By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Tony Parker, Hall-of-Famer and French basketball icon didn’t try to sugarcoat the failure of the French national team in the FIBA World Cup.
Talking to RMC radio in the Stephen Time show he stated that what happened with France would never happen with other top teams.
Speaking about the performance of the French national team, Parker used harsh words: “There, we really experienced a fiasco. 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. It’s so hard to have respect. Latvia had a great match. They had some crazy shots, but it’s not normal. It’s still a bit of a shame”.
France has already qualified for the Paris Olympics as the host, and as Nicolas Batum said to Eurohoops, the possible addition of Joel Embiid and of course, rookie star Victor Wembanyama can be considered quick fixes.
For Parket, however, this is not an easy choice, since that may mean that key players of the team so far may be marginalized: “They are going to have big choices to make. If you bring back big players like Joel Embiid, and Victor (Wembanyama), it has to be complementary with the rest, because it could mean the departure of certain cornerstones, which can make headlines. We have to improve the team, we need changes, but it’s not going to be easy.”
Without naming him, it’s obvious that Tony Parker refers to star center Rudy Gobert.