Few organizations have embraced the game of basketball at an international level more than the San Antonio Spurs. Throughout the years, they’ve been home to guys like Tony Parker (France), Manu Ginobili (Argentina), and now Victor Wembanyama (France). Even Tim Duncan, who played his college ball at Wake Forest, was born outside the 50 states, as he’s from the US Virgin Islands.
And as the FIBA World Cup rolls on, plenty of great players are getting their chance to shine. Unfortunately, a relatively stacked France squad got bounced early, and Parker wasn’t too happy about it, ripping into his fellow countrymen after their elimination.
When talking with Stephen Time of RMC Sport, Parker said there’s “a bit of shame” that is being felt after France’s exit. (H/t Translated to English by Mike Taylor of Inside the Spurs)
“There, we (France) really experienced a fiasco,” said Parker. “I talked about it for a long time with Nicolas Batum, we spoke for an hour on the phone, and it’s true that it’s very, very disappointing. It’s not normal for such a team to lose in the first round. We have never seen Spain and the United States go out in the first round. And it’s a shame because our generation worked so hard to bring France back to a certain level, so that we could be respected, by FIBA, the referees, the other countries. Latvia had a great match. They had some crazy shots, but it’s not normal. It’s still a bit of a shame.”
Rudy Gobert, Nicolas Batum, Evan Fournier, and others were part of the French team that got bounced. They’ll be looking to find their footing again at the 2024 Olympics.
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