Rupert finally caught in second round, Cissoko joins Wembanyama at San Antonio
Rayan Rupert and Sidy Sissoko join the NBA in turn. NBA Expected in the first round, Rayan Rupert was taken by Portland in 43rd place in the Draft, just ahead…
Rupert finally caught in second round, Cissoko joins Wembanyama at San Antonio
Rayan Rupert and Sidy Sissoko join the NBA in turn. NBA
Expected in the first round, Rayan Rupert was taken by Portland in 43rd place in the Draft, just ahead of Sidy Cissoko, selected by the San Antonio Spurs.
Never two without three ? After Victor Wembanyama and Bilal Coulibaly, we expected a third Frenchman in the first round of the NBA Draft last night, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Rayan Rupert. Guest at the “Green room”the son of ex-international Thierry Rupert, who died in 2013, and younger brother of the French international Iliana Rupert, currently at the Women’s Euro with Les Bleues, was announced around the 20th place in most screenings. Adam Silver, the big boss of the North American basketball league, however, never called his name during the first round. The 19-year-old fullback was eventually selected 43rd overall by the Trail Blazers.
Note that a selection in the first round is synonymous with a guaranteed contract for two seasons. This is not the case for players who are taken in the second round of the Draft. But it could have been worse: Nadir Hifi (Paris Basketball) was not selected at all. He did not make the trip, returning to France after a tour with the France A’ team (select team) according to bein Sports.
Cissoko and “Wemby”, San Antonio (re)takes the French accent
Unlike Rupert, Sidy Cissoko was not announced in the first round. However, we imagined him selected in the second. And that’s exactly what happened. The 19-year-old Parisian leader was selected in 44th position by … the San Antonio Spurs. He will therefore evolve alongside “Wemby” in Texas, he who comes out of a season with 12.8 points and 3.5 ists on average this season within the G-League Ignite Team, evolving in the antechamber of the NBA. From the top of his 98 meter, this beautiful 102 kg baby had previously studied in the Spanish Basque Country, in Vitoria.
Like Ousmane Dieng, drafted last year by the Oklahoma City Thunder, Rayan Rupert, 19, had chosen to go into exile on the other side of the globe after having studied at Insep, joining the Australian league and the New Zealand Breakers. A tall fullback (1.98m, 87kg), he had 6.8 points and 2.4 rebounds last season, helping his team through to the Australian Championship final (losing to Sydney).
Wembanyama, he became the first French player selected in number 1 of the Draft. He will play for the San Antonio Spurs, like Tony Parker, Boris Diaw and others before him. Coulibaly was taken by the Pacers in seventh placelike the previous one French record holder in the Draft, Killian Hayes. The 18-year-old winger, however, will never go to Indiana: he was immediately traded to the Wizards.
