the day four French people crossed paths on an NBA floor

Off-peak times oblige, TrashTalk has taken the habit each summer of making you relive with emotion the greatest moments of the past season. Even in 2021, moreover, despite a summer that had then put all of our vital forces in PLS, but that’s another story. So we go back to our good old formula, we take a few steps back, a few months, and we remember that this 2021-22 season was crazy, from the first day to the last. Today ? An improvised meeting between four French people on the floor of the Thunder.

After “OKC eats the biggest jerk in history” and “OKC eats the most distant shot in history”, following the calm and bucolic adventures of our friends from Oklahoma.

Both stuck in a difficult 2021-22 exercise, Pistons and Thunder face each other for the second and last time of the season. If this meeting may seem perfectly random – if not to say completely devoid of interest – it is, for all French people, another story. In a Paycom Center really not on fire at all, the blue, white and red stars have indeed aligned to write a new page in the history of the French in the NBA. Three cocoricos in the same franchise, does that ring a bell? Hop, second jump in the time machine, towards the Spurs of TP, Babac and Nando between 2012 and 2014. Already there, it’s strong. But then four French, all in uniform and on the same NBA floor, it’s almost never-seen since only the aforementioned trio has experienced this kind of moment, while a Pistons – Thunder, already, had also brought together a year earlier Killian Hayes, Sekou Doumbouya, Théo Maledon and Jaylen Hoard on the same floor… but not in same time.

On this April 1, 2022 (no valve), it is therefore Théo Maledon, Olivier Sarr, Jaylen Hoard and Killian Hayes who will cross swords for a whole part of the evening, wearing the colors of our country very high. High and very high even, as our Frenchies will have shone that evening! As proof, the two tricolor guards will finish as top scorers in their respective franchises. But hey, history is good, basketball is better, so follow us, we’ll take you back to the game.

In difficulty throughout his second season with Motor City, Killian Hayes will take advantage of being in the city of his friends to set the record straight. First quarter launched, and Kiki already displays a surprisingly complete panoply, like a very complicated mid-distance in the first minutes. The left paw is settled. Seven minutes later, the number seven already has seven points and will continue his business of demolishing the Thunder defense throughout the game, yeah that’s a lot of seven. Aggressive towards the circle and generous with his little buddies, Killian thus delivers in live what seems to be the reference match of his very young career.

In the front row to enjoy it? Théo Maledon also seems to have a sudden urge to close a few valves. If his sophomore season is generally below the beginnings of the previous year, the young Thunder guard has obviously lost none of his talent. Chaining smart and comfortable actions behind the bow, he even sends a long bombinette on a caviar from Jaylen Hoard.

Jaylen Hoard, here, let’s talk about it. Surprise guest in the OKC season via a ten-day contract and established for the occasion, the former Wake Forest will have a field day in the racket of the Pistons. Not clumsy with his hands either, the right-hander even allows himself to shoot a nice triple in the first quarter. At the end of a slightly calmer second quarter, three of our Frenchies therefore return to the locker room with rather classic lines of stats, while Killian Hayes has already compiled sixteen points. Then the sequel will be no less cool and it’s even at the end of the game that the magic happens.

Théo Maledon exploded in the last quarter by sending 15 points, Jaylen Hoard took advantage of the last minutes of the meeting to swallow his twentieth and final rebound of the evening. A real vacuum cleaner. Finally, it is the Pistons who leave with a rather anecdotal victory, but largely due to an ultra-complete Killian Hayes. By the way, did we talk to you about Olivier Sarr? No because the former Wildcat’s game isn’t infamous either. Like his little (big) colleagues, the interior will send wood and deliver a nice, well-finished performance for a beginner in the NBA. Open the lid of the pot, dip in some good big lines of stats, a hint of little Frenchies and sprinkle it all with history, close it, let it boil for a few quarter-times and you will get a beautiful evening that has become legendary. In reality, there is no miracle recipe for our Blues to progress, they must play to evolve. Take a look at what happens when the stars decide to align.

  • Killian Hayes (Detroit Pistons) : 26 points, 7 rebonds, 8 passes, 5 interceptions.
  • Theo Maledon (OKC Thunder): 28 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists.
  • Jaylen Hoard (OKC Thunder) : 11 points, 20 rebonds, 3 passes
  • Olivier Sarr (OKC Thunder) : 11 points, 5 rebonds, 2 passes.

If today a lot of things have changed and our French people are mostly not carrying walls of their respective franchises, this match will remain engraved as an important chapter in the history of France in the Great League. And good news, with the next waves to come (Dieng, Diabate, Kamagate, Besson, Begarin, Wemby, etc.), new very nice stories could very quickly be written in blue, white, red ink.

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