Olympic Games 2024 in Paris, basketball: let’s start the Olympic preparations for the blues

Three, two, one, start. The Olympic Games of the French national basketball team will begin on June 17 from the first day of preparation. Vincent Collet’s blues will meet in the Bois de Vincennes at Insep. The manager has selected 19 players to start the campaign, but not everyone will be there from day one. Many of them finished their championship seasons just a few hours ago and are entitled to a little extra rest. “Not everyone finished at the same time,” Vincent Collet told Le Parisien-Aujourd’hui en France. Some have already stopped their season long ago, others played in the final of their championship just a few days before the meeting. »

That includes Parisian Nadir Heaphy in the Betclic Elite final on Wednesday night, Jalen Hoard with Tel Aviv, Guershon Yabusele or Vincent Poirier with Real Madrid or even Mathias Lessort with Panathinaikos. “It is for this reason that we have chosen a wide enough list to be able to perform well from the very beginning, despite these few temporary absences,” continues the coach.

To begin their mission, the Blues will go through a medical center to avoid routine medical tests. Land preparation, games and exchanges are included in the program of the first preparatory block. “We tried to plan this preparation as much as possible,” continues the coach. With Fred Sarr joining our staff as Boris Diaw’s deputy, we have moved forward on many details, on schedules, so many things are already planned. But we also know that we will have to adapt to other circumstances that, by definition, we cannot predict. »

After a stay at Insep interrupted by a media day, the Blues travel to Rouen on July 1. They will play their first preparatory match against Turkey in Normandy on July 3. They will then increase their intensity to face German world champions on July 6 in Cologne, followed by Montpellier two days later. They will challenge Serbia on July 12, possibly against Nikola Jokic, the NBA’s most valuable player who has yet to confirm his presence at the Games.

The French team will then travel to Orléans to face Canada on July 19 and Australia on July 21 in Orléans before arriving in Lille on July 23. They will meet their first opponent on July 7 at the end of the TQO (qualifying tournament), which will take place from July 2.

List of selected players

Defender Leaders: Andrew Albisi (Gran Canaria), Frank Ntilikina (no club), Nadir Heaphy (Paris Basketball), Matthew Strazel (Monaco), Nando de Colo (Asvel), Isaiah Cordinier (Bologna), Killian Hayes (no club), Theo Maledon (without club)

Wingers: Nicolas Batum (Philadelphia), Evan Fournier (Detroit), Bilal Coulibaly (Washington), Ousmane Dieng (Oklahoma), Elie Okobo (Monaco)

Interiors: Gershon Yabusele (Real Madrid), Rudy Gobert (Minnesota Timberwolves), Victor Vembanyama (San Antonio Spurs), Mathias Lessort (Panathinaikos), Vincent Poirier (Real Madrid), Jaylen Hoard ( Tel Aviv”).