Aug 8, 2024; Paris, France; France power forward Guerschon Yabusele (7) celebrates during the second half against Germany in a men's basketball semifinal game during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Accor Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher-Imagn Images Rob Schumacher-Imagn Images

Knicks Forward Leads France to EuroBasket Victory

Originally posted on New York Knicks on SI
By Geoff Magliocchetti | Last updated Sep 4, 2025 11:30 AM ET

Captain and newly-minted New York Knick Guerschon Yabusele has potentially guided France to a dominant group victory.

Yabusele was one of eight players in double figures in Les Bleus' closeout victory over Iceland on Thursday in Katowice, a 114-74 shellacking that ended pool play. Zaccharie Risacher of the Atlanta Hawks led the balanced scoring effort with 15 tallies.

Fresh off a 36-point outing against Poland, one that stands as one of the most dominant efforts of the tournament to date, Yabusele was able to get a bit of a rest on Thursday. He scored 10 points on 4-of-6 from the field while pulling in four rebounds and dishing out three assists. His positive plus/minus of 28 was tops on the team, just beating Risacher and Mouhammadou Jaiteh.

France ease past Iceland to clinch another victory before heading to Riga!#EuroBasket pic.twitter.com/FC8xkQx1ej
— FIBA EuroBasket (@EuroBasket) September 4, 2025

Unlike some of their more recent outings, Les Bleus kept drama to a minimum on Thursday.

A 36-9 lead lingered on the scoreboard before the first period let out and it was mostly smooth sailing from there, allowing the French to keep their momentum alive despite losing standout and Risacher's fellow 2024 top two draftee Alex Sarr to a tournament-ending injury. Yabusele's contributions to the opening cause included a basket, a block, and an assist on Theo Maledon's three that created a permanent double-figure lead.

Yabusele and his fellow starters got most of the second half off, as he and Sarr's Washington teammate Bilal Coulibaly were the only openers to play more than 20 minutes.

Despite winning over a good bit of the crowd, Iceland remained winless in three EuroBasket showings, making its first such appearance since 2017. LIU Brookyln alum Martin Hermannsson led the team with 15 points on 6-of-8 from the field in defeat.

France (4-1) will clinch the top spot in Group D if Slovenia defeats Israel later in the day. If the Israelis prevail, a sizable advantage in the points tiebreaker should be enough to seal the deal along with a Poland victory over Belgium. The 16-team knockout round gets underway over the weekend, with France set to face an opponent from Group C (either Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Italy, or defending champion Spain).

This article first appeared on New York Knicks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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