By Photos by Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images
The San Antonio Spurs may have an opportunity to develop a french connection at the Frost Bank Center.
The franchise was awarded the No. 4 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, which was a move-up the expected No. 5 pick going into the NBA Draft Lottery. The Spurs had a 10.5 percent chance at moving up prior to the lottery, but do just that and earn a top-four pick for the second consecutive season.
The 2023 Draft brought the No. 1 pick to the Spurs, and it took French phenom Victor Wembanyama with that pick. He would average 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 3.6 blocks and would win the Rookie of the Year Award for his efforts.
The Spurs won’t have free reign in this year’s draft, with the Atlanta Hawks, Washington Wizards and Houston Rockets set to pick before them. However, two intriguing french players could be available for the Spurs to take and allow the team to bring some familiarity to Wembanyama.
Zaccharie Risacher and Alex Sarr are those players, and they are rated as the potential No. 1 and No. 2 picks by ESPN. Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman has Sarr rated as the No. 4 overall player and Risacher as the No. 9 in his latest big board for the 2024 Draft.
Risacher is a forward who averaged 10.1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 22 for Mincidelice JL Bourg of the LNB Pro A league in France. Sarr, like Wembanyama, is a center, and averaged 9.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 24 games for Perth of the National Basketball League in Australia.
San Antonio will obviously need to prioritize team fit and value when making the selection, but the prospect of taking another french player is certainly an interesting one to consider.
The first round of the 2024 NBA Draft is set to take place June 26 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.
