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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 1,268 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 (1960 - )

With an HPI of 49.57, Dominique Wilkins is the most famous French Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 37 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). 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 44.08, 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 42.13, 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 Rudy Gobert

4. Rudy Gobert (1992 - )

With an HPI of 41.63, Rudy Gobert is the 4th most famous French Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 37 different languages.

Rudy Gobert-Bourgarel ( goh-BAIR; 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 their 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. Gobert has won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award three times, tied for third-most in NBA history. He is a four-time All-NBA Team member, six-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 Nicolas Batum

5. Nicolas Batum (1988 - )

With an HPI of 40.84, Nicolas Batum is the 5th most famous French Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 33 different languages.

Nicolas Batum ( NEE-koh-lə bə-TOOM; born 14 December 1988) is a French professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association. He is also a member of the French national team and earned a silver medal in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Photo of Nando de Colo

6. Nando de Colo (1987 - )

With an HPI of 40.57, 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 Boris Diaw

7. Boris Diaw (1982 - )

With an HPI of 39.28, Boris Diaw is the 7th most famous French Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 34 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. Since July 2019, Diaw has served as president of Metropolitans 92.

Photo of Antoine Rigaudeau

8. Antoine Rigaudeau (1971 - )

With an HPI of 38.87, Antoine Rigaudeau is the 8th 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 Thomas Heurtel

9. Thomas Heurtel (1989 - )

With an HPI of 36.89, Thomas Heurtel is the 9th most famous French Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Thomas Heurtel (French pronunciation: [tɔmɑ œʁtɛl]; born 10 April 1989) is a French professional basketball player who plays for Zenit Saint Petersburg of the VTB United League. Standing at 1.89 m (6 ft 2+1⁄2 in), he plays at the point guard position.

Photo of Tariq Abdul-Wahad

10. Tariq Abdul-Wahad (1974 - )

With an HPI of 33.92, Tariq Abdul-Wahad is the 10th most famous French Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Tariq Abdul-Wahad (born Olivier Michael Saint-Jean; November 3, 1974) is a French basketball coach and former player. As Olivier Saint-Jean, he played college basketball at Michigan and San Jose State. In 1997, the Sacramento Kings selected Saint-Jean in the first round of the NBA draft as the 11th overall pick, and Saint-Jean converted to Islam and changed his name to Tariq Abdul-Wahad. From 1997 to 2003, Abdul-Wahad played in the NBA for the Kings, Orlando Magic, Denver Nuggets, and Dallas Mavericks. He was the first player to be raised in France and play in the NBA.

People

Pantheon has 32 people classified as basketball players born between 1921 and 1995. Of these 32, 30 (93.75%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living basketball players include Dominique Wilkins, Rudy Gobert, and Nicolas Batum. The most famous deceased basketball players include Michel Bonnevie and André Buffière. As of April 2022, 7 new basketball players have been added to Pantheon including Tariq Abdul-Wahad, Vincent Poirier, and Moustapha Fall.

Living Basketball Players

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Deceased Basketball Players

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Newly Added Basketball Players (2022)

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