The scent of “American basketball” never ceases to perfume the aisles of the Paris-Bercy arena. After the All-Star Game of the French championship at the end of December – a “show” meeting modeled on the US model, the emblematic room of 12e On Thursday January 11, the arrondissement hosted the third official match organized by the North American Basketball League (NBA) in France.
The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Brooklyn Nets delivered a “real” NBA match which turned out to be closer than the start of the game suggested. Led by a high-flying Donovan Mitchell (45 points), the Ohio franchise won (111-102), thus becoming the third NBA team to win in France, after Milwaukee (2020) and Chicago ( 2022).
Barely involved in the outcome of the match, the 15,887 spectators waited until the fourth quarter and the start of a scuffle to wake up. Little concerned by the two franchises – which are among the four to have no European player in their ranks –, especially since the suspense was not always in place, the Parisian public reacted more during the distributions of T- shirts or the appearance of stars on the giant screen.
And only Nic Claxton’s “dunks” or a few brilliant actions made the fans present at Bercy forget that they were not witnessing the flashiest NBA poster, and that no superstar from the northern league American never set foot on the Parisian floor.
A constellation of American stars at the Olympics
Headliner of the meeting, Donovan Mitchell assumed his status. The Cavs All Star could also make his return to France in a little over six months, during the Olympic Games. “I would love to come back to Paris to compete in the Games, the Cleveland guard said Wednesday. I am in contact with Team USA management and hope to be invited to training camps. » Even if within the constellation of stars of the American team, the 27-year-old player should take the spotlight much less than against Brooklyn.
Because Team USA should go to Paris with the best possible elements. Many NBA stars have already announced that they want to be part of the adventure, like LeBron James – best scorer in NBA history –, Kevin Durant or Stephen Curry, who sees it “an opportunity for Team USA to reaffirm its international domination” – after the American failure at the 2023 World Cup.
Driven by the desire to shine in the City of Lights, American basketball players will try to dominate the competition, like their distant predecessors from the “Dream Team” in 1992, in Barcelona. “We don’t realize what Paris represents for Americans, explains Frédéric Weis, former pivot of the Blues, silver medalist at the Sydney Games in 2000. The mega stars will bring their whole family back to the capital and will certainly want to shine in the eyes of the whole world in this city that is so special to them. »
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