By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The 2024 Olympic Games are coming, and as the hosts, the French national team will be among the favorites for medals, especially after a bad result at the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
Victor Wembanyama already expressed his desire to play, but there are many other NBA candidates for head coach Vincent Collet. As it seems, one of them could be Oklahoma City Thunder’s Ousmane Dieng.
Speaking to Basket USA, he touched on the possibility of joining the French national team, with the Olympics coming next summer.
“I would like to play for the French team. Last summer I couldn’t because I had a back injury. But obviously, the French team holds an important place in my heart and I would like to make as many selections as possible,” Dieng said.
He played for many French youth selections, winning the silver medal at the 2019 FIBA U16 European Championship.
“I had made the U16s but the following year, it was Covid. And in U18, I was unfortunately injured. We finished second in the 2019 European Championship in U16 with Victor Wembanyama. We had Adama Bal, who plays in Santa Clara now. Armel Traore too. A great team.”
Former INSEP student was drafted by the New York Knicks as the 11th overall pick in 2020 and immediately traded to Oklahoma in exchange for three 2023 first-round draft picks. He then spent two seasons in Centre Federal and New Zealand Breakers before joining the Thunder in 2022.
During his first season, he played 39 regular-season games and averaged 4.9 points and 2.7 rebounds, and during the current one notched 18 appearances with averages of 4.3 points and 1.6 boards.