Here’s the best news from week 17 in the NBA, and other news from around the world of basketball.
💥American-style show at Porte de la Chapelle! (12/02)
🔥 Paris Basket’s match against Saint-Quentin was held in the Adidas Arena, the new venue inaugurated by the city of Paris!
🏅 Special jerseys, prestigious guests, massive American-style show, the Paris Basket organisation pulled out all the stops for this inauguration. What’s more, the Adidas Arena was built to host Olympic Games events this summer, explaining the presence of Anne Hidalgo to make the venue’s opening official
👏 On the courtside seats, youtubers/singers Mister V and Théo Juice were on hand. PSG players Ousmane Dembélé and Randal Kolo-Muani and Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konaté were also spotted and recent European handball champions Nikola Karabatic and Elohim Prandi were in attendance.
🏀 On the court the stars were, as usual, Nadir Hifi (15 points) and TJ Shorts (13 points) for PBB, who won 87-65 against Saint-Quentin at the end of a match dominated mainly in the second half.
🎤 And finally, the icing on the cake, the French rapper Zola performed a showcase on the floor at the final whistle.
☀️ Golden State Warriors are back! (13/02)
🔥 With a 129-107 win over the Jazz last night, the Warriors completed their 5th consecutive victory, the longest streak in the NBA at the moment. They are also on a broader run of 7 wins in 8 games and rank 10th in the conf West behind the Lakers and Mavs.
💥 There’s no mistaking the signs… Klay Thompson was skilful last night (26 points, 57%) and that’s saying a lot. With Draymond Green back in the fold, the Californians’ game is starting to flow again and resemble the skilful basketball that won them titles. The icing on the cake, proving that the wind is blowing in the Warriors’ favour, was Draymond Green’s mid-range basket at the buzzer last night!
🥘 Stephen Curry has been treading water for the last two weeks, with 60 points (in a loss) against Atlanta, 11 3-pointers against Indiana and more recently a crazy buzzer-beater to give the Warriors victory over Phoenix.
🔒 In addition to the Warriors’ historic trio, Kuminga and Podziemski are doing a monstrous job in the attacking department and especially on the rebound. Also of note is the extremely valuable return of Gary Payton, Steve Kerr’s best outside defender.
🚨 Evan Fournier played his first game with the Pistons! (14/02)
1️⃣ Transferred on Thursday night in a massive trade between the Knicks and Pistons, Evan Fournier played his first game with his new team last night against the Lakers. It’s the Frenchman’s 5th franchise in 11 years on NBA floors.
Returning at 5:24 in the first quarter, Vavan missed his first shot, but then made two more at the end of the quarter. The Frenchman doesn’t look lost at all on the court and seems to have grasped his teammates’ way of playing rather well.
📈 The Pistons’ number 31 finished the game with 13 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 4/9 shooting including 2/5 3-pointers, all in 24 minutes of play.
😬 Collectively, the Pistons struggled against the Lakers despite a good second half. Los Angeles, with their new player Spencer Dinwiddie, got the better of the Pistons (124-111).
😱 Warriors wanted Lebron James before the trade deadline! (14/02)
🤯 No, it’s not an April Fool’s joke, but a piece of info released by the legendary Woj who said that the Warriors wanted to unite LeBron and Curry !!!!
😳 Wojnarowski says the Warriors, in an owner-to-owner dialogue, made « an unsuccessful offer » in an effort to convince the Lakers of a trade to get LeBron back. We know that Curry and LeBron have always planned to play together, but no one thought it was going to happen any time soon.
😵💫 No details of the players possibly involved in the trade but it could have broken the NBA for quite some time….
🚨 Victor Wembanyama has reached the 1,000-point mark in his NBA career! (15/02)
🔥 It’s only symbolic, but the 1,000-point mark is the first step on the ladder of the top scorers’ rankings. Victor passed this bar after a nice move in the paint on Gafford.
📊 Let’s continue on the statistical point, as Victor last night became the first player in NBA history with at least 150 contests, 150 assists and 75 3-point baskets scored in a season… with 27 games still to go!
❌ Still, a 116-93 defeat to the Mavericks, who have been completely unstoppable since the trade deadline and the addition of PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford. Victor in history in a loss… the scenario is repeating itself.
🎯Caitlin Clark has become the leading scorer in NCAA Women’s history! (16/02)
🤩The Iowa player has no distance limit on her shots and can catch fire in an instant as she has done all season.She was 8 points short of breaking the record of 3,527 held by Kelsey Plum, the left-handed sniper of the reigning WNBA champions, the Las Vegas Aces, before her game last night.
💣 Clark simply scored her team’s first 8 points and passed the record on a logo three-point bomb. She didn’t stop there and scored 23 points… in the first quarter alone!
👏 CC finished the game with 49 points and 13 assists and was congratulated by the entire basketball world, including former US President Barack Obama.
➡️ Pete Maravich’s NCAA record of 3,667 points with LSU is next. Clark does, however, have other targets in mind, such as the WNBA draft, where any team would be delighted to welcome the young player into its ranks.
🎯 Damian Lillard wins the 3-point contest! (18/02)
🔥 Hollywood scenario in the 3-point contest this year with 4 players at 26 points after the first round!
➡️ Trae Young, Karl Anthony-Towns, Tyrese Haliburton and Damian Lillard therefore played a bonus round to determine the 3 players in the final! In the end, it was Hali who was eliminated, giving us a Lillard-Young-Towns final.
⌚️ « It’s better with a little drama » said Lillard in his interview after the contest. The Milwaukee point guard tied with Trae Young after his 4th rack and needed just one basket to win. He missed the first 4 of the last rack but the last one fell in… DAME TIME
🤯 Vichy snatch Leaders Cup Pro B victory in overtime! (18/02)
😱 Huge game for the Leaders Cup Pro B final between Vichy and Chalon-Reims where the Châlonnais had the game in their hands for 39 minutes !
🥶 Vichy was down by 4 points with 14 seconds left, but 2 threes from Sébastien Cape brought Vichy back to within one possession, just before the French point guard stole the ball and snatched overtime.
🎯 Cape sends a 3-point dart at the start of extra time and Vichy defends very hard. Cape sends in a second long-range bomb when Chalons-Reims had pulled back to within 2 points and he knocks down another 3-pointer to kill the game: 97-90!
💪 24 points, 11 assists for the Vichy point guard who very logically wins the MVP trophy after a MONSTROUS performance.
🏆 A guaranteed place in the Betclic Elite accession final, and Vichy’s first trophy in 17 years.
😱 Career high in points and assists for Gabby Williams! (18/02)
💪 HISTORIC performance from ASVEL’s forward, who is following on from last week’s OQT in China with France’s national team, where she was awarded the tournament’s MVP trophy.
🎯 This afternoon, Gabby had a phenomenal game against Montpellier, the likes of which have rarely been seen in the LFB. Here are her statistics: 36 points, 10/15 including 6/9 three-pointers, 11 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals in 39 minutes for 43 points. Gabby was well supported by her team-mates Marine Johannes (22 points) and Alexia Chery (14 points, 9 rebounds).
✅ Lyon-Villeurbanne came from behind to defeat Montpellier 92-74 despite a huge performance from another French player, Romane Bernies, who scored 26 points.
😱 Paris takes the Leaders Cup against Nanterre! (18/02)
🔥 This 100% Ile-de-France Leaders Cup final lived up to its promise with two teams in search of their first Leaders Cup title. Paris pulled off the upset by taking out Monaco yesterday, while Nanterre overturned Bourg to reach the final.
🥶 Paris’ defence shut down the paint at the start of the game and imposed their style of play: big defence, running, baskets. Nanterre’s second quarter was much better and Pascal Donnadieu’s players found some offensive solutions, notably with 11 points from Desi Rodriguez. The Parisians, still led by Hifi and TJ Shorts, were ahead at the break (48-42).
🙌 Nanterre come back from the locker room in better shape, go back in front and lead by 4 points at the end of the 3rd (96-65). The Parisians fight back and it’s their turn to come back midway through the final quarter (81-82 Nanterre). A fiery final 4 minutes in which the two teams take it in turns to exchange the lead.
🥶 The offensive rebounds caused Nanterre problems and the enormous TJ Shorts gave Paris a 4-point lead (89-84 Paris). Curiously, the Nanterre players do not foul to stop the clock ticking down in Paris’ favour. The Parisians win 90-85 to claim their first trophy in the club’s history!
🏆 Shorts naturally inherits the MVP trophy for this Leaders Cup 2024!
Eliott Caillot 