell is in the croissants in France?!
— Ashley Nicole Moss (@AshNicoleMoss) June 27, 2024
france to the NBA in the 2024 nba draft: pic.twitter.com/STbMV3eulu
— William Lou (@william_lou) June 27, 2024
france really rolled up to the nba and said pic.twitter.com/bKNeLehAH2
— claire de lune (@ClaireMPLS) June 27, 2024
When it comes to producing NBA draft picks, France is the new Kentucky
— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) June 27, 2024
Risacher joined an exclusive list of international prospects to be selected with the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft in the modern era, following in the footsteps of Chinese center Yao Ming (2002), Italian center Andrea Bargnani (2006) and Wembanyama (2023).
Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.