Some of the best young basketball talents in the world gathered over the weekend in Portland, Oregon for the 2024 edition of the Nike Hoop Summit . Among them is French point guard Nolan Traore, who said that the likes of San Antonio Spurs super rookie Victor Wembanyama and Washington Wizards guard Bilal Coulibaly are serving as inspiration for France’s hoopers.
San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama Gets Shoutout from Team World Star at Nike Hoops Summit
After the game, Traore shared how excited he is about the next wave of basketball players from France.
“The next generation of French players is going to be really good,” Traore told Yahoo Sports. “It’s getting more and more competitive and the talent is so good with younger players coming up and seeing what Victor [Wembanyama] and Bilal [Coulibaly] are doing in the NBA.”
Traore played well in the 98-75 loss to Cooper Flagg and Team USA, as he finished with 18 points on 8/14 shooting from the field with two rebound and four assists in over 30 minutes of action.
Wembanyama and Coulibaly are just 20 and 19 years old, respectively, but they’re already being looked up to by younger players in their country. That is especially the case for Wembanyama, who must have the 2023-24 NBA Rookie of the Year virtually in the bag.
In his first season in the NBA with the Spurs, Wembanyama averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 3.6 blocks per game while shooting 46.5 percent from the field and 32.5 percent from behind the arc.
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