The Most Famous

BASKETBALL PLAYERS from France

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This page contains a list of the greatest French Basketball Players. The pantheon dataset contains 1,757 Basketball Players, 32 of which were born in France. This makes France the birth place of the 6th most number of Basketball Players behind Croatia, and Spain.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary French Basketball Players of all time. This list of famous French Basketball Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of French Basketball Players.

Photo of Dominique Wilkins

1. Dominique Wilkins (b. 1960)

With an HPI of 49.46, Dominique Wilkins is the most famous French Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 38 different languages on wikipedia.

Jacques Dominique Wilkins (born January 12, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player who primarily played for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Regarded as one of the greatest small forwards in NBA history, Wilkins was a nine-time NBA All-Star, a seven-time All-NBA Team member and is widely viewed as one of the most acrobatic slam dunkers in NBA history, earning the nickname "the Human Highlight Film". In October 2021, he was honored as one of the league's greatest players of all time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. Wilkins is the leader in most years with the Hawks for 12 seasons, the most games played with 882 in Hawks franchise history, the most minutes played with 32,545 in Hawks franchise history, the most career points in Hawks franchise history with 23,292 points, and the most points per game with 26.4 in Hawks franchise history. Wilkins led the NBA in scoring in the 1985–86 season. In 2006, Wilkins was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. In addition to his 11 seasons with the Hawks, Wilkins had short stints with the Los Angeles Clippers, the Boston Celtics, Panathinaikos of the Greek Basket League, with whom he won his first titles (the FIBA European League and the Greek Cup), Fortitudo Bologna of Lega Basket Serie A, the San Antonio Spurs, and the Orlando Magic before he retired in 1999. As a member of the U.S. men's national team, Wilkins won gold at the 1994 FIBA World Championship.

Photo of Michel Bonnevie

2. Michel Bonnevie (1921 - 2018)

With an HPI of 44.19, Michel Bonnevie is the 2nd most famous French Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Michel Bonnevie (19 November 1921 – 6 September 2018) was a French basketball player who competed in the 1948 Summer Olympics. He was part of the French national basketball team, which won the silver medal.

Photo of André Buffière

3. André Buffière (1922 - 2014)

With an HPI of 42.66, André Buffière is the 3rd most famous French Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Pierre André Buffière (12 November 1922 – 2 October 2014) was a French basketball player and coach. He was born in Vion, Ardèche. He was inducted into the French National Sports Hall of Fame in 1995. He was inducted into the French Basketball Hall of Fame, in 2004.

Photo of Vincent Collet

4. Vincent Collet (b. 1963)

With an HPI of 42.12, Vincent Collet is the 4th most famous French Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Vincent Florent Antoine Collet (born 6 June 1963) is a French former professional basketball player and a current professional basketball coach. He is the head coach of France national team since 2009, winning a total of 13 medals under his tenure. Collet won two Olympics silver medals, two bronze medals at the World Cup, as well as gold at EuroBasket 2013.

Photo of Boris Diaw

5. Boris Diaw (b. 1982)

With an HPI of 42.03, Boris Diaw is the 5th most famous French Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 35 different languages.

Boris Babacar Diaw-Riffiod (born 16 April 1982), better known as Boris Diaw, is a French basketball executive and former player who is the president of Metropolitans 92 of LNB Pro A. Diaw began his playing career in Pro A and returned to that league after 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played mostly at the power forward position. In 2006, Diaw was named the NBA's Most Improved Player as a member of the Phoenix Suns. He won an NBA championship with the San Antonio Spurs in 2014. Diaw was a member and captain of the senior French national team. He won a FIBA World Cup bronze medal in 2014, a EuroBasket title in 2013, a silver medal in EuroBasket 2011, and two bronze in EuroBasket 2005 and EuroBasket 2015. He earned an All-EuroBasket Team selection in 2005. Diaw has served as president of Metropolitans 92 from July 2019 to April 2020.

Photo of Nando de Colo

6. Nando de Colo (b. 1987)

With an HPI of 41.79, Nando de Colo is the 6th most famous French Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Nando Bruno Alfred Andre de Colo (born 23 June 1987) is a French professional basketball player and the team captain for LDLC ASVEL of the French LNB Pro A and the EuroLeague. Standing at a height of 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m), he plays at the point guard and shooting guard positions. A six-time All-EuroLeague selection, de Colo won the EuroLeague title in 2016 and 2019 with CSKA Moscow, earning both the EuroLeague MVP and Final Four MVP awards in the process. De Colo is the all-time top scorer in European continental basketball competitions, having surpassed Nikos Galis in 2022.

Photo of Rudy Gobert

7. Rudy Gobert (b. 1992)

With an HPI of 41.33, Rudy Gobert is the 7th most famous French Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 38 different languages.

Rudy Gobert-Bourgarel ( goh-BAIR, French: [ʁydi gobɛʁ]; born June 26, 1992) is a French professional basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously played for the Utah Jazz who acquired him during the 2013 NBA draft. Gobert also represents the French national team in its international competitions. Standing at 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) tall with a wingspan of 7 ft 9 in (2.36 m) long, he plays the center position. He is regarded as one of the best defensive players of all time. Gobert has won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award four times, tied for the most in NBA history with Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace. He is a four-time All-NBA Team member, seven-time All-Defensive First Team member, and three-time NBA All-Star. Gobert was also the NBA blocks leader in the 2016–17 season and the NBA rebounding leader in the 2021–22 season. Gobert was named to the All-NBA Second Team in 2017, and the All-NBA Third Team in 2019, 2020 and 2021. In March 2020, Gobert tested positive for COVID-19, becoming the first NBA player with a confirmed case of the virus. After teammates of Gobert's on the Utah Jazz, including Donovan Mitchell, also tested positive, the NBA postponed the 2019–20 season until its resumption on July 30 of the same year.

Photo of Victor Wembanyama

8. Victor Wembanyama (b. 2004)

With an HPI of 41.06, Victor Wembanyama is the 8th most famous French Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Victor Wembanyama ( WEM-bən-YAH-mə; French: [viktɔʁ wɛmbanjama]; born 4 January 2004), nicknamed "Wemby" or "the Alien", is a French professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Considered one of the best basketball prospects of his generation due to his rare combination of height, length, speed, ball-handling skills and agility, he was selected first overall by the Spurs in the 2023 NBA draft. Wembanyama began his professional career at age 15 with Nanterre 92 of the LNB Pro A in 2019. Two years later, he moved to ASVEL and won the Pro A title in his only season with the team. In the 2022–23 season, Wembanyama signed with Metropolitans 92 and became the youngest player to win the Pro A MVP award, while earning Pro A Best Defender honours and leading the league in scoring, rebounds and blocks. He was unanimously named an LNB All-Star twice, winning the All-Star Game MVP once, and was a three-time Pro A Best Young Player. Wembanyama also plays for the French national team, with whom he won a silver medal at the 2024 Olympics. At the youth level, he led his team to two silver medals, including at the 2021 FIBA Under-19 World Cup, where he set the FIBA record for blocks per game in a single tournament. Following a historic rookie season in the NBA, Wembanyama was unanimously named the 2024 NBA Rookie of the Year, finished second in the 2024 Defensive Player of the Year voting to compatriot Rudy Gobert, and became the first rookie ever to be named to the All-Defensive First Team.

Photo of Antoine Rigaudeau

9. Antoine Rigaudeau (b. 1971)

With an HPI of 40.58, Antoine Rigaudeau is the 9th most famous French Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Antoine Roger Rigaudeau (born 17 December 1971) is a French former professional basketball player and professional basketball coach. During his playing days, he played at the point guard, shooting guard, and small forward positions. Also during his playing career, his nickname was "Le Roi" ("The King"). During his pro club career, he won two EuroLeague championships, in 1998 and 2001. With the France national team, he won the silver medal at the 2000 Olympics. He was inducted into the French Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010. He became a FIBA Hall of Fame player in 2015.

Photo of Nicolas Batum

10. Nicolas Batum (b. 1988)

With an HPI of 40.22, Nicolas Batum is the 10th most famous French Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 35 different languages.

Nicolas Madelin Victor Andre Batum ( NEE-koh-lə bə-TOOM; born 14 December 1988) is a French professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is also a member of the French national team and earned a silver medal in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

People

Pantheon has 46 people classified as French basketball players born between 1921 and 2004. Of these 46, 44 (95.65%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living French basketball players include Dominique Wilkins, Vincent Collet, and Boris Diaw. The most famous deceased French basketball players include Michel Bonnevie, and André Buffière. As of April 2024, 14 new French basketball players have been added to Pantheon including Vincent Collet, Victor Wembanyama, and Élie Okobo.

Living French Basketball Players

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Deceased French Basketball Players

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Newly Added French Basketball Players (2024)

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