Investments in youth teams, excellent structures and a long-term vision have brought the Transalpine team to the top of the world. With Monaco and Paris protagonists in Europe and a record number of players overseas, France dictates the law on the parquet
Monaco and Paris at the top of the Euroleague standings, two consecutive Olympic finals and talents occupying the top picks of the NBA Draft. If three clues prove it, the explosion of French basketball cannot be a coincidence. Many believed that, after the golden generation of Tony Parker, Boris Diaw and Nicolas Batum which continued with Evan Fournier and Rudy Gobert, there would be a decline in available talent and results, both at club and national level. And instead, as Nicola Alberani, head of the sports section of SIG Strasbourg for five seasons, explains, the secret of success lies in the long-term vision: seeing the result not as an ultimate goal, but as a stage in a journey that starts from mini-basketball and trains young athletes ready for big stages. “In France they make enormous investments both in the youth sector and in structures. Orléans and Boulazac, both in the second series, have arenas that other countries dream of. They are a nation with a strong basketball base and a great sporting culture. Paris and Monaco are not a coincidence at all and can go far.”