Frank Ntilikina, Théo Malédon, Killian Hayes… With the Thomas Heurtel file still blocked and several players coming out of a complicated season, Vincent Collet is forced to cast a wide net in preparation for the Olympics (July 26-August 11). Andrew Albicy is almost sure to be there, but for the rest, it’s a big blur. With Mike James, there would have been less doubt. Obviously, the American leader of AS Monaco. As the French Basketball Federation (FFBB) confirmed with L’Équipe, he offered his services to the Blues last year. “We don’t have the culture of other nations that use naturalized players in a systematic way. But we have a duty to explore all possibilities. In this case, we were contacted, we looked and quickly established that it was not a question,” comments “an executive” from the “Fédé”. After the failure of Joel Embiid, who obtained the French passport before opting for Team USA in October 2023, the timing was a priori too tight to really explore this avenue.
Mike James, 33, has been playing in Monaco since 2022. He was elected Euroleague MVP this season, he who is also the best scorer in the history of this competition ahead of another Blue, Nando De Colo. Remember that national teams have the right to field a naturalized player. Not in the habits of the FFBB, even if the Embiid hypothesis has shaken the certainties of French decision-makers. As for the lead and Mike James, evil tongues will say that it would have been enough to settle the Heurtel file on time in order to give, but that’s another story…