25. September 2000: The French basketball team was in his final game in Group A preliminary round of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games basketball tournament. France was sporting a 2-2 record, besting both China and New Zealand, but lost both Lithuania and Italy. And as luck would have it, but in a bad way, they should be against the powerful U.S. team, led by the likes of NBA superstar Jason Kidd, Kevin Garnett, Gary Payton and Ray Allen, who carried a perfect 4-0 recordafter the extinction of their opponents. It was really a foregone conclusion that France is the fifth victim in their quest for another basketball gold medal would be.
But it would be even worse. With only 16 minutes into the second half of what would be a 106-94 pounding France, Team USA Vince Carter, who won just go before the 2000 NBA Slam Dunk Contest seven months, threw a pass from almost midcourt line. Going for a secure rim-rattling dunk, he was confronted by FrédéricWeis, a lanky, 7'2 "Frenchman tried desperately for an offensive foul after only a few feet from the basket. Carter dribbled once and ran to pull. He jumped remarkably over Weis, scraping the head of the French for his balance and hit the ball furiously for two points. All the Sydney Superdome shook in fear. And when they finally got the silver medal in the tournament, France was unabashedly for the whole world to see posterized.
But despite this unpleasant moment for the FrenchFlag, saw things looking up for basketball in France. It began with the 2001 NBA drafting of sensational point guard Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs, who won it a number of championships in 2003, 2005 and 2007. Parker was also awarded the Finals MVP in 2007, wiping the sour taste of Weis debacle and will pave the way for the NBA in full will recognize the wealth of talent from France.
Boris Diaw of the Charlotte Bobcats, whose versatility has been presented during the gamefor the Phoenix Suns from 2005-2008, the Golden State Warriors Ronny Turiaf, who in the 2008 NBA Finals, he played for the Los Angeles Lakers, Mickaël Piétrus the Orlando Magic, Magic, which helped to reach the finals, 2009, and Joachim Noah of the Chicago Bulls, the Bulls were in tough, "Resistance against the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs in 2009 instrumental, some of the notable players that the French flag in order to play in the NBA increased. Notbe forgotten, though, Tariq Abdul-Wahad, born Olivier Michael Saint-Jean, was the first French-born player to ever play in the NBA, suiting for the Sacramento Kings, Orlando Magic, Denver Nuggets and Dallas Mavericks of the year 1997 - 2005.
So, in surmising these players, it can be rightly said that not only play with their sheer talent, but also with the passion that they bring the game, they are worthy enough, basketball at the highest level. And with that, "le dunken la mort "nearly a decade ago, France was clearly some very serious game.
