2023-08-11 09:05:18
Here is an American basketball club that loves France. In 2003, the Atlanta Hawks recruited player Boris Diaw. The beautiful love story begins again twenty years later. The NBA franchise sets its sights on Guyanese coach Bryan George. A first for a tricolor coach trained in France. Huge recognition too.
Bryan George is thirty-four years old. Recognized video assistant at Asvel and in French team. Recognized and respected. Always friendly. Available. Even though our last interview was pushed back a few hours. The fault of an unscheduled meeting with the physiotherapist. “I had somewhat sore adductors.” Strange for someone who spends so much time in front of screens. “Except that I have just returned from Atlanta where I did my first work session. My new duties are no longer limited to video analysis. I also do field work. Lots of field work. It’s very physical. Hence these little squeaks when you start the machine again.”
Bryan didn’t need to send his resume. Atlanta came to him. Live. Via head coach, Quin Snyder. “We have a mutual friend, a recruiter from Boston who told him about me. Coach Snyder then inquired with Boris Diawthen from my agent Bouna Ndiaye. Before contacting Tony Parker to ask him for my phone number. The president of Asvel then accepts the connection. The life of the Guyanese is about to change. “Tony had warned me. So I was prepared. There was certainly stress but it was a good stress. The phone interview lasted two hours. A super cool exchange. Everything was addressed. Absolutely All.”
We are in June 2023. Six months in advance, Bryan George opens his Christmas present: a job in the NBA. With expanded responsibilities. “I am obviously in charge of all the video analysis. But I will also invest myself in the individual training of the players. Hence my return to the field. Player development is something very important in the American Championship.” At only 34 years old, the Guyanese finds himself among the first assistants of the Atlanta coach. A three-year contract. And eyes that shine.
Guyanese coach Bryan George changed his life in June 2023. Direction Atlanta and the NBA. • ©Asvel.
Even before working there, Bryan loved basketball with US sauce. “Its operation is very sharp.” By integrating the Hawks d’Atlantahe can discover the NBA from the inside. “It’s just impressive: the size of the staff, the investment of the administrative staff… Everyone feels involved. I like this state of mind.” Bryan George in the NBA or the story of a dream come true. “It’s true that I had been thinking about it for a long time. As soon as I started with the France team, I felt ready to leave. Even if my dream remained distant and a bit crazy.”
The NBA may be a closed league (never relegations for franchises); she really likes outside contributions: players, coaches, recruiters… Many are foreigners. “There has always been an international know-how that appeals to the NBA.” And what about little Frenchies? “At the level of the French team, silver medalists at the last Olympic Games in Tokyo, it’s intriguing, that’s for sure. And somewhere, it opens doors.” The players rush into it. Like the latest tricolor phenomenon to date, Victor Wembanyamanumber one in the Draft 2023 party at Saint Anthony. And now the staff. Bryan George in Georgia. France in the NBA? It’s stronger than you.
Bryan George had two more years of contract with Asvel. However, its sudden American flight did not pose the slightest problem. “Tony Parker had a very classy reaction. He even pushed for me to try the adventure. He told me: if it hadn’t been a good proposal, I wouldn’t have let you go. So go for it!” Same reaction in the France team where the Guyanese retains his functions as a video assistant. “Vincent Collet accepted my challenge. I accompany the Blues during the summer campaigns and I work in video with them, the rest of the year.”
Bryan therefore joins the France team for the 2023 World Cup in the Pacific. While Arielle, his wife organizes all the logistics of the move. “Luckily she’s here. Arielle helps me a lot. Because we have to move quickly. Take care of the registrations of our two daughters in their new schools. From a distance, that’s something.” As for the holidays, Bryan George will think about it… later. “Holidays? You mean: fifteen days of complete rest, telephone cut off? I haven’t experienced that since 2017 when I joined the staff of the France team. This year, I’m returning to Atlanta at the end of the World Cup. In 2024, it’s already compromised since the Paris Olympics will keep me busy all summer. In 2025 then? Maybe.”
Guyanese Bryan George in his role as a video assistant for the French men’s basketball team. • ©R.Bellenger.
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