Mar 10, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Guerschon Yabusele (28) on the court prior to the game against the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Ex-Sixer Named Captain of National Team

Originally posted on Philadelphia 76ers on SI
By Declan Harris | Last updated Aug 5, 2025 7:40 AM ET

With the NBA Summer League well into the off-season's rear-view window, the upcoming season seems to come barreling closer and closer as the days go on. There lies one major tournament before the 2025-26 season kicks off, EuroBasket, the premier basketball tournament in Europe.

The tournament itself is set to garner major attention from stars all around the league, which includes the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, Lauri Markkanen, and, among others, former Philadelphia 76ers' star, Guerschon Yabusele.

Yabusele, now a member of the New York Knicks following a move early on in the free agency window, will continue his search for a first-place finish with the French National Team, having finished runners-up in both the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics, while also taking home second place in the 2022 EuroBasket.

Guerschon Yabusele est le capitaine des Bleus pour la campagne @EuroBasket 2025 #TeamFranceBasket | #PassionnémentBleu | #EuroBasket pic.twitter.com/b13JvUhXhk
— Équipes de France de Basket (@FRABasketball) August 1, 2025

However, it appears that the former Sixer will take on a new role during the upcoming continental tournament, as Yabusele was recently named the French National Team's captain. The 29-year-old will take the honor from fellow former Philadelphia player Nicolas Batum, who last held the title for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

The French national team's connections to the City of Brotherly Love don't stop at Batum or Yabusele, as the team also contains Timothee Luwawu-Cabarrot, whom the Sixers selected with the 24th pick in the 2016 NBA Draft.

The 30-year-old spent the first two years of his career in Philadelphia, averaging 6.1 points and 1.1 assists per game across his 121 appearances.

Revisiting Yabusele's Recent Memories with the French National Team

As mentioned previously, Yabusele has represented France at a total of three international tournaments, with the most recent being the 2024 Summer Olympics, in which his team would fall to Team USA in the Gold Medal Game. While his team fell short, Yabusele put on a scoring clinic against the United States, dropping 20 points, only six behind leading scorer Victor Wembanyama.

But Yabusele's scoring efforts wouldn't be what caught the attention of the NBA world, rather his poster dunk on LeBron James would be one of the vital moments in the match when all was said and done.

In the lead up to his first season back in the NBA with the Sixers, Yabusele reflected on the matter, explaining that the traction he got afterwards caused him to stop using social media as it couldn't keep up.

"It got crazy," the French forward stated. "I couldn't even go to social media anymore because the app was just lagging so much."

This article first appeared on Philadelphia 76ers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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